Mini Mysteries

by Acologic

One Frosty Morning

The wheels of Slipstar’s suitcase clipped the stone steps as he climbed. Cecil Andrews’ handsome manor house sat atop a raised stretch of flat, kempt grass, only today the estate played host to a thick blanket of snow as well as other guests. The door opened before he could reach to ring the bell.

‘Glad you could make it, old boy!’ Cecil clapped him jovially on the back. ‘Come inside and let’s have a drink!

‘Things are finally on the up,’ said Cecil happily as he drained his glass. ‘Maisie Luck arrives tomorrow afternoon! Poor girl. No family left, you see, but she’s made quite a name for herself in publishing. I hope to strike gold.’

Slipstar was admiring through the window the dense wood of snow-covered evergreens. ‘You’ve quite the view.’

‘Oh yes.’ Cecil nodded, his face smug. ‘And not just out there. I’m counting on my rooms to do some talking. Maisie’s suite’s the best in the house. And a corridor from mine.’

‘Who else has arrived?’

Cecil bit into his toast and, as he chewed, mumbled, ‘Your friend Crimson Quill, he’s up in the attic room. And my sister Barbara. Oh, and Mason Joy, our old landlord! As grouchy as ever.’

Slipstar smiled. Cecil shook his head, chuckling. ‘I know that smile too well. Come on, then, let’s have a cracker. These old things have riddles in them, might keep your brain occupied.’

‘“A pony dressed all in black walks down the road”,’ began Cecil after they’d pulled apart the cracker and picked the little slip of paper off the floor. ‘“There are no lights anywhere and no moon. A car with no lights comes down the road and manages to avoid the pony. How?”’

Slipstar smiled again, and this time he meant it. ‘How simple.’

Cecil snorted. ‘To you, perhaps.’

How?

It was daytime.

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[Dave Bryant]

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A pedagogue is a teacher or instructor to the young.