The Twelfth Unknown

"The Twelfth Unknown" presents the persnickety intellect of Ernest Concord, gentleman, lately bookseller, when Inspector Edgar James requests his presence upon a scenery of blood. Accommodated amid the unfolding, tussocky hills of rural Midlothian, deceased Lady Margot's Amphion Manor houses a party of twelve, relatives and friends, who purports to sell the inherited propriety. As murder arrives by night, mystery dawns along the feeble lights of morning, for "even though there were twelve people last night in this very house, gathered around this very table, only eleven are accountable for except for what this document says. And nevertheless, there are eleven chairs and one evident space between two of them. No trace of a fifth victim, not even a hint of him having murdered anyone, for every living witness is baffled. Where is, then, our twelfth name, our twelfth unknown?"

Note: this work is written by a non-native speaker of English and therefore may contain several ungrammatical formations as well as unusual dialogues. If, perchance, any of these errors is noticed, please let the author know in order to enable him to improve his writing skills so he can deliver a much better narrative next time.