The Fourth Mistress

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"Are you sure about it, Mr. Burton?" Louise asked one more time to make sure he had got it right. 

Mr. Burton had a patient look on his face, and he nodded his head. He then said, 

"Knowing the family history of the Reed's when it comes to your husband's past wives, I thought to get some information from you and also speak to you. If you know anything more than what you have already told me about it?"

Louise pursed her lips before shaking her head.

"I see," the man let out a tired sigh before he said, "So far, we haven't found anything regarding the ghost that you and your husband had mentioned, Lady Louise. And even though it isn't an offence in the eyes of the law to drop a body in the lake, it is still suspicious considering what has happened so far."

"I don't think anyone in Reed's family would ever do something like that," Louise explained to the investigating officer. "If I am not wrong, I saw Lisa's skeleton in the casket. The skeleton wore the same clothes that she had worn in one of the paintings. And I was there when the casket was being buried with the others."

"Is it possible that someone dug her out once her casket was brought here?" questioned Mr. Burton. 

"I don't think anyone moved the headstone, officer. Lady Viola often visits the graves with flowers for the people who have passed away. And it has been like this since the caskets were moved here," replied Louise. 

Somewhere, she had her doubts that the skeleton they had found was Lisa's because she had seen the woman's reflection on the surface of the water before she had fallen into the lake. She hadn't forgotten the way the beautiful face of the woman had morphed into a decayed person when she had leaned to her side to look at the fishes. 

Then something clicked in her mind. 

Louise looked at the officer and then said, "What if Lisa's body was not replaced after coming to the Reed's estate, but before it arrived here?"

"What do you mean by that, Lady Louise?" questioned the man, giving her a curious look. 

"When the caskets were shifted from Midville to here, I noticed something," explained Louise, pursing her lips. "It was when Lisa's casket was being brought down from the carriage to the ground. The servant's hand slipped and it fell. But usually all the caskets are properly closed and it shouldn't open the way it did. What if someone who opened the casket and replaced the body forgot to close it... leaving the lid open?"

It was a huge possibility, thought Louise in her mind. Back then, she had believed that it was because of the impact of the casket hitting the ground that had opened it, but that wasn't it, was it?

Hearing this, Mr. Burton's face turned grim, and he said, "I am sorry to say this, but it would be better to consider living away from the family for some time. That is if you don't want to follow the other three women's path." He was speaking about Graham's deceased wives. 

"I don't think it would work, Mr. Burton," her eyes looked towards the door when she heard the footsteps. Gilbert stepped inside the room to be followed by the maid Meg, who carried the tray with the kettle and teacups. 

Not wanting to discuss anything related to the case in front of the butler or the maid, Louise stayed quiet and waited until both of them left the drawing-room, leaving her alone with the officer again. 

"I would have doubted that it was someone from this very manor, but why would anyone ever write on the wall with blood?" asked the man. 

"Regarding that... the handwriting on the wall was somewhat familiar to Graham's handwriting," Louise' voice was low when she gave this little information to him.

"Do you mean to say that you have your suspicion on Graham Reed? Is he the one who has been killing people?" questioned Mr. Burton. 

"No," denied Louise. At first, she didn't want to share what she just told him, but somewhere she was coming to believe that it was better to have help than wait for things to go out of control. Especially after the death of Robert Reed, things in the manor had turned difficult, and darkness loomed over the people of this manor. 

"My husband is innocent, Mr. Burton. Just because all the people who died were close to him, it doesn't make him guilty. What you have is just assumption without any proof."

"My apologies, Lady Louise, but as an investigating officer, in my eyes everyone related to the murdered people turns into a suspect. You too, but lesser compared to the others as you recently joined the family," responded Mr. Burton. "It isn't our intention to make anyone feel like the killer, but it is done only to find the truth as well as the culprit who is behind this." 

"We have already told you the truth. That there's a ghost that haunts the family," stated Louise, and the man sighed one more time. 

