"The Mystery of O'Connor Death"

Chapter 1

It was late March, behind a large and magnificent house, a group of people had gathered to attend the funeral of Mrs. Emily O'Connor. They were slowly lowering the coffin and people were throwing a branch of flowers on it. The priest was praying for the deceased.

Mrs. Charlotte Buchanan, who was a friend of the deceased's family, whispered to her younger sister Elizabeth, who was standing next to her: "I can't believe Emily, who was such a happy and smiling person. How did she suddenly die in the mental hospital and there? Mr. O'Connor - the deceased's husband - also died this week. It's really terrible."

At that moment, a carriage had stopped in front of the house, where a man and a woman were talking.

Mrs. Jane McKenzie - the half-sister of Mr. John O'Connor- said: "Why did you bring me here?"

A man named Tom Baker said: "To enjoy it."

"But this way I feel more hatred while I should be happy because I took my revenge."

"No. You haven't taken your revenge yet. There is still one person left."

"Alice? She is a child."

"Yes."

"But Alice is only eight years old."

"You were only fourteen when that happened to you."

"we have to go home and wait a week to rest and let her suffer a little."

"But you live in Plymouth, which is far from here. Something might happen in this time."

"In this time, George - the carriage driver - is watching them and will tell us if anything happens."

The weather was extremely cold and Wharton. Now the snowfall had subsided and the snowflakes were gently dancing in the air. When the funeral was over and everyone left, Alice stood near the graves of her parents who were next to each other, staring at them. Alice's orphanhood seemed undeniable. Mrs. Isabella Wharton, who was one of Mrs. O'Connor's close friends, stood behind Alice and put her hands on Alice's shoulders, bent down and kissed her cheek from behind and kindly said: "My dear, I invite you to my house for tea. Jessica and Sara really want to play with you. Will you come with me to my house?"

Alice turned to Isabella and said: "No. Thank you very much for your invitation, but I prefer to stay at home."

Isabella looked at Alice and involuntarily remembered Emily. That's why she said after a few moments of silence: "Then I'll bring the kids here because they miss you. Is that okay?"

Alice said impatiently: "No." And went inside the house. Isabella said to Smith, one of the servants who was standing nearby: "Go tell the coachman to hurry up and bring Jessica and Sara here." Then she went to the library room which was on the upper floor of the house.

After the end of the funeral, Charlotte and Elizabeth continued their discussion in the carriage. Charlotte said: "I'm very sorry for Alice. Alice is only seven or eight years old and has lost her parents in a terrible way in a week and has become an orphan. She is very lonely. She only has a step-aunt and an aunt and has not heard from either of them for years. By the way, do you have any news from Jane?"

Elizabeth whispered softly so that no one could hear her: "Alice is never alone. I have to go somewhere."

Charlotte, who saw her sister mumbling something under her breath, asked: "What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing. I wanted to say that since she had a fight with her brother about something and left that house, I have not heard from her."

"Jane was a strange and lonely person."

"Since Jane lived with the O'Connor family, she and I were good friends for each other. In fact, she had no friend but me. I remember one night when it rained heavily, a stone broke the window of my room. When I woke up, I heard the sound of a carriage moving fast. When I picked up the stone, I saw a paper wrapped around it that said: ((I'm leaving and never coming back.))"

"I remember that night my father was surprised how they broke the window of your room and fired the doorman that night."

"Yes. I remember he was happy that he was fired."

"Margaret Bennet, Alice's aunt, also lives with her family in Ramsgate since her father disinherited her. I'm going to visit them the day after tomorrow."

When the carriage arrived at the house. Elizabeth said: "I want to go to other places too and come back in a few hours."

Charlotte, as she got off, said: "Okay." The carriage moved again until it stopped at a place near the back entrance of the O'Connor's house.

Elizabeth got off and said to the coachman: "Take this money and don't move from here until I come back. No one should know that I came here."

Elizabeth walked the rest of the way on foot. Smith, who apparently was waiting for her, opened the back door for her and gave her the servants' clothes and dusting tools; and said: "Now there is no one in the servants' dressing room, go and change your clothes."

"When I left here, give this letter to Mrs. Wharton." Smith took the letter.

Elizabeth said: "Where is Mrs. Wharton now?"

"They are now in the library on the upper floor."

Smith quickly left.

At the same time, Jane McKenzie's carriage, which was still standing in front of the main door, finally started moving.

The library was large and full of bookshelves, each of which was full of thick and thin books, and the first thing that caught Isabella's eye after entering the library was a large globe, and near it a large desk with a few books neatly stacked on part of it and an open book on the desk in front of the chair and a few sheets of paper scattered on the desk. There were also a pen case, ink and inkwell on the desk. Mrs. Wharton quickly sat behind the desk, pulled out a sheet of paper and wanted to write something on it, but regretted it. She got up and walked anxiously across the room several times. Finally she started writing, feeling regretful several times. Suddenly Elizabeth entered the room in a maid's dress, which surprised Isabella.

