The Mystery of Fitzjames Manor

©2015 Richard Humphreys

The Find-Outers visit Fitzjames Manor and are very quickly embroiled in a new mystery that has its roots in the distant past. With the help of a couple of old friends, Fatty and the Find-Outers piece together the clues and are led finally to an astonishing discovery.

Chapter 5: The Mystery Begins

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'So he's the nephew of that awful policeman?' Eunice said buttering a slice of toast in an irritatingly scrapy way.

'Yes,' sighed Fatty who had already explained about Ern at least four times and wanted to read the newspaper in peace.

'Can you pass the marmalade please?' Eunice asked.

Fatty did so without looking up.

'And you say he's not like his uncle,' Eunice said whilst spooning out a large dollop of marmalade.

'Yes,' Fatty replied and turned the page of the newspaper loudly.

'Well, he jolly well looks like him,' Eunice continued and crunched into her toast. 'Same red face, same bulging eyes, same untidy hair...'

'But a completely different personality,' Fatty interrupted. 'Ern is sensitive, friendly and loyal and dislikes his uncle as much as we do.'

They were quiet for a while.

'I ask you, what sort of name is Ern?' Eunice said, contemptuously.

Fatty sighed and put down the newspaper. 'It's short for Ernest, that's what sort of name it is, Eun.'

Before Eunice could reply to Fatty's sarcastic comment, the telephone in the hall rang and Jane appeared at the dining-room door.

'It's Philip Hilton to talk to you Master Frederick,' she said. 'I think he said it was urgent.'

'Thanks Jane,' Fatty said and went to take the call.

'Hello Fatty,' came Pip's breathless voice on the other end of the line. 'Have you heard?'

'Heard what?' asked Fatty.

'There was a burglary at Fitzjames Manor last night,' Pip said excitedly. 'So, I think the auction has been cancelled.'

Fatty gave a whistle. 'Good heavens, how did you hear about it?'

'Our postman told me and he heard it from someone at the Manor,' Pip explained. 'It seems that no-one knows how the robber got in as no windows were forced.'

Fatty thought for a moment. 'Well,' he said finally, 'we don't know for certain that the auction has been cancelled do we? So we might as well go up as we planned and have a bit of a look see.'

'I asked if the police were up there,' Pip said, 'and Alf, the postman, said that Goon and another Bobby were expected this morning.'

'Hmm, Goon and another policeman,' Fatty said thoughtfully. 'I wonder who that could be?'

'Superintendent Jenks, perhaps?' suggested Pip.

The Find Outers were special friends of the Superintendent and he had a lot of respect for them, as they had proved invaluable in solving a number of puzzling mysteries in Peterswood over the years.

'I doubt it,' Fatty said. 'He'd expect Goon to investigate it fully first. A burglary is a standard sort of investigation and Goon should be able to handle it without the Superintendent holding his hand.' He paused to think for a moment. 'I definitely think we ought to keep to our plan of going up to the manor this morning. After all,' he added, 'we've been waiting for something interesting to turn up and we've got a perfectly valid reason for being at the crime scene. Who knows what we might discover. See you at ten, as arranged.'

Fatty went back into the dining room where Eunice was just finishing her breakfast. She looked up as he came in.

'That was Pip on the phone,' Fatty said. 'There's been a robbery up at Fitzjames Manor.'

'What?' Eunice yelled and choked on her food. Fatty slapped her on the back and handed her some orange juice.

'A burglary, apparently,' he went on. 'Last night.'

'Does that mean the auction's been called off?' Eunice asked between gulps of orange juice.

'I would think so,' Fatty replied. 'But we'll go up there all the same, we don't know for sure it's been cancelled.' He could see that Eunice was disappointed that she may not be able to buy the puzzle box. 'We don't know what's been stolen, so there's every chance you may still be able to get the box.'

'Oh, I do hope so Frederick, I've set my heart on it,' Eunice moaned.

'I know you have,' Fatty said and patted her on the shoulder. 'Well, come along, Old Thing, buck up, let's get up to Fitzjames Manor and see what's what.'

With their lunch packed safely in Eunice's shoulder bag and Buster once again on the lead, the two arrived at Pip and Bet's on time. The others were already there, gathered around the gate, chattering excitedly about the robbery.

'What do you make of the news, Fatty?' Larry asked eagerly.

