The Locked Room Mystery
Detective Lila Novak stood outside the locked room, her heart racing. Inside, the body of millionaire Edward Baxley lay lifeless on the floor. The door was bolted from the inside, and the windows were sealed shut. No one could have entered or exited the room.
As Lila examined the scene, she noticed a peculiar smell emanating from the victim's mouth. She also found a half-empty glass of whiskey on the desk. The only other object in the room was a small, ornate wooden box.
Lila questioned the family members who were present in the mansion at the time of the murder. Edward's wife, Sophia, claimed to have been in the garden. His brother, Victor, said he was in the library, while Edward's daughter, Amelia, was supposedly in her room.
The detective searched the house and discovered a secret passage connecting the library to the locked room. In the library, she found a book on exotic poisons hidden behind a row of encyclopedias.
Lila confronted the family with her findings. She revealed that the killer had laced Edward's whiskey with a rare, odorless poison. The key to the locked room was hidden inside the wooden box, which only one person knew how to open.
In a shocking twist, Lila pointed to Amelia as the culprit. The young woman had discovered the secret passage and used it to poison her father's drink, driven by resentment over his controlling nature. She had then locked the door from the inside and escaped through the passage.
As Amelia was taken into custody, Lila couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness. Another family torn apart by secrets and betrayal, and another mystery solved in the grand mansion on Baxley Hill.
