Murder at Thornbrook Manor

Dr. Lark had called the guests to Thornbrook Manor on a stormy night, claiming he had uncovered secrets too dangerous to remain hidden. The storm battered the windows, and the guests gathered uneasily in the dimly lit lounge, waiting for his revelation. Just as the clock chimed twelve, the lights went out. A scream split the darkness, sharp enough to still every breath.

Confusion spread in the shadows. Someone whispered in panic, "Who turned off the lights? I saw movement near the study—"Shuffling footsteps echoed. A man’s voice rang out, tense and urgent: "Wait! Where’s Dr. Lark? He was here just a moment ago!"

Then came the crash of glass, footsteps running down the hall, and the faint rustle of fabric as someone twisted toward the sound. When the lights flickered back to life, Dr. Lark was gone. Moments later, his body was discovered sprawled beside the study’s open safe. His wine glass lay shattered at his side, red liquid mingling with the dark pool of blood spreading beneath his head.

The scene revealed a struggle. In his stiffening hand was clutched a torn velvet glove, its fabric embedded with a single pearl button. Muddy footprints tracked across the carpet, leading away from the body. They did not match Dr. Lark’s shoes. Instead, they matched Miss Everett’s—though she swore she had never stepped inside the study that night. Yet her right glove was missing a button.

Other details deepened the suspicion. The air still held the sharp tang of perfume, stronger than it had been earlier in the evening. And one guest recalled seeing the silhouette of a woman with long hair slipping from the study just before the lights returned.

The question was not only who had killed Dr. Lark, but why. The open safe and scattered files proved nothing had been stolen. The motive was buried within the papers themselves. Dr. Lark had been agitated all evening, hinting that he had uncovered the truth about one of the guests—and that it would soon be revealed.

Those secrets belonged to Miss Everett. Hidden in the confidential files were records linking her to a scandal—she had altered research findings and funneled funds through false accounts to cover her debts. The papers contained proof of her fraud, enough to ruin her reputation and end her standing in society forever. Dr. Lark had pieced the evidence together, and he intended to reveal the truth that night.

When the blackout hit, she panicked. She confronted him in the study, struck him with a heavy object, and killed him before he could speak. In the fight, her glove tore, leaving the pearl button that sealed her fate.

By the time the lights returned, she tried to vanish into the crowd. But the manor itself conspired against her: the muddy footprints, the scent of perfume, the missing glove button. Piece by piece, the evidence spoke.

Miss Everett’s crime was not one of greed, but of desperation. She killed to protect her carefully constructed life, to keep her secrets buried. But at Thornbrook Manor, truth has a way of breaking through the storm—and that night, it revealed the murderer hiding in plain sight.