"If it really is so, this is the very first case of mine as I doubt anyone else has ever worked in a case like this," said Mr. Burton to her. "Even if they do, it is later found out that it was a faux pas. A fabricated lie." 

To this, Louise replied, "Maybe this will be your first ever experience. Anyways, coming back to what I wanted to say, someone has been copying Graham's writing style. What was written on the wall... it matches his handwriting. Graham was with me in the room, which is why I know it is not him. It cannot be him." 

Louise trusted Graham with her whole heart. 

"Okay, Lady Louise. I will take your word on it," stated Mr. Burton. "But why would anyone replace the bodies in the casket?"

It was something even Louise didn't understand. As seconds passed, something flashed in her mind. The day when she had gone to visit the cemetery in Midville, wanting to pay her respects to the deceased wives of Graham, the decayed hand that had caught her hand wasn't Lisa's. The body was possibly switched way before, and her eyebrows knit together. 

But like what Mr. Burton said, why would anyone ever do something like that? Lisa's body was not just taken out from her resting place, but she was later thrown into the lake. 

"Mr. Burton, if I may ask a favour from you?" asked Louise to him. "You said that the team checked the people who had verified the names and age of the person who had died in that particular period of time. Is it possible for me to have access to those files of people who passed away three years ago?"

"Those are confidential records, milady. Something that cannot be shared to the public," explained Mr. Burton. "Only people who are in charge have the authority on it, and it needs many approvals before being disclosed."

While still speaking, they heard the sound of the carriage wheels and neighing of the horses outside the manor. Their heads turned, and Louise stood up, making her way towards the window and saw it was the carriage in which Graham had left this morning to work. 

When Graham met Mr. Burton, he was informed about the results, and his jaw clenched, and he asked, 

"What is the proof that the skeleton that is in your custody belongs to Lisa?" demanded Graham. 

"I have brought proofs with me," replied Mr. Burton, and he pulled out the papers from his coat that were clipped together. "I came here to get permission from you to be able to see and take the body who is currently resting in your third wife's casket."

Graham turned to his butler, who was standing near the wall, "Help Mr. Burton with it," and he asked the officer, "When can we bring Lisa's body back?" to the investigating officer—referring to it as a skeleton didn't sit right with him.

"Once I return back to the office, I will have arrangements made so that she can return back to her rightful place," replied Mr. Burton. 

They stepped out of the manor and reached the backside where the graves were buried. In the officer's mind, he grimly wondered if there were other graves in here that had bodies of others than what was written in the headstone.

Near to the graves stood Graham, Louise, Mr. Burton, the butler and the two servants who were currently digging out the mud of the grave that had Lisa's name written on the headstone. Inside the manor and near the window, Lady Viola and Lady Agatha stood watching them. 

Louise stood there watching the servants reach the casket when the shovel hit the top of the casket. She only hoped for the skeleton to still be there and that it hadn't disappeared. The servants cleaned the top of the casket so that it wouldn't get inside the casket when the lid would be opened. 

When the casket lid was opened, everyone's eyes fell on the skeleton that wore the floral dress, which was the same as what Lisa had worn in one of the paintings. Truth be told, Louise was shocked by thinking that all this while, someone else laid in her casket instead of Lisa. Someone they didn't know about. 

The servants placed the skeleton in the carriage, and Mr. Burton turned to Graham and said, "Shaw hasn't found any relation between your family and the Saltonstall's family. Lady Marlow Saltonstall's family was a poor one. He checked with other acquaintances of your family, who are older, but no one has ever seen or met her. They don't even know her name."

"What about the missing bodies in Saltonstall family?" questioned Graham. 

Mr. Burton nodded his head, "Nothing. We tried to see if Elias Latton had anything to do with their deaths and disappearance, but that time Elias was too young to do something like that. I mean, he must have been seven or nine year old. After all, the missing happened seventeen years ago. I am sorry to say this, but with Mr. Wensley;s involvement with Elias Latton, and your father who was murdered and the writing on the wall, it feels like someone else is involved in the manor related to this case, but no one is speaking up about it."

