The two young women who had discovered Lily's body were now sitting in the
Senior Common Room with cups of tea to calm them with. One of them stood
up when we entered the room, while the other just sat there staring off
into space.
"Miss Small," the young woman said, "is there any news about Lily?"
"I'm sorry, there isn't," Miss Small replied, then she motioned at me. "This is Mary Russell, she was Miss Woodhouse's tutor and she's curious to know what happened when you found the -er- body of your friend. Miss Russell, this is Harriet Vane, she's studying English at another college."
Harriet Vane was not what many would call a beautiful woman. She had black hair and dark eyes that were extremely intelligent. She was not very tall or thin, but she had a perfect figure for the twenties and she couldn't have been much younger than I was, maybe two or three years. Harriet looked at me with her brow furrowed.
"I have heard something of you, Miss Russell, or am I wrong to say that you know Mr. Sherlock Holmes quite well?"
I'll have to watch this one, I thought, she's very sharp-witted.
"Yes, I know him very well, Miss Vane, but what has that to do with Lily's death?"
"You will probably investigate into it, Miss Russell, won't you?"
"I do not know yet if there was a crime even committed. What interests you so much about my investigating into Lily's death, anyway? You're not guilty of any crimes, are you, Miss Vane?"
To my surprise, she laughed. "I was simply checking, Miss Russell, Lily was one of my best friends and the same goes for Evie here," she said, pointing at the young woman still staring at nothing in particular. "As you can see, she's badly shaken by all of this. The only reason that I'm still standing is that I read a lot of mystery novels and it doesn't really bother me as much."
"Harriet," Miss Small said before I could answer, "I think that Miss Russell would like to hear what you saw when you first entered Miss Woodhouse's room this morning. I know that you and Evelyn want to get back to class."
"Well, you see," Harriet began," we had planned to go to lunch together then attend a lecture at Magdalen. Evie and I came here to get her, but when we knocked on her door, there was no answer. We called for the scout, who said that Lily had not left her room since she entered it last night. She then left to get a don and with a key that she had given us to open the door, we entered to see..." She stopped for a moment, lost in the memory of seeing her friend's purple face and dead eyes staring at them as the two entered. When she recovered, she continued her narrative. "Evie fainted at the precisely the same moment that the scout returned with the don in tow. It took some time to sort everything out, then the police came and we were taken here to wait and to calm down. Evie has only come out of her faint when you entered."
"Did you see anything that seemed out of place?" I inquired when she was finished her story. "Did her belongings seem to be rifled through?"
"No. Wait! There was something, Miss Russell. It seemed to me as if her desk was more messy than it usually was. Lily was a very organized person and I always remember seeing her desk being neat and orderly, unlike my own. But this morning, her papers were strewn all over the desktop in no particular order," Harriet replied.
Evelyn Carsonworth, known to many as Evie, looked up from the sofa where she had sat quietly the whole time. "There was one more thing that did not seem right. Did you notice it, Harriet?"
"No, I don't," said Harriet, "What was it, Evie?"
"Near -er- Lily, I found this." From her pocket, she took a plain gold ring. "I probably should have left it there, but someone else would have taken it and then we would not have much evidence. I don't know about detecting as well as Harriet does, but I know that this is important."
She handed it to me and I looked closely at it. I could see by the size of it that it was a woman's ring and inside of it there was the inscription, 'To L from R'. Otherwise, the ring was very much like my own plain gold ring with not anything special about it.
"May I keep this for now?" I asked Evelyn.
"Yes, Miss Russell, if it can help find out what happened to Lily," she replied.
"Was there a suicide note anywhere in the room?" I asked after a long moment.
"Yes," replied Miss Small, "When the police went over the room, they found a note. They have the original, but I made a copy of it just in case."
"Thank you," I said, taking the piece of paper.
"'I cannot handle this life anymore, it's too painful," I read aloud, "All I can think of is my family and how they all died because of the War. I was meant to die then and I did not, so I will take my life and be with my family forever. Lily Woodhouse.'"
All of us, even the impatient Miss Small, were quiet as the last words of the young woman echoed through the room and faded away. I thought about all of the things that I had seen so far, but all of them led to Lily committing suicide. If that was so, then why on earth did I keep thinking that she was murdered?