"Elizabeth, you had left here. Why did you wear the servants' clothes and come back? Did the servants hire you instead of the new maid?"

Elizabeth quickly approached the desk without answering Isabella, picked up a sheet of paper and wrote a letter as follows:

Dear friend

In the past week, strange and terrible events have happened. They found your brother's body in a ruin outside the city. After Mr. O'Connor's suspicious death, his wife was so upset that she went to the asylum and he also died there in a suspicious way. Alice is not in a good mental state either. I have no information about her aunt, so I ask you to come here as soon as possible and take care of her. Alice is very lonely. I apologize for writing only about this matter in this letter.

Your friend Elizabeth

Elizabeth wrote an address on the envelope after finishing the letter. Mrs. Wharton, who had been silent until then and was reading the letter, said: "Emily herself said that Jane caused Mr. O'Connor's death." Now you want her to take care of Alice?"

Elizabeth gestured to Mrs. Wharton to be quiet and whispered: "No one should know I'm here." And as she put her family seal on the table. She whispered: "After you read the letter, you will understand everything."

Isabella said softly: "Which letter?"

Elizabeth, who wanted to leave the room quickly, said: "See you soon."

A few minutes after Elizabeth left, Mrs. Wharton was putting the letter in the envelope and sealing it when another maid came in to clean the room.

Isabella said, "Sophie, have the children arrived?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"By the way, it's time for tea in half an hour. Tell the cook to make Alice's favorite snacks. She hasn't eaten anything today."

Mrs. Wharton waved to the children who were standing next to Smith at the bottom of the stairs as she came down. When she reached them, she gave the letter to Smith and said, "Take this letter to the post office quickly." Then she hugged and kissed Sara and Jessica and said kindly, "I missed you so much."

Jessica said, "We did too, mother." Then she added, "Mother, why did you tell the carriage driver to bring me and Sara here?"

"Because Alice is very lonely and sad now and she wouldn't come to our house. Alice is your friend you have to do something to make her feel less unhappy and lonely."

Sara, who was younger than Jessica, said, "Mother, is Mrs. O'Connor really dead?"

Isabella said, "Unfortunately yes, my dear."

Sara hugged Mrs. Wharton tightly and said, "Mother, I'm scared. I'm very scared."

Isabella said, "My dear, what are you afraid of? I'll always stay with you." Then they went to the same room where Alice had been left alone.

Years ago Mr. Walter Johnson - Alice's maternal grandfather - had bought the largest and most scenic house in Southampton for his little and beloved daughter Miss Emily who was soon to become Mrs. O'Connor. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor decided to move there. They were both happy until a while later their happiness doubled and a beautiful baby with white skin and a gentle smile always joined their family. They named her Alice. They had spent good and happy days together.

Alice was sitting alone in the large hall in the room where her parents used to come and go. Alice still felt their presence in that room and thought of the good old days when she suddenly remembered that today people at the funeral were whispering that "her mother had gone mad." Alice remembered that on Saturday night she woke up with a loud noise and went to the hallway with a candle and saw that Mrs. Harris - Alice's tutor - and some of the servants were standing behind her mother's door. The sound of breaking objects and breaking glass was coming from the room.

Some of the servants were saying in horror: "Mrs. O'Connor has gone mad."

The voice of Mrs. O'Connor was coming, sometimes laughing and sometimes crying, shouting: "Don't come near me."

Alice was very terrified, she wanted to scream and call her mother, but no sound came out of her throat. Mrs. Harris, who noticed her, went to Alice, hugged her and wanted to take her away from there, but Alice ran to the door. She knocked on the door several times, wanted to call her mother again, but couldn't and burst into tears. When Mrs. Wharton entered the room with the children, Alice, who was lost in thought, suddenly came to herself.

While the children were busy talking to each other, Isabella was sitting in a corner and watching the children. Smith approached Mrs. Wharton and whispered something in her ear and then handed her a packet of letters. Isabella immediately ran to a room, closed the door firmly behind her and quickly started tearing the packet of letters and reading them. After reading the letter, she did not believe any of the words that were written in it, so she read the letter over and over again until she finally threw the letter into the fireplace. Isabella was watching it burn and thinking about this matter that in a part of the letter it was written: Come to this address; Raymond and I are waiting for you.

Raymond was Mrs. Wharton's brother who suddenly traveled to France after finishing his studies and met Elizabeth there with the Ellington family by chance and became interested in this family. He worked for them for a while until he became rich and returned to England a few months ago. During this time he wrote a letter to Isabella every month and informed her of his situation. But Isabella's relationship with her brother was not good since he had left without notice.