'Don't know yet,' Fatty said. 'We need to know more of the facts before coming to any conclusions.'

'Do you think this is the start of another nice juicy mystery?' Bets asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.

Fatty laughed. 'We mustn't get our hopes up, Bets,' he said. 'As I said, we need to find out more. It is interesting, though,' he added, 'that there was a robbery at the auction house in Maidenhead recently where only lots belonging to Lady Fitzjames were stolen. We heard Goon say that yesterday.'

'So you think there might be a pattern, then?' Larry said. 'Someone may have a grudge against Lady Fitzjames?'

'I'm not saying that, but it does seem odd to me that her belongings should have been targeted like this,' Fatty said thoughtfully.

'Well, I hope they haven't stolen the puzzle box I wanted,' Eunice said.

'Who would bother to steal that?' Daisy muttered and Eunice scowled at her. But before she could respond, they heard the sound of running. They all looked round just as Ern appeared around he corner. He trotted up to them, red in the face and rather dishevelled.

'Sorry I'm late,' he puffed. 'Only Uncle asked me last night if I would clear out the garden shed this morning, so I got up really early so that I could get it done and still be here by ten.'

Larry, Daisy, Pip and Bets had no idea Ern was in Peterswood as Fatty hadn't yet had a chance to tell them. They were overjoyed to see him and Bets gave him a hug. Only Eunice looked annoyed.

'Still the same old Ern,' Bets said. 'We didn't know you were in Peterswood.'

'Well,' said Ern, 'it was kind of sudden as my brothers Sid and Perce, you remember them, well they've got the measles. So I've had to come over here.'

'You must have heard about the robbery, then,' Larry said. 'I bet your uncle's all excited about it.'

'I'm not staying with Uncle Theophilus,' Ern said. The others sniggered, as it was always strange to hear Mr. Goon's rather pompous christian name. 'No, I'm staying with my other uncle and aunt, the Wooshes.' Ern looked around at the others. 'But what's all this about a robbery?' he asked.

'There's been a burglary at Fitzjames Manor,' Fatty explained. 'Where we're going this morning.'

'Lummie,' Ern said and his eyes lit up. 'There you are Fatty, I told you another mystery would come along soon.' Suddenly his face dropped. 'Lawks, that means Uncle'll be there, don't it?'

'I rather think it does, Ern, yes,' Fatty said.

'Oh, I don't want to see him. He hates it if I come to Peterswood and not let him know and he gets all nasty,' Ern said with a frown.

Fatty patted him on the back. 'Being all nasty is your Uncle's natural state, but don't worry, we'll keep you away from him.'

'Ern and I can take Buster and go to the maze while the rest of you snoop around,' Daisy said. 'Would you like to see the maze, Ern?'

'Coo, a real maze, you bet, thanks Daisy,' Ern said immediately perking up. 'I went to Hampton Court once with a school trip, but the maze was shut, worst luck.'

'Come on everyone,' Fatty said. 'I can see Eunice is getting a bit impatient with all this chit-chat.'

Surprisingly, on the way, Eunice latched on to Ern, or Ernest as she insisted on calling him, as he was the only one among them who hadn't yet heard about either the Fitzjames family history or the puzzle box. For the most part, Ern had no idea what she was talking about, but nodded his head politely in an attempt to feign interest.

At the gates of Fitzjames Manor they found a hastily written sign that read: 'Due to unforeseen circumstances today's auction has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience'.

'There goes our legitimate reason for being here,' Larry said pointing at it. 'Now Goon will know we're only here because of the robbery.'

'Well I'm here to find out about the puzzle box,' Eunice declared. 'I want to know if I can still buy it.'

'That's true,' Fatty said. 'Lady Fitzjames knows that Eunice is dead keen on buying it. So if we're asked, that's the reason we'll give and if we happen to find out one or two things about the robbery along the way, all the better.'

'I don't want to see Uncle,' Ern said nervously.

Fatty put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 'Don't worry Ern. Yesterday, when we were here, I noticed that there was a path sign-posted to the maze about half way along the drive. You and Daisy won't have to go up to the manor.'

'That's a relief,' Ern said. 'And if you see him, don't mention me will you,' he added anxiously.

'As if we would,' said Bets. 'Now stop worrying, Ern.'

'You and Daisy can pop off to the maze with Buster and we'll join you in a little while,' Fatty said as they set off up the drive and within a few minutes, they reached the path that led to the maze.

