The Secret Under the Floorboards

In the rooms of the late Sir Willoughby, I discovered the secret of the murder. The diary of the deceased, found by Miss Willoughby in her grandfather’s private drawer, provided the missing link. The entries, written just before his death, detailed the desperate pleas of a man named Gerald, who had been pressing for money and a marriage that Sir Willoughby vehemently opposed. The handwriting in the diary, which could be sworn to, proved that a check had been forged by the killer. Armed with this evidence and suspecting the murderer had hidden the stolen items, I forced an entrance into the accused man’s quarters. Beneath the carpet in front of the hearth, I discovered a small trapdoor. Inside, tucked away in a hole originally meant for coal storage, lay a watch, a silver cup, and a silk necktie matching one I had recovered earlier. When confronted with the evidence, the murderer finally confessed to the crime, admitting that during a struggle, he had throttled Sir Willoughby and attempted to hide his tracks.