The Man From The Grave

By Satanik Basu

The Dark Spirit

Peter Woods was standing on his balcony with a glass of Brandy in his hand. It was half past twelve in the night. His servant Luke already went back home. He lives near Peter Woods’s house. Peter Woods was thinking about his three dead brothers. How brutal their death was. All of them were murdered by somebody but in different locations. He was about to go inside but suddenly something grabbed his attention. Someone was walking near the wall of the garden. But that is impossible. Because the entire compound is surrounded by high walls. So it is impossible to jump over and come inside. Peter Woods kept on watching. Yes, someone is walking by the wall. A man. Tall and wearing a hat and an overcoat. But the behaviour of that man seemed familiar to Peter Woods. He is very much familiar with the nature of walking of that man. So he looked carefully to see that man and right then his face became pale and his hands started shaking. He was breathing heavily. Even in this cold weather he was sweating. He knows this man. This is his brother John Woods who was found dead a year ago.

But how is this possible? Peter Woods buried his brother himself. Now his entire body started shaking. Peter Woods doesn’t believe in supernatural power or paranormal activity but whatever was happening, was happening in front of his eyes. Yes. Indeed that man was John Woods. It seems like he is back from the grave. That man came towards the balcony where Peter Woods was standing and stared directly towards him. For a second his vision became blurred and immediately he fell on the ground and became unconscious. Around five in the morning Peter Woods regained his consciousness. He had no idea for how long he was unconscious. But as he stood up, everything that happened last night came back to his mind again. Somehow he controlled himself, went to his bedroom and drank an entire bottle of Brandy.

Around eight in the morning his servant Luke came. Peter Woods explained everything to him. But Luke didn’t believe him. Because indeed it was very hard to believe that John Woods came back from the grave. Even Peter Woods realised that. But everything happened in front of his eyes. So he asked Luke to spend the night at his house which Luke accepted gladly.

Twelve o'clock in the night. Peter Woods and Luke were hiding behind a tree in the garden. After a few minutes Luke became a little restless.

“Nobody is coming, Sir. Please believe me. It was a nightmare. He died. We both saw his dead body. You buried him yourself. I was there at his funeral. It is impossible Sir. Please listen to me. Let’s go back inside. It's too cold to be out here in the middle of the night” Luke said.

“Just a few minutes Luke. He will come. I don’t care whether he comes as a spirit or in flesh, but he will come. So please wait” Peter Woods said.

Luke was about to say something but right then Peter Woods tapped Luke’s back and said—

“Look right there Luke. You believe me now?”

Luke couldn’t believe his eyes. Indeed it was John Woods. Both of Peter Woods and Luke stood up and ran towards the house in fear. As they were entering the house they heard the guffaw of John Woods. It sounded like a roar of a tiger.

“Do you believe me now?” asked Peter Woods.

“My God. It was him. But how is this possible? He was dead” Luke said.

“I don’t know Luke. I can’t think of anything. See Luke, two things are possible. Whether it is the spirit of my brother or he is not dead” Peter Woods said.

“Not dead? Do you have any idea what you have just said? If it wasn’t him then whose dead body have you buried?” Luke asked.

“I guess we both have to find that out” Peter Woods said.

Peter Woods was sitting in front of the fireplace on his favourite couch. It was twelve o'clock in the night. His servant Luke just brought a cup of hot coffee for his master.

“Are you really going to go, Sir?” Luke asked.

“Yes Luke. I have to” said Peter Woods.

“It is twelve o'clock in the night Sir. At least take me. It is not safe for you Sir. It is too late to go alone” Luke said in a requesting voice.

“It will be alright Luke. Nothing will happen to me. And as I told you so many times before that I can’t take you with me. It has to be me” Peter Woods said.

“Why is it so important for you to go to Regent's park in the middle of the night? You don’t even know whether it is a spirit or a man in flesh. He is haunting you wherever you go, even inside the house. Why are you risking your life?” Luke asked.

“It is important Luke. You won’t understand. Anyway I have to go. You don’t need to wait around. Go to your bed. And don’t worry. I will be alright” Peter Woods said and walked out through the main door of his house.

Luke waited until Peter Woods completely went out of his sight and then slowly he closed the door.

Peter Woods was dressed in black. He was walking to the Regent’s park. The distance between his house and Regent’s park is one kilometre. He was walking slowly. It took around 15-20 minutes for him to reach the Regent’s park. All the gates were closed. So he had to jump over a wall to get inside. Though he was sixty years old, jumping over a wall wasn’t that hard for him. Once he got inside the Regent’s park, he waited for a few minutes. It was twelve past thirty on the clock. Though it was the middle of the night, yet the entire park was quite visible due to bright moonlight. So Peter Woods didn't turn on the torch. He took a good look around the place and then started walking towards his left. After walking for five minutes he finally sat on a bench. He again checked the watch. It was twelve forty five on the clock. He was getting restless. After waiting for ten more minutes, as he was about to stand up and leave, a heavy voice came from behind.

“Leaving too soon?”

Peter Woods couldn’t turn around. He was sweating again in fear. That unknown voice was heard again—

“I asked you a question and I expect an answer. Please turn around Mr Woods.”

Peter Woods slowly turned around and took two steps backward in horror. He couldn’t believe his own eyes. He was breathing heavily. His eyes were popping out.

“Did you see a ghost Mr Woods?” A man came out from the dark. He was wearing black overcoat and a black hat. He had a knife in his right hand.

“How is this possible? You were dead. I saw your body” Peter Woods said in a horrifying voice. His entire body was shivering in fear.

