After the discussion was over, the detectives were taken for a tour around the villa by Mrs Schwarz personally. "This villa has indeed a very queer layout," Mrs Schwarz elucidated as she showed them a Victorian-styled bathroom and toilet, "There is only one bathroom, which is situated on the first storey, in this entire villa, which makes everything quite inconvenient. Usually, with this type of houses, there should be a bathroom on each floor."
All this while, during the tour, Shaun seemed to perceive someone scrutinizing them in the darkness of a corner. Nonetheless, each time they turned around, they could not perceive anything or anyone.
As they reached the balcony, of which the floor was tiled with luxurious red-brick tiles, they again encountered the maid- Judy, who was pretending to be hanging some clothes on the drying rack; however, she was actually eavesdropping on their conversation.
The four dined together at dinner, which Judy served with a Victorian trolley. After having thoroughly toured the entire Villa, this was when the investigation officially begins. "Mrs Schwarz, you have mentioned that this house was too big for you and your grandson, does that mean you two live alone?" Jeffrey inquired as he munched on some peas.
"Yes," replied Mrs Schwarz, almost reluctantly, "Stuart's parents have died of a contagious disease when he was merely an infant, so I have naturally become his legal guardian. We have lived together in Germany all through his school life, until he has been accepted into an university in the UK. Stuart has always been very fond of the UK in the many times we have frequented here in his childhood, so it had always been his dream to be able to study here. This could be because his own mother is British."
"Except for you, Stuart, and Ms Judy, do you know of whom else that could possibly have gained possession of a copy of the key to your front door?" inquired Shaun, after having perceived Judy disappeared into the kitchen out of the corner of his eyes. "We are suspecting that somebody could've slipped into your place at night and played the music."
"No, there is no one that I could think of," Mrs Schwarz answered pensively, "In fact, we have changed a new lock to the front door after buying this villa off the French man, so even if he had kept a copy of the key to the old lock, it couldn't have worked."
"Then, is there any other way into this house except for going through the front door?" queried Jeffrey, who caught a glimpse of Judy's face by the kitchen door, eavesdropping again.
"Not any that I know of," the old lady responded, "However, as you know, it is an ancient house, and I have never lived here myself. So, it's not entirely impossible for such a secret entrance to exist."
After the dinner has concluded, Mrs Schwarz and Stuart stood up to go. The detectives followed them to the door. "I am very sorry, but I am afraid that you two will be quite alone in this villa tonight," Mrs Schwarz spoke as Shaun seemed to have noticed a faint glimmer of unusual excitement in her voice, "Me and Stuart will now return to our apartment; and Judy will depart at eight o'clock sharp, after she is done with the dishes, as she simply could not bear to be in this bizarre house at such a late time. Here is a copy of the key to this house," the old lady said as she passed the key to Jeffrey, "in case you would like to go out to the garden to investigate, although I assure you that there is nothing there that would be of any interest to you, unless you're interested in dead plants and flowers. Judy will come at six o'clock next morning to serve breakfast to you two. But, you will be quite alone at night. Please inform me every single detail of your discovery. Good night!"
~To be Continued~
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