When I came out of the telegraph office, it was pouring rain and I could
see some lightning off in the distance. Looking down the empty street, I
saw no one and no cab. I sighed heavily and scowled into the rain as I ran
into it. You see, I had brought no umbrella with me. I thought for a
moment about heading back to my loggings, but I remembered that the college
was closer.
The college quad was empty, but many lights were on in the building, so I entered to escape from the storm. I handed my dripping coat and hat to the porter and continued on to the Senior Common Room, where I was bound to find someone to talk to and something hot to drink.
Upon my entering, the Dean jumped up and called for a scout to bring some hot tea for me. A small group of tutors as well as the Dean and the Warden were gathered there.
"Miss Russell! Are you alright? It's raining quite hard out there and you must be fagged from running from building to building. Please sit down," said the Warden kindly.
"Thank you," was all I could say as I fell down into a chair.
Miss Small was there staring at me, but I ignored her and happily held the warm cup of tea that the scout had brought for me. The whole room was quiet and seemed to be looking at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I did not. I felt like an intruder in this strange world of the college, even though I lived in Oxford half of the time. When I finished the tea, I coughed politely and looked around me.
"I suppose that you wish to know what I have found out about Lily Woodhouse's mysterious death?" No one spoke, so I continued with a sudden plan in my head to catch the murderer red-handed.
"I believe that I know the identity of the woman accomplice," was all that I said.
Silence reigned in the room, but all of the women looked at each other warily, as if they suspected each other of the crime. The Warden finally spoke up.
"Miss Russell, will you not tell us whom this person is so that we can speak with them to hear their side of the story?"
"I regret, Madam, that I cannot because I simply don't have enough evidence to send them to court. I am only working on suspicions and assumptions for the moment," I gulped and continued, "But my -er- partner is looking up the real murderer, the man, in London and when he is found, then the whole plot will be exposed. Then, I can for sure tell you which person in this college is guilty."
The Warden nodded. "That is a smart thing to do, Miss Russell, but you may put yourself in danger from this person if they have heard you say that you know what they did. I have learned that when people feel that they are threatened, they will retaliate against the person who threatens them."
"I realise that, madam, but I can't do anything until I get word from London. So at the moment my hands are tied and all I can do is sit and wait for an answer." I stood up and went to the door. "I must be going now, good evening ladies," I said and left the room without another word.
The Warden was right in her assumptions, though. By making this trap for the murderer, I was putting myself in danger, just what Holmes told me not to do. But I couldn't think of any other way of trapping Miss Small. I now name my suspect because, even without evidence, I was sure that she had killed Lily. I did not have any idea why she would resort to murdering a student, but from what I knew of her she was filled with anger and did not let any of it show. With this trap that I was still creating in my mind, I would capture her red-handed, but while doing this, I would put myself in great danger.
Lost in thought, I walked out of the college grounds and into the darkening streets. It was now about dinner, so the streets were empty, but luckily it had stopped raining, so I did not get any more wet than I was. Then, I thought of something I had forgotten and hurried back to the college. As I went back through the gate, I checked my watch. The next train from London would be arriving in 5 minutes and hopefully Holmes had received my telegram and was on that train because in a few minutes I would need his assistance.
The library was empty when I entered, as most everyone was either in their rooms or in the hall eating dinner. I wandered around the shelves, pretending to be looking at books, but really deep in thought. At the far end of the room, I came to a table covered in paper and piles of books. Curiously, I looked at them, but saw nothing of interest. Then, in a dark corner, I saw a crumpled piece of paper lying there, so I went to see what it was. As I bent to pick it up, I heard a noise behind me. Before I had time to turn around and face the person, two strong hands placed themselves around my neck and squeezed down upon the large blood vessels there. Clouds swam before my eyes and I tried to cry out, but I found that I could not.
"I've got you now, haven't I, Miss Russell," laughed the voice of Pheobe Small, "This will show you not to mess with my plans again!" Her hands pressed tighter on my throat.
I got a hold of my senses before they disappeared and hit Miss Small in the stomach with my elbow. She grunted and her hands let go a touch, but not enough. The blackness was getting closer and closer, and I stopped struggling.
Before I lost consciousness, the library door flew open and a crowd of people burst through, led by Holmes. Behind him I could see the police inspector with a bunch of constables, the Dean, the Warden, and behind them Harriet Vane and Evelyn Smith. Holmes ran up to Miss Small and I, threw Miss Small into the arms of the inspector, and caught me before the blackness consumed everything and I fell limp into unconsciousness.