“Yet you see I am still alive” said that unknown person.

“So it was a trap wasn’t it? To bring me out here alone in the middle of the night? This is how you killed Rob and Mac? They were your brothers. So am I. You are going to kill me just like them? Aren’t you” asked Peter Woods.

“May be not if you give me what I want” said that unknown person.

“You will never get it. Doesn’t matter how much you try. It is not here in, aahhh”, Peter Woods couldn’t end his words. A sharp knife entered inside his stomach. He fell on the ground. He was still alive and barely breathing. That unknown person sat down beside him on one knee and asked—

“Were you saying something little brother? Oh I am so sorry, I forgot that I just pierced a knife into your stomach. Listen Pete, I don’t need you to tell me where it is. I will find it myself. So you see I don’t need you alive anymore. Any last word?” asked that unknown person.

Even in this intolerable pain there was a smile on Peter Woods’s face.

“Why the hell are you smiling? You are about to die” said that unknown man.

“After you left us, our father left London and went somewhere else. There he married a woman. They had a child. You see, big brother I am not the only one remaining. There is one more. You are not going to get what you want. Because that child has the right to claim the same and I won’t tell you where our father went and the name of that child” Peter Woods said and then slowly fell in the lap of death.

“Pete, Pete” the unknown man screamed. But it was too late. Peter Woods was already dead.

“I will find that child at any cost and I will have what is rightfully mine” the unknown man said walked out of the Regent’s park leaving Peter Woods’s dead body under the shining moonlight.

A Brutal Murder

“Good morning Mr Bennett.”

“Ah, Willie. Good morning. You don’t forget a day do you?” I asked. Willie Brooke is my good neighbour. A young chap with a very good sense of humour.

“No Mr Bennett. I don’t” Willie said.

I was sitting on a chair in my garden and drinking coffee. This is how I spend my morning. And just like every other day Willie joined me.

“How is your detective friend?” Willie asked.

“He is alright” I said.

“You know Mr Bennett, I have been living here for the last one and a half years. But not for a second in my life I understood that Mr Wilfred Dankworth is a detective. In fact the entire Wiveliscombe had no idea about it. All we knew is that he is a musician” Willie said.

I smiled at him and was about to say something, right then Willie said—

“There she comes.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Evelyn Mr Bennett. Who else? The most beautiful lady in the world. Isn’t she the reason why you choose to stay in the garden at this exact time?” Willie asked.

Even though Willie was right, yet I felt a little embarrassed by his words. Because Evelyn would be at my daughter’s age if I would have married. That is why I was embarrassed. But that doesn’t take away the truth. Indeed Evelyn Foster is one of the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life.

“Good morning Willie. Good morning Mr Bennett.” I was thinking all those words until I heard Evelyn’s beautiful voice.

“Good morning Evelyn” both I and Willie said at the same time and then we looked at each other.

Evelyn smiled and said—

“How is Mr Dankworth Mr Bennett? Is he not around?”

“No Evelyn. He went to the river side. You know his habit of morning walk. He will come back exactly at 8.30 A.M.” I said.

“You look beautiful as usual” Willie said.

Evelyn smiled and left for the church. As soon as she left I said—

“What was that Willie?”

“What?” Willie asked.

“You just said that she is looking so beautiful” I said.

“Isn’t she? I think she is. And that was a complement” Willie said.

“I know Willie. But please remember she is about to be married to another man” I said.

“I know that Mr Bennett. Anyway, have a good day” Willie said and left in anguish. I came inside my room. Wilfred was not home yet. So I decided to take a nap. It was a Sunday morning.

I went to Wilfred’s house in the evening. We both were sitting in Wilfred’s drawing room. As usual Wilfred was playing his evergreen blues music on his guitar and I was reading a book while enjoying the sounds of strings. The case of Harold Carter and Julia Wilson is still fresh news in every newspaper of England. This case made a huge impact on the people of this country. The aftermath of the Second World War was just passing by and on top of that, the brutal murder of Harold Carter and Julia Wilson shook the entire country. People started doubting the person living next door. But on the positive side of it, my dear friend Mr Wilfred Dankworth, a musician and a private detective, grabbed the attention of the entire country towards him including the British government. Wilfred’s detection and deduction process were much appreciated and very soon he started working with the British government unofficially.

“You are still thinking about her aren’t you Richard?” Wilfred asked.

He was playing his guitar nonstop for the last five minutes. I looked at him. Though I was taken by surprise by his question but didn’t show any of it on my face.

“Still thinking about her means? Who are you talking about? I didn’t understand” I said with a solemn face as much as possible.

“You didn’t understand or didn’t try to understand?” Wilfred asked in his usual mockery voice.

“No I didn’t understand” I said.

“You were thinking about Evelyn. I told you Richard, she is much younger than you and very happy with her future husband” Wilfred said.

“Who told you I was thinking about Evelyn? In fact I wasn’t. I was thinking about the tragic death of Harold Carter and Julia Wilson” I said.

“Really? You were thinking about their tragic death while reading a romantic book?” Wilfred asked.

Only then I realized that indeed I am reading a romantic book which is rather unusual for me because I rarely show interest in reading romantic books and Wilfred knows this.

I looked at him with a smile and asked—

“How did you know it was Evelyn?”

“Very simple. Ever since we came back from London you started talking to her again. Every morning you come out of your house and wait in your garden just to talk to her. You know at what time she goes to the church don’t you? So you wait in your garden until she comes back. I have seen your face Richard. You become extremely happy whenever you see her. Please don’t write any romantic poem for her this time Richard” Wilfred said.

