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Cordelia Gray was a young woman who had been working with a private detective named Bernie Pryde. When Bernie suddenly took his own life, she was left shocked and heartbroken. In his final note, he left her his detective agency, a small, struggling business that had never brought much money but had given him purpose. Cordelia, though inexperienced and unsure, decided to keep the agency running in his memory. She was only twenty-two and had little training, but she felt a sense of loyalty toward Bernie and wanted to prove that she could handle the work, even though society often thought detective work was not suitable for women.
One day, not long after she inherited the agency, a man named Sir Ronald Callender came to see her. He was a respected scientist, tall and cold, with an air of authority that made people nervous. He told Cordelia that he wanted her to investigate the death of his son, Mark Callender. Mark had been found hanging in a cottage where he lived alone, and everyone believed it was suicide. However, Sir Ronald was not satisfied with the police report. He said he wanted Cordelia to find out why his son had done it—or if perhaps something else had happened. Cordelia accepted the case, feeling both nervous and excited. It was her first real assignment on her own.
Cordelia traveled to Cambridge, where Mark had been a student. She went to his college and talked to some of his friends. They described Mark as a quiet, charming young man, but also moody and withdrawn in his final months. One of them mentioned that Mark had suddenly dropped out of university and moved into a small cottage on his father’s property. He had refused to speak to his father and had started working as a gardener for him, which seemed strange given his education. Cordelia was curious about this sudden change in his life.
When she visited the cottage where Mark had died, she found it neat and simple. The police had ruled it a suicide because he was found hanging from a beam, with no signs of struggle. But as Cordelia looked closer, she noticed small details that did not fit. The chair that should have been kicked away was standing upright, and there were marks on the beam that looked unusual. She began to suspect that someone might have staged the hanging to make it look like suicide. Her sharp eyes and calm thinking began to uncover small clues that others had missed.
Cordelia decided to learn more about Mark’s life in his final weeks. She spoke to the housekeeper who had looked after the cottage and learned that Mark had been expecting someone the day before he died. The housekeeper didn’t know who it was. Cordelia also found out that Mark had received a mysterious letter shortly before his death, but the letter was missing. Her suspicions grew stronger that Mark had not taken his own life but had been killed by someone who wanted to hide the truth.
Cordelia’s next step was to visit Sir Ronald’s main house. It was a large, cold mansion filled with expensive scientific equipment. Sir Ronald treated her with polite distance, as if he didn’t fully believe in her abilities. His secretary, Miss Leaming, seemed unfriendly and protective of her employer. Cordelia noticed that everyone in the house seemed tense, as though they were hiding something. She also met a young man named Andrew Lunn, who worked as a laboratory assistant. He seemed nervous and eager to please, but Cordelia sensed that he was frightened of Sir Ronald.
While staying in the village, Cordelia met a few locals who spoke kindly of Mark. They said he was a good boy who had loved animals and preferred simple work over his father’s strict scientific world. One woman hinted that Mark might have discovered something about his father’s work that troubled him deeply. Cordelia started to wonder if that secret had anything to do with his death. The deeper she went, the more dangerous the case began to feel. She was being followed at night, and she sensed that someone was trying to frighten her away from the investigation.
One evening, Cordelia returned to the cottage to look around again. She found that someone had broken in and searched the place. The drawers were open, papers scattered, and the air smelled faintly of chemicals. She realized that whoever had done this was desperate to find or remove something. Her fear grew, but so did her determination. She decided to stay the night in the cottage, lighting a small fire and keeping a knife close to her hand. That night, she heard footsteps outside and saw a shadow move past the window, but when she ran out, no one was there.
The next morning, she made a shocking discovery in the nearby woods—a small, half-buried box. Inside it were personal letters written by Mark. In one of them, he wrote about a secret experiment his father had been working on, one that involved unethical practices on animals and possibly humans. Mark had been horrified when he found out and had confronted his father. Cordelia realized that this could have been the real reason behind his death. Sir Ronald had a strong motive to silence his son before he could expose the truth.
Cordelia went to confront Sir Ronald, but he remained calm and emotionless. He dismissed her questions and told her that her investigation was over. When she refused to leave, he became angry and warned her to stop before she got hurt. His cold eyes and threatening tone confirmed her worst fears. She knew then that he was hiding something serious. Later that night, someone tried to push her car off the road while she was driving back to her lodgings. She barely escaped with her life. It was clear that someone wanted her dead.
Determined to uncover the truth, Cordelia decided to take a bold step. She pretended to be leaving town but instead returned secretly to the laboratory at Sir Ronald’s estate late at night. Inside, she found disturbing evidence of experiments involving dangerous chemicals. She also found more of Mark’s notes hidden behind a cabinet. The notes described how Mark had discovered that one of the chemicals his father used could be lethal if inhaled, and that it might have been used in his own death. Before she could take the papers, she heard footsteps approaching and hid behind a curtain.
Miss Leaming entered the room, holding a lantern. She looked nervous and whispered as if talking to herself. She mentioned Sir Ronald’s name and said something about how everything had gone wrong. Cordelia realized that Miss Leaming knew the truth. When Miss Leaming left, Cordelia quietly followed her to a small room in the house. There, she overheard her crying and saying that she had helped Sir Ronald clean up after Mark’s death. It was then clear that Miss Leaming had been part of the cover-up, though she might not have been the killer.
The next day, Cordelia received a letter asking her to meet someone who claimed to have more information about Mark. She went to the meeting place, a quiet boathouse near the river. But when she arrived, she found it deserted. Suddenly, the door slammed behind her, and she realized she had been trapped. The air inside began to fill with smoke. Someone had locked her in and set fire to the place. Cordelia fought for her life, breaking a window and escaping into the cold water. She swam to the shore, coughing and terrified, but alive.
Soaked and trembling, she returned to the village police and reported everything. The police were skeptical at first but agreed to search the estate again. When they did, they found enough evidence to arrest Sir Ronald. Miss Leaming broke down under questioning and confessed that she had helped her employer after he killed his son. Mark had threatened to reveal his father’s secret experiments, and in a moment of rage, Sir Ronald had killed him, then made it look like suicide. Miss Leaming had helped stage the scene, believing she was protecting the man she admired.
Cordelia’s bravery and careful work had exposed the truth. Sir Ronald showed no remorse when he was taken away, and the newspapers soon filled with the story of the brilliant young woman detective who had solved the case no one else could. Though she had been frightened many times, Cordelia felt proud that she had proven herself capable in a world that doubted her. She had avenged Mark and given peace to his memory.
After the case ended, Cordelia returned to her small detective office. She was exhausted but wiser. She cleaned Bernie’s old desk and placed a small flower on it in his memory. Though she knew her job would never be easy, she was no longer afraid. She had faced danger, death, and lies—and had survived them all. From that day forward, Cordelia Gray became known as a young detective with courage, intelligence, and compassion, showing the world that even a job considered unsuitable for a woman could be done with great strength and heart.