It was one of those Gothic tragedies, I suppose -- or quite possibly a practical joke gone terribly wrong. Here in Scotland, one must be prepared for anything. Still, when Chief Inspector McIntyre assigned me to the case, fresh from my commissioning as a detective, you could say I felt a bit nervous. After all, this was my first real case.

But I am getting ahead of myself. And perhaps you are the only ones who didn’t awaken to STOP PRESS inserts in the newspapers announcing the ghastly death of Lord Auchinlech. It made a dramatic scene. Lord Auchinlech’s body was found on the second floor gallery of his residence in the south wing of Auchinlech Castle, just beyond the staircase. From the horrible look on his face, and the fact that his right hand was rolled into a tight ball over his heart, it appeared he had been frightened to death.