I smiled at Wilfred because that is the only thing I could have done. Well, to be honest, Wilfred was right. Evelyn Foster was slowly taking possession of my heart again. I said—

“But Wilfred, you know that I stopped thinking about her.”

“Of course you did, my dear Watson but that was a different time. Then, your grey matter was busy in thinking about the case of Harold Carter and Julia Wilson. So you didn’t have the time to think about her. But now, when you have nothing serious to think about, she came back into your heart. Again” Wilfred said.

“Yes she did. So what? I like to” I stopped.

“You like to what? Imagining that she is yours?” Wilfred laughed in his loudest voice.

“Can we talk about something else please?” I asked.

“Of course we can. But to do that, you need to stop thinking about her” Wilfred said and laughed again.

“You know Wilfred you will never understand this. Anyway, I am leaving. I have some work to do” I said and stood up from the couch.

“Don’t dream about her at night” Wilfred said.

I threw the book towards him and left the room.

The next morning I stood in my garden as usual to talk to Evelyn. I can understand Wilfred’s concern about my possessiveness about Evelyn but I like it this way. I tried to explain this to Wilfred so many times but he never understood. I spent the rest of the day like every other day. It was four o'clock in the afternoon when Wilfred shouted my name from his window.

“Richard. Richard” he shouted.

It was so loud that I had to answer immediately. I ran out of my house and came to the garden.

“What? Why are you shouting like this mate? What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Come to my home. I have to tell you something. Something very important. Come right now” Wilfred said.

So I went to his home in a hurry. I ran up the stairs instead of walking and went straight to his drawing room and asked—

“What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“Everything is perfect my dear Watson. What happened is that we have a visitor. A client. I thought you should know” Wilfred said very politely.

“Good morning Mr Cunningham. This is Richard. My friend and assistant. Just like Watson” Wilfred said and laughed at his own humour.

“I already know about both of you. In fact the entire country knows both of you. The way you solve Harold Carter and Julia Wilson’s murder is unbelievable Mr Dankworth” said Mr Cunningham.

“Thank you Mr Cunningham. Alright now tell me the reason why you are here” Wilfred said.

“Did you read this news?” Mr Cunningham handed Wilfred the newspaper and pointed towards a particular place.

I and Wilfred both took a look at the news.

“Brutal murder at the Regent’s park. Peter Woods, the youngest and the last descendant of the Royal Woods family was found dead in the middle of the Regent’s park. He was brutally murdered. According to Scotland Yard the incident happened around midnight.”

“Of course Mr Cunningham. We both read it” Wilfred said.

“Peter was my friend Mr Danlworth and someone murdered him brutally. I need to know why. I want you to investigate Peter’s murder. Though Scotland Yard is taking over the case, personally I want you to investigate. How much do you charge Mr Dankworth?” Mr Cunningham asked.

“Will talk about that later Mr Cunningham. But you tell me everything you know about the Woods family” Wilfred said.

Mr Cunningham started to say—

“My name is David Cunningham. I knew the Woods family from my childhood. Despite being one of the oldest and royal families of England, they never divided people by their caste. At least they didn’t do it with me. Peter was the youngest of four brothers. The eldest was Rob. Then John and Mac. Their father was one of the most respected person in the entire London, Mr Brandon Woods. His mother, Helen Woods was also a very kind hearted woman. All of the brothers were polite and kind hearted except John. John wasn’t like that at all. He was rough, rude and brutal in nature. There was an incident. It happened when I was 15 years old. So almost 40 years ago. It was Peter’s birthday. His father arranged a house party that night. All of Peter’s friends and their families were invited.

Everything was going perfectly alright until John created a chaotic situation in front of all the guests. He was misbehaving with one of the waitresses of the house. He got very drunk that night and couldn’t control himself. He was forcing the waitress to do something unacceptable. Peter saw that and immediately informed his father. John was heavily punished for that. But he took that punishment very seriously. A few days after the incident John left the house and never came back. His mother Helen Woods couldn’t tolerate this. So a few days after John’s departure she died of a heart attack. That period of time was very much tough for the Woods family. Brandon Woods slowly became addicted and one day he also left the house. Only Peter knew where he had gone. No one else.”

David Cunningham stopped for a minute. He was breathing heavily. I gave him a cup of coffee. He took one sip and then started again—

“Around a year ago I left London and went to Lancashire. A few days after I went there, I received a letter from Peter. The letter contained the demise of Rob Woods. He was murdered just like Peter. But not in London. Rob left England soon after his father left the house. He was living in Australia. Peter couldn’t bring back his dead body. So he was buried there. Then five months later two more deaths happened. John and Mac both were murdered in similar fashion.”

“John? Did he come back?” I asked surprisingly.

“Well, I didn’t know that. Peter never told me. All I know is that he came back to London a few days before he died. First Mac died and then John. I went to both of their funerals. After the murders of his three brothers, Peter was convinced that he is next and that is exactly what happened.”

“Were the deaths of Rob, John and Mac investigated?” Wilfred asked.

“Well, the police are still investigating. But nothing came out yet” said Mr Cunningham.

“Why do you think all of the brothers were murdered? And who can do that?” Wilfred asked.

“I have no idea Mr Dankworth. All I know is that there must be a reason why all four brothers were murdered. The Woods’s family’s end can’t be like this” said Mr Cunningham.

“Do you think one person murdered all of the four brothers?” Wilfred asked?

“Yes Mr Dankworth. Because all of their murder were similar in nature. I think one person did all of this. You have to find out who. I beg of you Mr Dankworth. You are the only person who can solve this mystery” Mr Cunningham said in a pleading voice.

