The glass was half-empty, it appeared that only a mouthful or two had been consumed. Raising it to my nose I breathed in the heady aroma of oak & malt, it was a top class scotch that was for certain.

As I placed the glass back on the small table nestled next to the chesterfield, I stepped back and took another close look at the body. Sir Rodger was not a young man, nor was he particularly good looking in life. In death with the trail of blood running down from his right temple and the back half of his skull blown off he was a grotesque caricature like something out of a Halloween horror film.

Something didn’t add up.

“Mason if you were about to top yourself, don’t you think that you would finish your final glass of whiskey before doing the deed?”

“I suppose that yes I would sir”

Mason was a solid officer but not very imaginative. Point him in the direction of an evil doer and he would corral them with the all the speed and devastating force of a cruise missile.

Ask him to deduce what had happened from the evidence of a crime scene and alas the results were not as spectacular.

“Did you know Sir Rodger at all Mason?”

“No sir, I didn’t move in his circles, far too common for him me and my lot sir”

“I did, he was a regular at my club; not a very bright fellow but a damn good bridge player; left handed you know.”

“Really sir”

“Very much so; struggled to even pick up the cards with his right hand he was a very unco-ordinated chap.”

I looked once again at the revolver lying at the foot of the chair Sir Rodger was slumped in, ostensibly where he had dropped it after shooting himself; at his right foot.

“Are the household servants detained in the ballroom as I asked?”

“Yes sir.”

“Sir Rodger killed Lady Penelope in a fit of jealous rage Mason; it was well known around the town that she had an eye for the young men on the estate.

Now it’s obvious that Sir Rodger has been murdered and the killer has set the stage hoping we would believe that he killed himself afterwards through guilt or shame over what he had done.

Only a new man wouldn’t have known of Sir Rodgers left-handedness; and so they made their mistake as they assumed he was right handed like most of us are.

I believe that young Malloy only started at the estate a week or so back & he is a ridiculously fit and good looking fellow, just the way Lady Penelope liked them. He would hardly have been in the position to know which hand Sir Rodger favoured.

Come Mason let’s get him back to the station, it shouldn’t be too hard to get a confession from the poor wretch once I lay the facts out for him.”