Case #1 · Easy
Death at Ashcombe Manor
Ashcombe Manor, Gloucestershire · November 17, 1934
A wet November evening at a country house. After dinner the household scatters to separate rooms. At half past ten the secretary walks into the study and finds Sir Edmund Ashcombe dead at his desk, struck down with the fireplace poker.
The victim
Sir Edmund Ashcombe
64, retired shipping magnate and chairman of the village cottage hospital trust. Generous in public, unforgiving in private. Known to read every line of every account he signs.
- Scene of the crime
- Study
- Estimated time of death
- between 21:30 and 22:30
The suspects
Lady Margaret Ashcombe
The victim's wife
52. Elegant, reserved and rarely seen to raise her voice. Twenty-six years married; the last ten, the servants say, in separate wings of the house.
“I spent the whole evening in the drawing room with my embroidery. Dr. Voss was playing Chopin next door, and I listened to her through the wall until poor Mr. Reed began shouting. I did not leave the room. Not once.”
Julian Ashcombe
The victim's nephew and heir
29. Charming, restless, and recently down from London with no clear reason for the visit. Expected to inherit the bulk of the estate.
“After dinner I went out to the stables for a smoke and to look at my uncle's new mare. I didn't see him again all evening. I came in around twenty past ten and went straight up to bed.”
Dr. Helena Voss
The family physician
41. Composed, precise and well liked in the village. A frequent dinner guest at Ashcombe and a fine pianist. Sits on the board of the cottage hospital trust.
“Lady Margaret asked for some music, so I went to the music room at a quarter to ten and played Chopin's nocturnes until I heard Mr. Reed cry out. I examined Sir Edmund at once, but there was nothing to be done.”
Thomas Reed
Private secretary
35. Quiet, loyal and meticulous. Has kept Sir Edmund's papers for eight years and works in the library, which connects to the study by a single door.
“I was in the library typing papers for tomorrow's hospital board meeting. At half past ten I took them through to Sir Edmund and found him. I'm afraid I heard nothing useful. The typewriter is very loud.”