“Did they have any enemies?” Wilfred asked.

“As far as I know there isn’t any” Mr Cunningham said.

“Alright Mr Cunningham, I am taking this case. I will find out whoever is behind this” Wilfred said.

The Woods’s Castle

I was looking at Wilfred. He seemed a little distracted. David Cunningham left a few minutes ago.

“What is bothering you?” I asked.

“Did anyone just take revenge? There is a huge possibility. Maybe these four brothers had done something to somebody in the past. Perhaps Mr Cunningham doesn’t know about it. Now that person just had his revenge. Because right now it seems like that. But there can be one more reason” Wilfred said.

“What?” I asked.

“May be they knew something. Something that person needed to know. They didn’t tell him. So in anguish he killed all of them” Wilfred said.

“But tell me one thing, Wilfred. In case it is not the same person, then how will you find who killed Rob Woods? Because he was murdered in Australia” I asked.

“It is the work of one man, Richard. He found them out and then murdered them one by one. We have to go to London. If you want to solve a mystery Richard, start from the root. And in this case the root is Woods’s family. We have to start from the royal house. Let me contact Raymond. If Scotland Yard is investigating, then it must be Raymond. Let me send a telegram to him” Wilfred said.

“So speak of the devil and the devil arrives?” Raymond asked.

We were sitting at Raymond’s apartment.

“Did someone make contact with you Wilfred? Because I don’t think you came all the way to London just by reading the newspaper. So who contacted you?” Raymond asked.

Wilfred described everything to Raymond. Raymond said—

“We spoke to David Cunningham. He told you exactly what he told me. In fact he also lodged a complaint against an officer who was in charge of this case before me. That officer wasn’t taking this case seriously. So he was replaced by me. Anyway, how will you start?” Raymond asked.

“We have to go to the Woods’s house. I believe everything is there. All we have to do is to find it” Wilfred said.

“Alright. Let’s go then” Raymond said.

Peter Woods’s house wasn’t far from Raymond’s apartment. It took twenty minutes by car. Well to be honest it wasn’t a house exactly. It was like a fortress. The entire area is gigantic. I have never seen any house like this in my entire life. I was mesmerized just by the beauty of the house. The house is a little away from the city area. Perhaps to avoid any chaos which I thought was a brilliant idea. The entire area is surrounded by a ten feet wall. Two police constables were standing at the front gate. They opened the gate as soon as they saw Raymond.

“Goodness gracious me” Wilfred said.

“Yes Wilfred I said the same word when I came here for the first time” Raymond said with a little smile on his face.

The two sides of the house were covered with trees and beautiful flowers which were looking brighter in the morning sunlight. We stood there for a few minutes just to enjoy the environment and to consume the fresh air of nature. Then we went inside the house.

“Alright Raymond enough to consume the beauty. Let’s get to work. You check the ground floor. I and Richard are checking the first. Don’t overlook anything” Wilfred said.

We climbed up the stairs. The first floor consisted of four rooms. Each of the rooms had a nameplate at the main door which is rather unusual. Because you don’t get to see this very often. Two of the rooms were bedrooms of Peter Woods’s and John Woods’s. The third one was Peter Woods’s study room and the fourth one was the guest room. First we checked Peter Woods’s bedroom. His room was perfectly neat and clean.

“What exactly are you looking for here?” I asked.

“Motive. Nobody would kill all of the four brothers without any reason. Like I said Richard, that person was looking for something” Wilfred said.

We searched the entire bedroom but we got nothing. So we went to check Peter Woods’s study room. The study room was full of books. Different types of books. Wilfred was standing in front of a book shelf. Then he turned his face towards me asked—

“Can you tell me anything unusual looking at these bookshelves?”

“What unusual?” I asked.

“Take a look at yourself” Wilfred said.

So I carefully looked at all of the book slaves but I didn’t find anything unusual in particular. So I said—

“No mate. I didn’t find anything unusual.”

“Ahh Richard. You really disappointed me. You were a soldier, though a long time ago. But still a little bit of your observation power is still left I guess” Wilfred said in a mockery voice as usual.

I got a little angry. I said—

“Why don’t you tell me yourself? Because you have clearly seen that I spent at least ten minutes in searching for these book selves while you were enjoying my helplessness sitting on the couch. Come on mate. Please focus on the work.”

“Why are you getting angry? I was having a bit of fun” Wilfred laughed and said.

“Making fun of my army life? How many times have I told you that I do not make fun of my past? I served my country with dignity Wilfred and you know that. So I expect an apology” I said in anguish.

“Alright mate. I am sorry. Anyway, what I was trying to tell you is that this room was searched before by someone” Wilfred said.

“What? How can you say that?” I was taken by surprise. Because the entire room was perfectly neat and clean.

“It has been a week since the death of Peter Woods. He was the only person living in this entire house. See the date of the table calendar. The date hadn’t been changed for the last seven days. Now look at the books, the table and the chair. For the last seven days nobody lived in this house right? So how on earth is it possible that when nobody lives in the house, the rooms are so neat and clean? It should be full of dirt. Isn’t that right mate?” Wilfred asked.

“My God. So the murderer came here and searched the entire house?” I asked.

“Yes my dear Watson. Because I saw footprints on the stairs. I don’t know whether you have noticed it or not, all the stairs were covered in dirt. Though the footprints were not clearly visible, I saw them anyway. And not only that. There is one more thing” Wilfred said.

“What?” I asked.

“The reason why I asked you to look at the books. You did look at them but not properly. Now let me explain. If you see carefully you will find out that all the books are kept in a particular order. Each book self contains same type of books. Look at this one” Wilfred pointed towards a book self.