The college quad was empty, but many lights were on in the building, so I entered to escape from the storm. I handed my dripping coat and hat to the porter and continued on to the Senior Common Room, where I was bound to find someone to talk to and something hot to drink.
Upon my entering, the Dean jumped up and called for a scout to bring some hot tea for me. A small group of tutors as well as the Dean and the Warden were gathered there.
"Miss Russell! Are you alright? It's raining quite hard out there and you must be fagged from running from building to building. Please sit down," said the Warden kindly.
"Thank you," was all I could say as I fell down into a chair.
Miss Small was there staring at me, but I ignored her and happily held the warm cup of tea that the scout had brought for me. The whole room was quiet and seemed to be looking at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I did not. I felt like an intruder in this strange world of the college, even though I lived in Oxford half of the time. When I finished the tea, I coughed politely and looked around me.
"I suppose that you wish to know what I have found out about Lily Woodhouse's mysterious death?" No one spoke, so I continued with a sudden plan in my head to catch the murderer red-handed.
"I believe that I know the identity of the woman accomplice," was all that I said.
Silence reigned in the room, but all of the women looked at each other warily, as if they suspected each other of the crime. The Warden finally spoke up.
"Miss Russell, will you not tell us whom this person is so that we can speak with them to hear their side of the story?"
"I regret, Madam, that I cannot because I simply don't have enough evidence to send them to court. I am only working on suspicions and assumptions for the moment," I gulped and continued, "But my -er- partner is looking up the real murderer, the man, in London and when he is found, then the whole plot will be exposed. Then, I can for sure tell you which person in this college is guilty."
The Warden nodded. "That is a smart thing to do, Miss Russell, but you may put yourself in danger from this person if they have heard you say that you know what they did. I have learned that when people feel that they are threatened, they will retaliate against the person who threatens them."
"I realise that, madam, but I can't do anything until I get word from London. So at the moment my hands are tied and all I can do is sit and wait for an answer." I stood up and went to the door. "I must be going now, good evening ladies," I said and left the room without another word.
The Warden was right in her assumptions, though. By making this trap for the murderer, I was putting myself in danger, just what Holmes told me not to do. But I couldn't think of any other way of trapping Miss Small. I now name my suspect because, even without evidence, I was sure that she had killed Lily. I did not have any idea why she would resort to murdering a student, but from what I knew of her she was filled with anger and did not let any of it show. With this trap that I was still creating in my mind, I would capture her red-handed, but while doing this, I would put myself in great danger.
Lost in thought, I walked out of the college grounds and into the darkening streets. It was now about dinner, so the streets were empty, but luckily it had stopped raining, so I did not get any more wet than I was. Then, I thought of something I had forgotten and hurried back to the college. As I went back through the gate, I checked my watch. The next train from London would be arriving in 5 minutes and hopefully Holmes had received my telegram and was on that train because in a few minutes I would need his assistance.
The library was empty when I entered, as most everyone was either in their rooms or in the hall eating dinner. I wandered around the shelves, pretending to be looking at books, but really deep in thought. At the far end of the room, I came to a table covered in paper and piles of books. Curiously, I looked at them, but saw nothing of interest. Then, in a dark corner, I saw a crumpled piece of paper lying there, so I went to see what it was. As I bent to pick it up, I heard a noise behind me. Before I had time to turn around and face the person, two strong hands placed themselves around my neck and squeezed down upon the large blood vessels there. Clouds swam before my eyes and I tried to cry out, but I found that I could not.
"I've got you now, haven't I, Miss Russell," laughed the voice of Pheobe Small, "This will show you not to mess with my plans again!" Her hands pressed tighter on my throat.
I got a hold of my senses before they disappeared and hit Miss Small in the stomach with my elbow. She grunted and her hands let go a touch, but not enough. The blackness was getting closer and closer, and I stopped struggling.
Before I lost consciousness, the library door flew open and a crowd of people burst through, led by Holmes. Behind him I could see the police inspector with a bunch of constables, the Dean, the Warden, and behind them Harriet Vane and Evelyn Smith. Holmes ran up to Miss Small and I, threw Miss Small into the arms of the inspector, and caught me before the blackness consumed everything and I fell limp into unconsciousness.