Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Skeleton in the Clock by Carter Dickson



20 years ago Sir George Fleet was watching the hunt from atop of his terrace in the Fleet house, the crowd in the street below was waving at him, and naturally people watching the hunt in the gables of the dragon rest opposite the fleet house were focusing their telescopes and binoculars on Sir George Fleet, that's when it happened. Witnesses say it felt like somebody pushed the baronet and he plunged to his death, but some telescopes did not move from the terrace and they did not see anyone behind Sir George. The Police dismissed the case as a mere accident.

Present day, Sir Henry has a run in with the Countess of Brayle(a neighbor and close friend of the Fleets) over an unusual clock, a grandfather clock with a 6 ft skeleton in the background, much to the disappointment of the Brayle countess, the old man manages to outwit her and acquire the clock in a bidding war. Sir Henry drops hints that the skeleton in the clock has something to do with the death of Sir George fleet which he also believes was not an accident but murder. Stannard, a middle aged lawyer, and Martin Drake, an army captain are having another kind of dual, the duo make a bet of staying in the execution shed of the abandoned Pentecost prison not very far from the Fleet house. The sinister events that took place 20 years ago are about to repeat itself, and when the Sir Henry will unmask the killer it will be one of the most sinister ones he has had to encounter.

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