Stunned for words
'Mysteries Solved'
WHAT happened?
Old aristocrat Agnes McAvery was found still in her bed literally stunned in shock.
She was reported to have shrieked at 11 pm (so late at night).
The cause of her shriek and her petrification were probably linked, likely triggered by a horrifying scare.
Using the vocabulary from my notes, the clues to what happened can be 'defined'.
WHO was there?
Agnes shares no regular company in her huge mansion apart from her maid, her butler, and her cat.
They were all creeping around the house making noises that night. Any of them could have accidentally scared Agnes while she lay in bed. But into stunned stiffness? Seems extreme.
Furthermore, the maid and butler were only creeping around because they heard noises that night. It is likely the noises they heard were from the cat chasing a mouse in the attic, as it often did.
So WHY the shock?
We know from the vocabulary notes and relating them to the testimonies of the suspects and the investigations carried out by myself, that Agnes was VERY SCARED of ghosts.
What's more, we know the moon was PARTICULARLY BRIGHT that night.
We know that there were noises (SUBTLE and otherwise) being made that night. A NERVOUS maid, an ARMED butler, and a LOUD cat. Any of which could have stirred and awoken Agnes from her sleep.
And we know that on the DOOR of Agnes's bedroom, that faced her directly, hung a white dressing gown. With a bright moon that night shining on the dressing gown through the window it could have easily been mistaken by Agnes for a ghost, as she woke dazed from her dreams. Her mind in this state, and the gown looking like her worst fear, would have caused her to believe what she saw and give that HIGH SCREAM that sent her into a stunned state and alerted everyone.
So the culprit was not the butler, the maid, nor the cat. They all played a part in waking Agnes up by accident but it was the ghostly white dressing gown that sent poor Agnes into shock.
Now all we need is some sort of starch removal to get her non-stiffened…
(Note: I am a detective, not a doctor).