Under The Moonlight

Epilogue

Epilogue

"… And because of my excellent powers of deduction, I was able to figure out the killer’s pattern and save the duke from certain death."

James sat comfortably in his chair behind his desk. He had read about Andrew and Jasmine's engagement in the papers two weeks ago and had personally congratulated the two. He'd heard that Cordelia and her mother were faring quite well and he couldn't help but think of her terrified expression when he had asked about her father when they had been at the Fulhams. It had all been pefectly timed as the physician had indeed been missing since Thomas left the Smiths' home the night he was murdered. Poor Cordelia had gone through a traumatic experience finding out her father was a murderer but James had assured her that he would make sure the man would never harm her again. Good thing he had had a feeling Mr Smith was still lurking about the Fulham's home and retrieved his carefully concealed pistol from the carriage or else Andrew and Jasmine would have been killed.

Now that Mr Smith had been taken care of, it was business as usual at the Knight Investigations office. He glanced at Mr Pinkleberry, who scoffed at his previous statement as he typed away.

"What?" James asked.

"That isn’t what happened at all, Mr Knight," he replied, not looking up from his work, a few typewritten sheets of paper piled neatly beside him.

"That’s the whole point, Pinkleberry. People don’t want the truth, they want an exciting, thrilling story. Besides, this novel of yours has me as the hero. Who wouldn’t want to read about that?"

"I can think of a few," the secretary muttered.

"Just type it,"

"Why couldn’t we stick to the old story? Where we just change a few names and events but stick to the original plot? It was much simpler." he was starting to regret asking for Mr Knight's help with his novel.

"Exactly. It was too simple. People want suspense. If I had known Smith would show up the way he had at the Fulhams beforehand, I would have saved myself the trouble of finding out who owned that damn pocket watch in the first place."

"Not to mention you dressed in women’s clothing." Pinkleberry added.

"Ah, now that was quite interesting. Who knew women could be so resourceful? Did you know Mr Everdale was stealing money from his employer?"

"I don’t know who that is,"

"Neither do I," James grabbed a sheet of paper from the pile on his desk and proceeded to fold it. "But I now know that there was some fellow named Everdale who was stealing from his employer. What have you heard about Lord Torrington?"

"What about him?"

"He had been telling his friends how he had secured Lady Jasmine’s hand for who knows how long. Imagine their surprise when they read she was engaged to Lord Huntingdon in the paper two weeks ago. Absolutely hilarious!" The paper he had been folding now took the shape of a boat and he placed it neatly on his desk, taking yet another piece of paper to fold.

"Your sense of humour is astounding, Mr Knight,"

The door to the office opened suddenly, making the bell chime and alert the two men of their visitor.

The man who entered was tall and his clothes spoke of wealth. The brim of his hat shadowed his face, making it difficult to determine his age.

"Mr Knight, I presume," It wasn’t a question and he hardly spared Pinkleberry a glance.

"You presume correctly, my good man," James smiled, relaxing in his chair and propping his feet up on the desk, pausing his paper-folding.

"I am in need of your assistance," the man withdrew the newspaper that had been concealed under his arm. He tossed it at James and inclined him to read the title.

"THE RAVEN STRIKES AGAIN" Were the bold letters written across the front page.

"I am Edward Bennet. I have been told you are an excellent investigator, Mr Knight,"

"Indeed,"

"This Raven," the wealthy man continued. "stole something of great value to me and I want it returned to me quickly. I want you to find this man and uncover his identity. I will be willing to pay you handsomely if you succeed." He retrieved an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the desk. "This should be enough to start you off,"

James took the envelope and weighed it in his hands. Opening it, his eyes widened at the money inside.

"Do you accept?"

"Y – Yes, of course," he answered, still gaping at the contents of the envelope.

"Fantastic," Mr Bennet tipped his hat and bid them adieu.

"Are you mad, Knight?" Pinkleberry asked. "How are you ever going to find The Raven. No one has been able to for the past two years since he showed up in Bath. What makes you think you would be able to just because a rich fellow is going to pay us."

"Don’t be so pessimistic, Pinkleberry. Just focus on your novel and let me do my job. If this Raven proves difficult, then I shall quit my investigation. Now, when was he last seen?" James carefully put the envelope full of money in one of the drawers and continued to fold his paper creation.

Pinkleberry scanned the newspaper headline until he found what he was looking for. "He was last seen at the Bennet residence here in London. Bennet hasn’t specified exactly what was stolen but many eye-witnesses claim they saw a masked man dressed in black clothing riding away from the area on a black horse. That was the same description of The Raven of Bath."

James stood up abruptly and his calculating blue eyes were aimed at his secretary.

"Do you know what this means, Pinkleberry?" he asked, he had a smile plastered on his face that Pinkleberry was not too fond of.

"No, not really,"

Tossing his unfinished folded paper into the wastebasket, his smile grew even wider. "This means I have yet another thrilling mystery to solve and you may have another book to write."

*THE END*

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A/N: THAT'S ALL FOLKS, MY FIRST EVER COMPLETED STORY ON WATTPAD. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR VOTES AND COMMENTS. EACH ONE COUNTED AND MADE ME SMILE LIKE A CHESHIRE CAT. LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT BOOK, "UNMASKED AT MIDNIGHT". THE ONLY SPOILER I CAN GIVE IS THAT IT'S GOING TO BE CHARLOTTE'S STORY NEXT AND WE GET TO SEE MORE OF HER BETROTHED (OF COURSE JAMES DOES RETURN WITH HIS OWN MYSTERY TO SOLVE). I WILL SLOWLY START EDITING THIS AFTER I FINISH ALL THREE OF THE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES AND POSSIBLY MAKE THE CHAPTERS A LITTLE LONGER. TILL THEN, LOTS OF LOVE AND GOD BLESS!!!

XOXO

SKYGLIDER