"That is because no one knows what is exactly going on. We are confused as you are, officer," replied Graham, looking at the officer. 

"Whatever is happening, it is not right," Mr. Burton shook his head in disapproval over the events that had taken place in the last few weeks. He said, "I should get going now," and bowed his head. 

A few hours later, Lisa's body was brought back to Reed's manor, and it was placed in the casket which had her name on it. The casket was then buried back in its place.

At the time of evening, when Louise didn't find Graham inside the manor, she wondered where he went as she didn't find him inside the manor. She picked up the lantern as the sky was slowly turning dark. She stepped outside and looked for him until she found him where he had once taken her, near the stoney path built amidst the tall trees. 

Graham had leaned his back against the bridge-like platform, his hands in his pockets while staring ahead of him in deep thought. Hearing Louise's footsteps and seeing the light that was spilling around her, he turned his head to look at her. 

"Is it time for dinner?" he asked her. 

"No, not yet. There's still time," replied Louise, walking towards where he stood. "I thought to come and check on you."

"I am okay, Louise," Graham assured her, but somewhere behind his expression, Louise could sense he was hurting over the guilt of not being able to protect Lisa even after her death. "I wanted some time for myself and decided to come and spend time here. Not now," he added so that she wouldn't leave. 

Louise came to stand next to him, keeping the lantern down on the grey path where they stood.

"It is more peaceful here than in the manor," said Louise and she heard Graham hum. 

"Indeed it is," replied Graham. She caught sight of the fireflies that were slowly starting to come out and letting them see it fly around the trees. 

Louise then said, "Mr. Burton told me that he visited your office but you weren't there."

"I left work early. I went back to Warlington to fetch the paintings from the manor," replied Graham, a faint frown on his lips. "I thought it might come to be of some help to you."

Ah, so he brought it here for her sake and not because it contained memories of the people whom he knew and was related to, thought Louise in her mind. In silence, they stood next to each other without bringing up the subject related to what they found out today from the officer. 

The next day, after Louise finished the work given by Mr. Winkle, she decided to use the old board room that Mr. Winkle once used during his time of practice. The room had been locked for many years now. She had written names and had pinned it on the board along with the strange events that had taken place until now. Along with it, to make connections between the pins, she had made use of threads.

"It looks more like an investigator's work than a legal counsellor's," came Mr. Winkle's voice at the door. 

Louise turned around and saw the old man, who was holding a teacup in his hand while his eyes were fixed on the board that Louise had made. 

"It felt like scattered pieces so I decided to make this one to figure it out," replied Louise, and the old man stepped inside the small room.

"What do you have so far?" asked Mr. Winkle, coming to stand next to her. 

"The list of people connected to it," stated Louise.

Louise looked at the names of the people that she had pinned down on the board. In the middle was Reed's family members name— Senior Mr. and Mrs. Reed, Mr. and Mrs. Wensley, Alison and Henry; below their name was their daughter Molly's name. There was Graham and her name, and below it, she had pinned the three deceased wives of her husband. 

And on the right part of the board, she had pinned the names of Chloe, Elias Latton. On the left side, there was Saltonstall's family. Parents with their two daughters. She had also put up other things like the wedding gown and the paintings into question. 

She had crossed the names of the people who were dead and connected the threads from one person to another who were related. 

"Why did you connect the Saltonstall to the Reeds?" Mr. Winkle questioned curiously.

"The name of Marlow Saltonstall came up in connection to the wedding gown. That she brought the wedding gown," replied Louise. "Something happened three years ago, but no one knows. What I don't understand is… if the ghost exists, why did it wait until now to kill people?"

Mr. Winkle took another sip from his teacup and gulped it down, before he said, "Maybe something triggered it."

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