“This self contains only books about politics and nothing else. The next one contains books about history. Now take a closer look at this self” Wilfred pointed out towards that book self where all of the history books are kept.

“If you look carefully you will find out that among all the history books, one book is about biology. Now it shouldn’t be here. It should be on the next book self with all of the other biology books. Now if you take a look at that bookshelf where all the biology books are kept, you will find one history book there. Does that seem normal to you?” Wilfred asked.

“Certainly not” I said.

“Right. This means the murderer searched all the books but in hurry he misplaced them. Forgot to keep them in the right place” Wilfred said.

“Goodness gracious me. But how did he get in? Because the front gate is guarded by the police and the wall is ten feet tall. I am not saying it is impossible to beat the height but he really has to be fit enough to climb this height and then get on the other side” I said.

“I don’t think it is impossible for someone to climb a ten feet tall wall who can go to Australia and murder one brother and then come back and murder the rest of the other brothers. Nothing is impossible to them Richard” Wilfred said.

“Alright. Let’s search the room” I said.

We searched Peter Woods’s study room thoroughly. I was searching all the wardrobes and Wilfred was searching all the books and some other papers.

“My God. Richard look” Wilfred said.

“What?” I almost ran to Wilfred.

He handed me a diary. Something was written there which I didn’t understand at all.

“Liam gin mersoset. Lim rried gaian. Ehr amne si ifernej. Lwe aveh ughdater. Lyou atsy afes etep.”

“What is the meaning of this?” I asked.

There was a slight stroke of smile on Wilfred’s face.

“Why are you smiling? My God, have you already found out the meaning?” I asked.

“Yes my dear Watson. Although it doesn’t follow a particular pattern but wasn’t hard enough. Anyway, let’s go to John’s room. I got what I needed” Wilfred said.

We went to John Woods’s room. And as soon as we entered in his room, Wilfred went towards a photo which was hanging by the wall and stood in front of it with a strange expression.

“It is John Woods’s photo isn’t it?” Wilfred asked.

“Well it has to be. Because it was his bedroom. But why?” I asked.

“He looks familiar to me” Wilfred said.

“What? Familiar? But how is it possible? Have you ever seen him before?” I asked.

“Of course not. But I don’t know why his face” Wilfred didn’t end his words. He certainly stopped and then closed both of his eyes.

I wanted to ask him what happened but I didn’t. Because I know that these are the moments when he prefers not to speak with anyone. So I kept quiet. A few minutes later he opened his eyes and they were brighter than ever. That means he found light in the darkness.

“What is it?” I asked.

“My God Richard. I will explain everything to you. But not now. Let’s go” Wilfred said and went out of the room.

“Let’s go? Won’t you search the room?” I asked.

“That’s not needed anymore” Wilfred said.

We both came down to the ground floor. Raymond was standing with a disappointing face. He looked at Wilfred and said—

“I got nothing mate. Have you?”

“Yes I have” Wilfred said and showed that scribble words to Raymond.

“What in the earth is this? It looks like some kind of coded words” Raymond said.

“Well done Lestrade” Wilfred laughed and said.

“Again Wilfred? I told you don’t call me Lestrade. I am way better than him. Anyway, did you understand it?” Raymond asked.

“Yes I did. I will explain. But not now. Listen Raymond. I and Richard will go back to Wiveliscombe. Our work is done here. I got what I needed. Now listen to me very carefully. If my doubt is correct, then we don’t have much time. Someone’s life is in danger” Wilfred said.

“Who’s” both I and Raymond asked.

“I told you not now. Anyway, I will sent you a telegram Raymond. You know what to do after that right?” Wilfred asked.

“Absolutely Holmes” Raymond said.

“For the love of God please don’t call me Sherlock Holmes. I am nothing in front of him. Anyway let’s go” Wilfred said.

We came out of the house and went through the garden towards the main road. We were about to get on Raymond’s car, Certainly Wilfred stopped. He was watching towards an old woman who was also watching Wilfred with a strange look. There were questions in her eyes.

“You go on Raymond. We will find a taxi. Wait for my telegram” Wilfred said and went towards the woman.

Raymond left with his constables.

“Good morning” Wilfred said.

“A very good morning Mr Dankworth” that old lady said.

“Ah. You know me” Wilfred was surprised.

“The entire country know you my son. Especially after you solved the case of Harold Carter and Julia Wilson. By any chance are you investigating Peter Woods’s murder?” that old lady asked.

“Yes madam” Wilfred said.

“Have you ever caught any ghost before Mr Dankworth?” that old lady asked.

“Ghost?” We both asked surprisingly.

“Yes. Because I know who killed Peter Woods” said that old lady.

I and Wilfred both looked at each other.

“Who?” Wilfred asked.

“John Woods” that old lady said.

“What? Are you making fun with us? John Woods died a year ago and Peter Woods himself buried him” I said.

“Yes I know. But he came back from the grave. I saw him in this house a few days ago. He was coming out of the house. I saw his face” that old lay said.

Wilfred looked at her for a while and asked—

“You saw John Woods coming out of the house. Alright. So according to you John Woods’s ghost killed Peter Woods?” Wilfred asked.

“Yes. And not only him. His ghost killed rest of his three brothers” that old lady said.

“Don’t listen to him. She is mocking with us” I said.

“Just a minute Richard. Are you the only one who saw John Woods or someone else did?” Wilfred asked.

“A few did. Including Peter Woods’s servant” that old lady said.