"Miss Small," the young woman said, "is there any news about Lily?"
"I'm sorry, there isn't," Miss Small replied, then she motioned at me. "This is Mary Russell, she was Miss Woodhouse's tutor and she's curious to know what happened when you found the -er- body of your friend. Miss Russell, this is Harriet Vane, she's studying English at another college."
Harriet Vane was not what many would call a beautiful woman. She had black hair and dark eyes that were extremely intelligent. She was not very tall or thin, but she had a perfect figure for the twenties and she couldn't have been much younger than I was, maybe two or three years. Harriet looked at me with her brow furrowed.
"I have heard something of you, Miss Russell, or am I wrong to say that you know Mr. Sherlock Holmes quite well?"
I'll have to watch this one, I thought, she's very sharp-witted.
"Yes, I know him very well, Miss Vane, but what has that to do with Lily's death?"
"You will probably investigate into it, Miss Russell, won't you?"
"I do not know yet if there was a crime even committed. What interests you so much about my investigating into Lily's death, anyway? You're not guilty of any crimes, are you, Miss Vane?"
To my surprise, she laughed. "I was simply checking, Miss Russell, Lily was one of my best friends and the same goes for Evie here," she said, pointing at the young woman still staring at nothing in particular. "As you can see, she's badly shaken by all of this. The only reason that I'm still standing is that I read a lot of mystery novels and it doesn't really bother me as much."
"Harriet," Miss Small said before I could answer, "I think that Miss Russell would like to hear what you saw when you first entered Miss Woodhouse's room this morning. I know that you and Evelyn want to get back to class."
"Well, you see," Harriet began," we had planned to go to lunch together then attend a lecture at Magdalen. Evie and I came here to get her, but when we knocked on her door, there was no answer. We called for the scout, who said that Lily had not left her room since she entered it last night. She then left to get a don and with a key that she had given us to open the door, we entered to see..." She stopped for a moment, lost in the memory of seeing her friend's purple face and dead eyes staring at them as the two entered. When she recovered, she continued her narrative. "Evie fainted at the precisely the same moment that the scout returned with the don in tow. It took some time to sort everything out, then the police came and we were taken here to wait and to calm down. Evie has only come out of her faint when you entered."
"Did you see anything that seemed out of place?" I inquired when she was finished her story. "Did her belongings seem to be rifled through?"
"No. Wait! There was something, Miss Russell. It seemed to me as if her desk was more messy than it usually was. Lily was a very organized person and I always remember seeing her desk being neat and orderly, unlike my own. But this morning, her papers were strewn all over the desktop in no particular order," Harriet replied.
Evelyn Carsonworth, known to many as Evie, looked up from the sofa where she had sat quietly the whole time. "There was one more thing that did not seem right. Did you notice it, Harriet?"
"No, I don't," said Harriet, "What was it, Evie?"
"Near -er- Lily, I found this." From her pocket, she took a plain gold ring. "I probably should have left it there, but someone else would have taken it and then we would not have much evidence. I don't know about detecting as well as Harriet does, but I know that this is important."
She handed it to me and I looked closely at it. I could see by the size of it that it was a woman's ring and inside of it there was the inscription, 'To L from R'. Otherwise, the ring was very much like my own plain gold ring with not anything special about it.
"May I keep this for now?" I asked Evelyn.
"Yes, Miss Russell, if it can help find out what happened to Lily," she replied.
"Was there a suicide note anywhere in the room?" I asked after a long moment.
"Yes," replied Miss Small, "When the police went over the room, they found a note. They have the original, but I made a copy of it just in case."
"Thank you," I said, taking the piece of paper.
"'I cannot handle this life anymore, it's too painful," I read aloud, "All I can think of is my family and how they all died because of the War. I was meant to die then and I did not, so I will take my life and be with my family forever. Lily Woodhouse.'"
All of us, even the impatient Miss Small, were quiet as the last words of the young woman echoed through the room and faded away. I thought about all of the things that I had seen so far, but all of them led to Lily committing suicide. If that was so, then why on earth did I keep thinking that she was murdered?