'There you are,' Fatty said to Daisy and Ern. 'Take Buster and we'll meet you at the maze in about an hour. We can eat our lunches there. I'm rather looking forward to seeing the maze myself.'

Dragging Buster away from his beloved master, Daisy and Ern disappeared along the narrow path. Fatty and the others watched them go and then continued on down the drive and very soon arrived at the manor.

'We're not to let on that we know about the robbery,' Fatty said. 'We're just here to see about Eunice's puzzle box.'

'There's Goon's bicycle,' Pip said pointing. 'I recognize it. I wonder who the one next to it belongs to?'

They soon found out. The great door at the top of the steps opened and out stepped a very familiar face.

'Why, it's Pippin,' declared Fatty with a laugh. 'Good old Constable Pippin.'

The young fresh-faced policeman stood at the top of the steps for a moment staring at the children, then suddenly a broad smile spread across his face and he waved in recognition.

'Well, well,' he said approaching them. 'Fancy seeing you here, although I might have guessed you'd turn up.

'We had arranged to come to the auction, but we saw a notice at the gate saying it's been cancelled,' Fatty explained.

'You've all grown since I last saw you,' Pippin said looking round at the five children. 'During that Pantomime Cat business.' He looked at Eunice. 'Now you're not Daisy,' he said.

'No, this is Eunice, Eunice Tolling, a friend of ours,' Fatty said. 'And this, Eunice, is Constable Pippin another of our friends.'

'Well, I'm honoured that you should consider me a friend,' Pippin said with a wide smile. 'Considering the wild goose chase you led me on the last time I was in Peterswood.'

'But that was before we knew how nice you were,' Bets said.

Pippin beamed all over his shiny, friendly face and then looked around again. 'But where are Daisy and Buster?'

'I believe they're checking out the maze,' Fatty said. 'Um...why has the auction been cancelled?' he asked innocently.

Pippin looked over his shoulder towards the manor. 'Well,' he said lowering his voice, 'there was a burglary last night and Mr. Goon's talking to Lady Fitzjames about it. She's very upset, as you can imagine and he's rubbing in the fact that she didn't let him check the security properly yesterday. He's telling her it's all her own fault!'

'That sounds like the caring Mr. Goon,' Larry said sarcastically. 'Any idea who did it?'

'I've been questioning the staff,' Pippin continued quietly. 'Mrs Chivers, that's Lady Franklin's secretary, is very upset and keeps crying, so I couldn't get much sense from her. No-one on the staff seems to know how the burglar got in.'

'But why have you been called into what is after all a routine inquiry?' Fatty asked.

'Well, I've been relief Constable over in Marlowe whilst the regular Bobby there has been on sick leave. He's recovered now and I'm now based in Sheepsale. And what with Sheepsale only being a few miles away, Superintendent Jenks asked if I could come over and assist Constable Goon with this case.' He lowered his voice even further. 'Mr. Goon's not very pleased about it, though, and thinks the Superintendent doesn't trust him to do the job properly.'

'And with very good reason,' Fatty said with a laugh. 'But I'm sure you'll keep him on his toes, Pippin,' he added amiably.

'Do you know whether an oriental puzzle box was stolen?' asked Eunice. 'Only I was going to bid for it in the auction.'

'Can't tell you, Miss,' Pippin replied. 'Lady Fitzjames has been going over the list of items taken with Mr. Goon and the men from the auction house. I think they should be finishing about now.'

And right on cue, the door to the manor opened and out came Lady Fitzjames and a very smug looking Mr. Goon. Lady Fitzjames was clearly upset and Fatty thought she looked older than she had the day before. She held a handkerchief in her hands, which she tugged at nervously. Mr Goon, on the other hand, looked somewhat triumphant. He stood with his legs apart and his hands on his hips and bellowed across the forecourt making Lady Fitzjames jump. 'Come along, Pippin, you've no time to waste talking to them there pestiferous kids, we've got a robbery to solve. And you lot, clear orf!''

Pippin winked at the children. 'Catch up with you later,' he said and rushed off to join Mr. Goon. They both disappeared inside the manor leaving Lady Fitzjames standing alone at the top of the steps looking somewhat lost and bewildered.

The children went across to her. 'We're so sorry to hear about the robbery,' Fatty said sympathetically. 'It must be a terrible shock for you.'