“A servant? We didn’t hear about him. Neither Mr Cunningham nor Raymond told us about him. Anyway, where can we find him?” Wilfred asked.

“He lives nearby. Five minutes’ walk from here” said that old lady.

“Alright. Can you show us the house?” Wilfred asked.

“Of course I can. Follow me” that old lady said and started walking opposite of the house. We started following her.

After few minutes she pointed towards a house and said—

“Luke lives here. Ask him. He will tell you everything” that old lady said.

“Thank you very much for your help. Have a good day” Wilfred said and went towards the house.

We knocked on the door. A young man opened the door asked—

“May I help you gentlemen?”

“Are you Luke?” Wilfred asked.

“Yes Sir. And you are?” he asked.

“We are investigating Peter Woods’s murder. Can we come inside? We have a lot to discuss” Wilfred said.

Though Luke was a bit hesitant, but still invited us inside. Wilfred sat on a chair and asked—

“Luke, according to few people Peter Woods was murdered by his brother John Woods’s ghost. Some of them said Peter Woods himself saw his brother’s ghost. Is it true?”

“Yes Sir. It is true. At first I didn’t believe him. But once both of us were waiting at the garden in the middle of the night. These both of us saw John Woods. And after that a couple of time I saw him going into his house at midnight” Luke said.

“Did you see his face?” Wilfred asked.

“Yes Sir I did. He always carry a torch with him. I saw his face because of that torch” Luke said.

“Can you tell me why his ghost was hunting all of the remaining brothers?” Wilfred asked.

“I don’t know that Sir” Luke said.

“Thank you for your help Luke. And by the way, if you remember anything please contact Raymond Right. He is the officer in charge of this case. Have a good day” Wilfred said and we came of the house.

“What the hell is going on? Are you believing in this funny ghost story?” I asked.

“Yes my dear Watson. Indeed that is John Woods” Wilfred said.

“So now you are going to catch a ghost? Really Wilfred?” I asked.

“Let’s go home first. Then I will explain everything to you including how we will catch the ghost. Alright?” Wilfred said and we hired a taxi and went towards the rail station.

The Last Descendant

It was seven on the clock in the evening. Wilfred was lying on his couch. I was reading a book about music but my mind was consumed by John Woods’s ghost and those code words. Finally I broke the silence—

“Will you kindly tell me the meaning of those code words” I said.

“Of course mate. Why not? Take a look” Wilfred said and handed me that piece of paper.

Then he said—

“I told you earlier that it doesn’t follow any particular pattern but it was easy to break. Read those words again.”

“Liam gin mersoset. Lim rried gaian. Ehr amne si ifernej. Lwe aveh ughdater. Lyou atsy afes etep” I read them loudly.

“Now do as I tell you. Let’s take the first line. ‘Liam gin mersoset.’ Now you know that it doesn’t mean anything. Now Liam is a name but in this case it is not. Remove the letter ‘L’. So the remaining word is ‘iam’ which is ‘I am’. Do you get it?” Wilfred asked.

“My God. And the rest?” I asked.

“‘gin mersoset’ is remove ‘g’ and you get ‘in’. ‘mersoset’ is nothing but ‘Somerset’. The alphabets were mixed with each other. So the entire line becomes ‘I am in Somerset’.” Wilfred said.

“Goodness gracious me Wilfred. You are a genius” I said.

“So the meaning of the entire piece is—

‘Liam gin mersoset. Lim rried gaian. Ehr amne si ifernej. Lwe aveh ughdater. Lyou atsy afes etep’

‘I am in Somerset. I married again. Her name is Jenifer. We have a daughter. You stay safe Pete.’

‘Lim rried’ is ‘I married’. Again remove the ‘L’ add ‘m’ with the next word. If you keep on going like this, you will understand the entire meaning” Wilfred said.

“So this letter was written by their father, Mr Brandon Woods?” I asked.

“Yes. Most probably after leaving his house” Wilfred said.

“He came here in Somerset. And he married again and they had a daughter. How old will she be now? If she is still alive” I asked.

“This letter was written a long time ago. Perhaps she will be in between twenty five and thirty and she is alive for sure” Wilfred said.

“So her life is in danger? You were talking about her earlier weren’t you?” I asked.

“Yes Richard. And most probably she is in Somerset. We have to find her before John Woods does” Wilfred said.

“But why will John Woods try to kill her?” I asked.

“As far as I have understood by connecting all of these incidents, John Woods is looking for something. Something very much important to him. And he wants to relish that alone. He doesn’t want to share that with anyone else. I believe that thing which he wants so badly belongs to his father. That’s why he killed his three brothers and now if he knows about the girl child, he will kill her too. Because she is the only one remaining who can claim what John Woods wants. This is the only explanation I have right now” Wilfred said.

I took a deep breath and said—

“It is enough. This is exactly what is happening. But how will you find her?”

“Well, I think I have a clue but it is just my imagination. I can’t prove it now, I need some time. If my doubt is true. I will find her easily. Anyway, let me play some music” Wilfred said and started playing his bluesy music as usual.

I woke up a little early next morning and was pretty much surprised to see Willie talking to Wilfred. Once Willie left I went outside.

“It is very strange to see that Willie was talking to you” I said.

“Yes it is. But if we are living in the same place we better get to know each other. Anyway, come to my home. We have a lot to discuss” Wilfred said went towards his house.

I went inside. Freshen up and went to Wilfred’s house.

“Yes Wilfred?” I asked.

“I found that girl” Wilfred said.

“What? When?” I asked. It was a bolt from the blue.

“Last night. Once you left, I waited for you to sleep and then did some investigation on my own” Wilfred said.

