You look back at Parks walking towards the house. He knows what he’s doing… probably. You step away from Ackerson, giving him a cautious glance as you catch up with Parks.
“Beautiful gardens,” Parks says as you walk up next to him. He takes a shriveled rose off the top of a bush that’s more thorn than bush.
“I just love the atmosphere,” he says as you proceed further to the door of the mansion. Two doorknockers in the shape of cats’ heads rest on the large double doors of the house. Parks grabs one and makes two loud knocks on the door. The sound echoes and you both sit silently for a moment before the door opens, revealing a strange looking man. The ancient, hunched over butler slowly opens the door, waving you both inside.
“Lady Blackthorn has been expecting you. Thank you both for your assistance,” the old man says, attempting to bow further past his already hunched posture.
“Of course, my man,” says Parks, “May I kindly ask your name?”
Parks always collects the names of suspects as they come, and you catch yourself inspecting the old man as well. He is wearing a well-worn black suit and white gloves. His posture is likely due to years of service, so he has likely worked for the Lady for quite a while. Not a likely suspect, but he’s important to note nonetheless. You turn back as you hear the coach leaving. Maybe you should have questioned him. Well… it’s not worth thinking about now.
“Thank you for your assistance my dear man, we hope that we might provide Lady Blackthorn some closure,” Parks says, continuing past the entrance and inspecting the hall around you. You follow, thanking the man whose name you now know to be Arthur Belvedere. Another name to the suspect list. You examine the hall, finding a small group standing near the leftmost staircase having a seemingly tense conversation. The group consists of a man in a suit with a bowler hat and a large briefcase, an older woman who was likely a house servant, and a middle-aged man with sunken eyes who sits silently concerned with the conversation at hand.
“Mrs. Ackerson, I understand your concern,” says the man with the bowler hat, “but the finances of the family are not my responsibility. I only deal with legal matters, and as you can see, I am rather busy under the current circumstances.”
The Blackthorn’s lawyer and the servant woman he addressed must be related to the coachman, likely by marriage as they do not look very similar. Now this just leaves the silent man standing beside them.
“Ah, Sir Reginald,” Parks interjects. “It is good to see you have come to support your sister in these difficult times.”
Well that answers that.
The group turns to Parks as his voice echoes through the hall.
“Oh, Parks!” The man’s voice is surprisingly lively. “I’m ever so glad you’ve come. We needed a truly good detective on this case. I’ve heard of your success in previous cases, so I was quite glad when I heard you had been hired.”
“Of course. You can be certain my assistant and I will find the cause of the lord’s death,” says Parks.
“Sir,” you interject, “there are quite a few suspects here, and the day isn’t getting any younger. Perhaps we should investigate the house first?”
“Ah, the exact kind of punctual attitude that makes a great assistant. Yes… I do believe we should investigate the mansion itself, or perhaps we could investigate both our acquaintances here. What do you say?”
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