3 Two Disappearances

Chapter 3 Two Disappearances "For the next two days, Brunton carried out his duties very well," continued Musgrave. "We didn't talk about what had happened. I simply waited for him to announce his resignation. On the third morning, however, Brunton did not appear. "Normally, he would come to me after breakfast to receive his instructions for the day, but on that day there was no sign of him. As I was leaving the dining room, I happened to meet Rachel Howells, the maid. She looked so pale and weak, I assumed she was ill. "'You should be in bed,' I told her. 'You can resume your duties when you are stronger.' "She smiled at me strangely and said, 'I am strong enough, sir.' "'We'll see what the doctor says about that,' I responded. 'By the way, have you seen Brunton?'

"'The butler is gone,' she said, that same sickly smile playing on her lips. "'Gone? Gone where?' "'He's gone. No one's seen him. He's not in his room. Oh, yes, he's gone all right. Quite gone!' She fell back against the wall, laughing wildly. "Horrified, I rushed away to summon help as the corridor echoed with her shrieks of laughter. Rachel was taken to her room, her laughter having turned, by now, to wild sobbing. Meanwhile, I enquired among the other staff

about Brunton. No one, it turned out, had seen him since he retired to his room the night before. "I checked his room. His bed had not been slept in. His clothes, watch, and even his money were still there, but the black suit that he usually wore was missing. His slippers were also gone, but his boots remained. It was very strange. Who, I wondered, would run off without their boots? "The windows and doors were all bolted on the inside that morning, so it was difficult to see how he could have left the house. Of course, we searched the place from cellar to attic, but there was no trace of him. It's a big, rambling house, but we scoured every room—even in the old wing, which is now barely ever used, except to put up guests. We couldn't find the smallest sign of him.

"It was incredible to me that Brunton would simply have run away, leaving all his possessions behind. I knew the man had been upset after our confrontation in the library and that he had been planning to leave anyway. But he had wanted a dignifed departure. Above all, he had been determined to maintain his good name. This sudden disappearance made no sense at all. "I called in the county police, but they could shed no light on the mystery. Rain had fallen during the night, and we examined the lawns and paths surrounding the house for footprints, but found nothing. "While we were busy searching for Brunton, Rachel Howells remained in her strange, feverish

state. Sometimes she babbled incoherently. At other times, she burst into uncontrollable fits of crying or laughter. I was so concerned for her health, I employed a nurse to sit up with her at night. "On the third night after Brunton's disappearance, Howells fell into a peaceful sleep. The nurse, relieved that her patient seemed in a better state, dozed off in her armchair. She awoke early the next morning to find the bed empty, the window open, and no sign of Howells.

"The nurse came and woke me up, and I started off at once, together with my two footmen, in search of the missing maid. It wasn't difficult to see the route she'd taken. Starting from under her window, there was a clear trail of footprints heading out across the lawn. "The footprints vanished at the edge of the lake, close to a gravel path that leads out of the grounds. The lake is quite deep, and you can imagine our fears when we saw the footprints of this poor, unstable young woman come to an end on its shores. "Of course, we dragged it at once, but found no trace of a body. We did, however, retrieve a