“Without even telling me? I could have gone with you” I said.

“Yes you could have but you were tired. Remember? So I didn’t want to bother you. Anyway, listen. I just sent a telegram to Raymond. He is coming as early as possible. Take a good nap this afternoon. Because we have to stay awake tonight” Wilfred said.

“For what?” I asked.

“To catch John Woods’s ghost” Wilfred said.

“Again? Ghost? That thing doesn’t exist, Wilfred. Maybe it is John Woods. He didn’t die. Maybe that was someone else. And now he is taking revenge on his brothers. But how will you catch him?” I asked.

“He will come. He has to” Wilfred said.

“Alright. Who is the girl?” I asked.

“Tonight. Not now” Wilfred said.

I spent the rest of the day lying on Wilfred’s couch. As night was approaching, I was getting restless. Because I had no idea what was about to happen. Around eight o'clock in the evening Raymond came with four constables.

“They are waiting exactly where you told them to wait” Raymond said.

“Right. Well we have to wait for three more hours. We will leave at eleven o clock” Wilfred said.

Ten past eleven on the clock. Me, Wilfred and Raymond came out of our house very quietly and started walking towards the river side.

“At least tell me where we are going” I said.

“You see soon enough. Just wait for a while” Wilfred said.

Within twenty minutes we reached in front of a house.

“Please tell me what’s going on Wilfred” I said.

“Quiet. Not now” Wilfred said.

We didn’t have to wait long. It was ten past twelve on the clock. I almost fell asleep but woke up because of Wilfred.

“What is it?” I asked.

Raymond pointed his finger towards the road. My entire body shook as soon as I saw where Raymond was pointing. A man, around six feet tall, wearing a black overcoat, and a black hat was slowly approaching the house.

“Is that?” I asked.

“John Woods. Not the ghost but in the flesh.” Wilfred said.

“So what are you waiting for Wilfred? Catch him” I said.

“Not now. Let him get inside the house. We will go after him” Wilfred said.

John Woods waited for a few seconds and then went inside the house. We also waited for a few minutes and then we too entered the house following him. First we reached the drawing room. Although it was dark inside, still we could see John Woods pretty clearly. He took out a knife from his pocket and went towards the bedroom. He slowly opened the door. A girl was sleeping on the bed. She had no idea that a man was standing beside her bed with a knife in his hand. I grabbed Wilfred’s hand.

“Do something mate” I whispered into Wilfred’s ear.

As John Woods was about to stab the girl, Raymond turned on the lights. He was taken by surprise but soon realised that he fell into a trap. He tried to throw the knife towards Raymond but he couldn’t. Before he could have thrown the knife, Wilfred jumped on him and punched him right on his face. He was knocked out. The girl woke up because of this chaos and was absolutely stunned watching all of us inside her bedroom. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The girl was Evelyn. Brandon Woods’s daughter.

“What is going on? Mr Dankworth? Mr Bennett? And who is this man?” Evelyn asked.

“I will explain everything Evelyn. Just wait. Get him up Raymond and bring him to the drawing room” Wilfred said.

A Murderer in Flesh Not in Spirit

We all went to the drawing room.

“You look exactly like your father in this makeup. But you forgot one thing. Even without makeup there is a huge similarity between you and your father Mr Roger Woods also known as our good neighbour Mr Willie Brooke” Wilfred said.

I just felt an out of body experience.

“Willie Brooke? Our Willie” I asked.

“Yes my dear Richard. Our Willie. He is the only son of John Woods. Raymond kindly pulled out his false beard and his moustache” Wilfred said.

Raymond pulled out his makeup and I closed my eyes in sadness and disappointment. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This is the man with whom I spent almost every morning in my garden talking with each other. And now he is a cold blooded murderer.

We all gathered in Evelyn’s drawing room. We mean me, Wilfred, Raymond, Evelyn and Willie with three constables. Wilfred was waiting for someone.

“Are you waiting for someone?” I asked.

“Yes David Cunningham. He needs to be here. Because he is the one who brought the case to me” Wilfred said.

David Cunningham arrived ten minutes later and then Wilfred started to unfold the mystery—

“To understand whatever has happened, we have to go way back in history. This started a long time ago inside the Woods’s family. The Woods family was one of the oldest royal families in England. The head of the family was Late Brandon Woods and her wife Helen Woods. They had four sons. Rob Woods, the eldest one, Mac Woods, John Woods and Peter Woods, the youngest one. All the brothers were very much polite except John Woods. He was rough and rude. There was an incident which took place at the birthday of Peter Woods. The entire family was celebrating when John Woods misbehaved with a waitress of the house. As a result he was punished badly by his father. But he took the punishment very seriously and in angriness he left the house and never came back. Her mother couldn’t tolerate this incident. So a few days after her son’s departure she died. And a few years later their heart broken father left the house but he never told anyone where he had gone.

A few years later Brandon Woods sent a coded letter to his son Peter Woods telling him about his whereabouts. After that all the murder began. Rob Woods died first. He was in Australia at the time of his death. He was living there for his occupation purpose. He was murdered brutally. The Australian police did investigate but couldn’t catch the killer. Right after Rob Woods’s demise, Mac Woods was murdered in the same fashion. Exactly one year later John Woods was found dead in London. He was murdered just like his elder brother. But for some reason he came back to London. No one knew why. Not even Peter Woods. And then two days ago Peter Woods was brutally murdered at the Regent’s park. This man, Mr David Cunningham brought this case to me. He was a friend of Peter Woods. According to him someone killed all of the four brothers for a purpose. He also believed that it is a work of one man.

