Three long hours later
In front of Iris, sat the only four residents of Hartem Manor, bathed in the warm glow of the crackling fire. They were seated in the grand drawing room which was expensively furnished with glossy wooden panels and rich tapestries of gold and green which hung from the walls like spider webs.
Deciding to waste no more time Iris began the interviews, changing her demeanour to more of a professional one. First to be interrogated was the cook, a haggard man in his fifties. His hair was a salt n pepper grey, his face tanned and his eyes bore the beginnings of crow's feet. Much to Iris' disappointment, Pierre Von Kant showed no motive to be the murderer of Mr Chapman and had been spending the day of the death in London. That was about the only piece of useful information Iris had weevilled out of him. Following the useless first interview, entered Mrs Schwartz, a rather peculiar woman with a cold glint in her eyes.
"I was away at me Grandmas, on the night of Chapman's death. Good riddance too, he was a pain, always doting on his granddaughter. Spoilt brat she is, only inherited this place cos of her husband." She retorted, picking away at her scabbed fingers.
Alas, a motive to be taken into account!
With a rekindled interest, Iris began to fire away several more questions at the lady sitting opposite.
"I take it you didn't have much of a relationship with Mr Chapman?"
"What do you think? You stupid media people are all the same, always asking the same question over and over again, For your information, I'm the cursed cleaner for goodness sakes, when would that man ever have time to thank me?" By now, she was out of her seat and pacing the room. "This house blooming well aint even 'is!" With a final finishing glare, Mrs Schwartz swept out the room with a bang.
Current Findings:
Mr Kant-No motives shown, however opinions might change after room inspections. Mrs Schwartz-Unhappy marriage, divorced after finding out her husband cheated on her several times. Referred to psychological treatment services, suffers from severe bipolar disorder. Possible motive to kill Mr Chapman-regularly was treated unfairly by him; manic depression could have influenced her decision.
Finally, was the one and only Miss Aubree Payne herself, a rather tall woman with rich olive skin and soft brown ringlets which would have framed her face perfectly, if not for the traumatic stress she was currently under and the lack of make-up. Aubree was a right mess, tears dripping down her face as she spoke, voice trembling and legs bouncing up and down.
"I'm so sorry. It's just… I cannot stop crying. His death has been a rather sad topic for me to talk about," And with that, she broke into another productive round of tears. "I must look ever so useless at the moment."
"That's fine, take all the time you need .It's a heartfelt matter and I am truly sorry to hear about your loss, but I simply must ask you some questions. Where were you on the day of your grandfather's death?"
"I… I was shopping for a new handbag-I went out at around 1pm."
After careful consideration, Iris brought the interview to a standstill. "If you don't mind, Miss Aubree, may I have a quick view of the rooms around the house?"
"That's fine…just don't disturb me whilst I'm in the lavatory, my face is a mess."
Taking that as her cue to leave, Iris exited the room swiftly, bumping into the frail old lady she had met earlier.
"Hello again, dearie. Sending the devil off to the pokey now are we? My, young people these days…" She said, losing herself in flashbacks of her past with a slightly unnerving grin on her face. Iris nodded her head for the sake of it, brushing past to explore the hidden secrets of Hartem Manor.