Lady Fitzjames looked at the children and for a moment it seemed that she hadn't recognised them. Then she forced a weak smile. 'Oh, Frederick,' she said in a wavering voice. 'I'm afraid the auction has been cancelled. We've had a burglary, you see.'

'Yes, we know,' Fatty said gently. 'Has very much been taken?'

Lady Fitzjames gave a long sigh and shook her head slowly. 'Well, it's difficult to say. The men from the auction house are here and have been going over the lots with me trying to determine what has been stolen. I hoped Mrs Chivers would be more help, but she's taken it very badly, poor thing. And that Constable Moon has been hectoring me all morning, to such an extent that I began to wonder whether he suspected me.' She sighed again. 'To be perfectly honest, I don't know what's been taken.'

Bets suddenly reached out and took the old lady's hand. 'Why don't we go inside and I can make you a nice cup of tea?' she said kindly.

Lady Fitzjames looked down at her and smiled. 'That's very kind of you, my dear,' she said and a tear rolled down her cheek, 'very kind indeed. But I have people to do that for me.'

She then seemed to pull herself together and dabbed her eyes, blew her nose and tucked the handkerchief into her sleeve. Then having taken a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, the looked around at the children. 'Why don't we all have a cup of tea?' she said in a much brighter voice. 'We can take it in the morning room, I have a small fire there as I feel quite chilled this morning and don't seem able to get warm.'

'That'll be the shock, I expect,' said Fatty. 'And we'd love to join you for a cup of tea.'

They followed Lady Fitzjames into the manor and across the large hall into a cosy, beautifully furnished room that had a cheerful fire burning in a very ornate hearth.

'Do sit down, children,' she said gesturing around at the chairs and sofa. 'I'll ring for the maid.'

She pressed a button that was set in the wall beside the fireplace and a couple of moments later the door was opened by an elderly servant. 'Ah Gladys,' Lady Fitzjames said, 'can we have tea for six and an assortment of biscuits, please?'

'Very good, Ma'am,' Gladys replied.

Lady Fitzjames sat down facing the children and gave them a weak smile. 'You must be disappointed that the auction has been cancelled.' She looked at Eunice. 'And as I recall, you were very interested in the little Japanese puzzle box.'

'Yes,' Eunice said. 'I still am. I do hope the thieves haven't stolen it.'

'I rather fear they may have,' Lady Fitzjames said. 'But until everything has been gone through, we won't know.'

'When we were here yesterday,' Fatty said. 'We couldn't help but overhear Constable Goon say that there had been a burglary at the auction house in Maidenhead recently during which some of your belongings were stolen.'

Lady Fitzjames nodded. 'That's right, Frederick. They stole a number of things, but there was something rather strange about it.'

'Really?' Fatty said eagerly, his ears pricking up.

But just at that moment the door opened and Gladys entered carrying a tray with the tea on it. She set it down on a low table and Lady Fitzjames, gently waving aside Bets' offer to help, handed round the tea and biscuits.

When they were all settled once again, Fatty returned to the subject of the first robbery.

'Oh yes, I was saying there was something strange about it.' Lady Fitzjames said and sipped her tea. 'You see, only things belonging to me were stolen and then not everything I'd put into the sale, just the oldest pieces, and a week later they were all found dumped in a nearby wood. And the strange thing is, they had all been destroyed, completely smashed and broken.'

The children looked at each other.

'Well now,' said Fatty thoughtfully, and looked around at the other children with a little glint in his eye. 'That certainly is strange.'

'Yes,' Lady Fitzjames said. 'But the burglary in Maidenhead wasn't the first time family possessions have been stolen. Some years ago we had another theft here. It was during a fete, someone got into my husband's study and stole a number of historical documents.'

'If I may ask,' Fatty said, 'which documents in particular?'

'Well, I don't mind telling you, Frederick, it's all on record,' Lady Fitzjames replied. 'They stole quite a number of books, diaries and documents of one type or another that had belonged to my husband's ancestor Sir Henry Fitzjames. His portrait hangs on the stairs. I pointed him out to you yesterday, if you remember. We never recovered them.'

'I see,' said Fatty. 'So yesterday's robbery was in fact the third.'

'Yes,' Lady Fitzjames said. 'And I certainly hope it'll be the last.'

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