So I started my investigation. Yesterday I went to London. I always believed that if you want to find something, then start from the root. And in this case the root was the Woods’s castle. While searching Peter Woods’s study room, I came across that coded letter. It said—

‘Liam gin mersoset. Lim rried gaian. Ehr amne si ifernej. Lwe aveh ughdater. Lyou atsy afes etep’

And the meaning of this coded letter is—

‘I am in Somerset. I married again. Her name is Jenifer. We have a daughter. You stay safe Pete.’

That means after leaving Woods’s castle Brandon Woods came to Somerset and married a woman named Jenifer. They had a girl child. Now, I didn’t know that girl child is Evelyn until last night. I will explain how. Now, after understanding the meaning of this letter I went to search John Woods’s bed room. And as soon as I entered, one particular thing grabbed my attention. It was a photo of John Woods hanging from the wall. He looked familiar to me. It seemed I saw him before or someone looked like him. But right after that I realised why his face looked familiar to me. Let me show you. Please bring the photo, Mr Cunningham.”

David Cunningham took out the photo of John Woods from the bag. Then Wilfred covered the entire face of John Woods except his eyes and his forehead and then said—

“Now see the similarity yourself.”

We were stunned. The eyes and the forehead of Roger Woods look exactly like John Woods.

Wilfred said—

“Right then and there I understood who killed all of the four brothers. And if he is in Somerset Wiveliscombe, then that girl also has to be here.”

“But why did he disguise himself?” I asked.

“To stay hidden in the dark. Roger knew about the past of his father. That his father was a very rough and rude person. And he left the house at a very young age in anguish. So he decided to use that as a weapon. Instead of confronting his uncles with his own appearance, he decided to come in the disguise of his father. Because he knew everybody will believe that John Woods is taking revenge because of the past incident. First he killed Rob and Mac. Then I believe he killed his father too. Isn’t that right Willie? Oh sorry mate. I should call you Roger. You killed your father didn’t you?” Wilfred asked.

Willie couldn’t speak a word. His hands were shaking.

“Alright. Let me tell them. Yes Roger. You killed your father. Because just like all of his three brothers, he denied to tell you what you badly needed. That’s why you killed all of them. But then somehow you got to know that your grandfather was married again and they had a daughter. So you started to search and finally came to the right place. Now will you kindly bother to tell us why you killed your father and your uncles?” Wilfred asked.

“No? You won’t? Alright mate. Allow me. I did some digging about Woods' family and I came across a news. Woods’s family was one the oldest, most respected and loved family in the entire country. Despite their royal status, they always maintained a very good relation with the people from the very beginning. This generous behaviour won the heart of the king of England at that time. As a result the king of England presented a big amount of his treasure to Brandon Woods’s grandfather Tyrion Woods. But Tyrion thought that if this treasure falls into wrong hands that will be catastrophic. So he decided to hide it. Only Brandon Woods, his son, knew about this treasure. And before leaving the house, he told his youngest son about the treasure.

Now this type of news doesn’t stay hidden for a long time. I believe somehow Roger came across this news and asked his father about this. Whether his father simply denied its existence or simply said I know nothing about this. But this didn’t impress Roger Woods. And in anguish he killed his father and three uncles. Isn’t that right Mr Woods?” Wilfred asked.

Roger Woods slowly nodded his head.

“Now tell everybody how did you find Evelyn and how did you get to know about her? Come on speak up” Wilfred said those last words loudly.

“Uncle Peter told me that my grandfather was married again and they had a daughter. But he didn’t tell me where my grandfather went. But it wasn’t hard to speculate where he could have gone. The Woods’s castle was built a little outside of the city. That means he was a peaceful man. So wherever he had gone, that place had to be quiet. So I started searching in countryside and about a year ago I saw Evelyn here. Her eyes are exactly like my father’s. Right then I realised that she is the daughter of Brandon Woods. But I couldn’t kill her. Because I had to know where the treasure was. She was the only one who could have led me to the treasure. So I made friendship with her. And despite the similarity, she never realised that I am her father’s grandson” Roger said.

“But you still don’t know where the treasure is right?” Wilfred asked.

“Yes” Roger replied.

“Then why did you try to kill Evelyn?” I asked.

“Because I was afraid. Mr Dankworth already started the investigation. I thought his instinct could have led him to me. So I wanted to clear my path” Roger said.

“So you wanted to clear your path. How wonderful. But did you clear your path Roger? I don’t think so. Your delinquency just set a new path for you. A path to jail. Take him away Raymond” Wilfred said.

It was early morning. Me, Wilfred and Evelyn were standing at Evelyn’s garden. She asked—

“Now please tell me how you knew I am Brandon Woods’s daughter.”

In reply Wilfred handed her a photo.

“How did you get this?” Evelyn asked.

“I am so sorry Evelyn. I broke into your house last night when you weren’t home. That’s when I found it” Wilfred said.

“But how did you guess that I could be that girl?” she asked.

“In the same way Roger understood. Your eyes. They are just like your father’s. I wasn’t sure until I saw the photo” Wilfred said.

“Can I see it?” I asked.

“Oh. Absolutely” Evelyn said.

It was a photo of Evelyn standing with Brandon Woods and her mother Jenifer Woods.

“I guess Evelyn is not your real name. Is it?” Wilfred asked.

“No Sir. It is Charlotte. Charlotte Woods” Evelyn said.

“Let’s go for a walk. I need some fresh air. Let’s go to the river side” Wilfred said.

“Yes, that will be a very good idea” Evelyn aka Charlotte Woods said.

By Satanik Basu