It was late. The moon shone with a certain brilliance, although really it was an omen of what was to occur on that fateful night.
A rooky detective was all I was. Amoux Destin is my name. My mentor, the great man Auguste Dupin was elsewhere, solving yet another crime; this particular crime was the murder of Marie Roget. Dupin’s last case had involved an Orangutan strangling the victim to death. Who would have thought it? This case then, was mine to solve. The newspaper ‘L'Informateur’ had described a murder which had occurred at Enfer entrée, an ominous house which stood tall in the darkness. The victim had apparently been decapitated when found, the body stashed away in a cupboard, the head missing. Police had found only small drips of blood on the floor of the house, and other than the body, there had been no trace of the murderer. The police appropriately named him the ‘Body Snatcher’. The victim was a woman named Alair Dany, in her mid twenties, and described as stunning, small and serious. The head of Alair had been removed by what police called ‘machinery’ although the deadly device had never been located.
I pulled up in my car and stepped out onto the cold, lifeless ground. The only comfort was that the police were ready to jump in if need be, although their overall incompetence lessened that somewhat. The rain hit my dark brown suit and ran down it. There before me stood Enfer entrée. The darkness seemed to cling to the building, as if the house itself was the eclipse of life. I walked up to the entrance, and saw statues to the left and right, watching me. They had seen the murder, their cold stone eyes revealed that much. A carriage was next to the house. Interesting. Someone had come before. The trees nearby were blown by the winds breath that struck them. There was the tape which said “Police only” across the front of the door frame. I ducked under it, entered the house of mystery and shut the door.
Inside the house was chilling, colder than the outside. I explored the building; it seemed to only have two floors. The top floor was much larger, and had books flung everywhere. However one was still on the bookshelf. Had the police missed this one? The book’s name was “Dismemberment”. I had a horrible feeling. Suddenly the lamps went out, the whole house swallowed by the darkness. A sound emerged; it sounded mechanical. It was cutting something, slicing through without any remorse. I blindly felt around on the desks. I found what I needed, a source of light. It was an old oil lamp, it had been recently used. What else or who else was in this house with me? I lit the lamp and carried on exploring the top floor. The shadows on the walls danced, as I walked to the final room of the upstairs. This room seemed like it had been designed to lure people in. I stepped ever so slowly into the room and heard a soft click. My world was turned upside down as I fell through a trap door, falling for what seemed like ages, and landing with a thud. A voice croaky and old spoke. “Who is my latest victim then?” he laughed slowly.
I looked around at the apparatus everywhere stained in a bright crimson colour. To the left was a stash of bodies, each with bits missing, arms, feet, and there was Alair’s head. To the right was a girl, young and blonde but more importantly alive, her eyes wide open with relief as she knew she wasn’t alone with this maniac anymore. The old man smiled with what was left of his yellow teeth. I got to my feet and grabbed the girl. The exit was a large steel door which supposedly came out from a point in the house. The ‘Body Snatcher’ was insisting that he keep his newly found prey and blocked the door. Above him was a cold steel disc, bloodied by someone else. I located the switch and pushed the button. This was stretching my role as a detective... The disc came down slicing the ‘Body Snatcher’ in two. The girl gagged at what was left, and the old man was killed by his own devices of torture. I pushed the steel door and it revolved. We were back at the house entrance; we ran out into the rain, the splatters of blood on my jacket falling to the ground. How did the police miss this? Was it the fact that it was my job to investigate and not theirs? The girl smiled and said “Thank you”. I had a lot to tell Dupin.
