Part 1- The Story.
"I met Annie Airdon two years ago, right here in London. You see, she's a clever lovely woman, and we soon fell in love. I was happy with her as she was with me, and so three weeks ago I proposed to her. As I was hoping, she said yes. We agreed the wedding shall take place in June.
"A week ago she received a letter. It was horrible. She turned paler than I ever thought was possible. When I asked her what happened, all she said was, 'I need to return home'.
"'You can go back,' I said to her, 'but surely it is not as bad as it seems.'
"She shook her head. 'It is much worse than it seems,' she replied. 'I have to return today. I shall return in a week,' she added quietly. And then, in a low voice she did not expect me to hear, she said, 'I hope.'
"This was the last time I saw her alive. She took the train back home that night, taking a small suitcase with her. She seemed nervous, and I couldn't help but wonder what has happened. But as much as I wanted to have her followed, I thought I should not do so. You see, Mr Holmes, Annie and I trust each other completely. And so she left and I remained alone.
"When I woke up this morning there was a messenger by the door. He had a telegram in his hand. Here, Mr Holmes, this is it."
The Minister handed Holmes a small piece of paper. He looked at it for a moment, using all of his skills to get as much information as he can from it, before handing it over to me. The paper read:
We cannot find Annie. Come quickly.
-David Airdon.
I returned it to my friend and turned to the Minister curiously. I assumed David was Annie's brother or other relative, but could not be sure of that. Holmes, however, seemed to have realized who he is.
"What is he doing in her house?" He asked the man in front of us, who looked at him with a remarkable amount of surprise and question. "The cousin, David," Holmes replied to his questioning look impatiently, "Why is he there?"
"He is... He is helping her family while she is away," He replied, still looking surprised. "How did you know he is not part of their household?" He asked.
To every other human being Holmes may have looked incredibly patient, but I could see he was impatient. He wanted to move on with his new investigation, something he could not do if he had to stop and explain himself every moment.
"Their last names are identical, and since she is not yet married, they are clearly relatives. However, he had to add his second name in order for you to recognize it, which means you haven't met him more than a couple of times. If he was a regular part of her household, you would have already known him by now." He explained quickly, in an impatient tone. "Who is part of her household?" He asked.
It took the Minister a few minutes before he replied, and I used the time to study him the way I know Holmes has already done. He was dressed in official black suit which was tide and clean. His watch was expensive, and the way he acted was the one of a high society member. I could tell he walked by some mud on his newly-looking shoes, but other than that, I could tell nothing. Holmes' smile, however, told me he knew exactly what I was doing.
Then our client spoke again. "In her home live four people- her father, her mother, her sister and a maid. Her father works in a big company in the city, while her mother is taking care of the children and part of the household. The maid is a thirty-year-old woman who has been living with them for the past eight years. They trust her completely, and so far nothing has changed their minds about her. They live in one of the suburbs around London. This is all I know about it."
Holmes sat silently for a moment, thinking and organizing the facts the Minister has told him. Both I and the Minister looked at him expectedly. Knowing him and seeing the suppressed excitement in his eyes, I knew he has already found a few clues, and has a theory. But as to what theory, I could not tell.
Eventually he spoke, in a quiet, relaxed tone. "What happened this morning?"
I could see the morning events still affected our client. "As soon as I heard the news I hurried to the train station. I took the first train I found and as soon as I got to the station near their house I took a light wagon to the place itself. By the time I arrived there they had already found her body. She was dead. As I said, there were strange marks on her body, which none of us could identify."
"I see." Holmes looked at the air thoughtfully, and I knew he was going over the facts he has found out. Looking at him with uncovered excitement, I thought, too. Unlike my friend, I had no clue as to what happened. Suddenly he looked up at the Minister, surprising both of us. "You mentioned a ghost."
He nodded. "Yes, Mr Holmes. We went up to her room, and we saw a ghost, about Annie's height. It was looking at us, I could swear it was. But when I tried entering the room, it touched me. And that-"
"-Left the burning mark on your right hand," Holmes completed. The Minister looked at him in surprise again, but the detective didn't say anything. Instead, he handed him his notebook with a pen. "Write down the addresses of your house and her family's address," He ordered. The other man quickly did as he said, handing him the notebook back. Holmes read the addresses quickly before grabbing his grey raincoat. "Come, Watson. We have a case to look into."