Learning English

Mariam
Hello, I'm Mariam. I hope you don't scare easily because today I've got a story that will make your blood run cold. It's a story about murder and intrigue and a detective who has to work out who has committed a very serious crime.

The story is set in Paris in the 19th Century. On a dark and foggy night, a terrifying scream echoes around the streets. People nearby hear two voices coming from the apartment above. One of them clearly sounds French but the other one is high-pitched and isn't easy to understand. Then it goes quiet.

Quickly, the people run into the house where the noise came from and run up the stairs. With a great force they burst into the apartment. What a horrific sight they see; there is mess everywhere, there's a woman's body hanging from the chimney and another is on the courtyard below with blood running from a cut in her neck and there are two bags of money left behind – no one has taken them. But strangely, the windows are closed and the doors are locked and no one saw anyone run down the stairs as they came up. What a mystery.

The police have never run up against something like this before so it requires the brains of a super-sleuth to solve it – enter the smart private detective Dupin. He runs through the evidence – with all the possible scenarios running through his head – the strange voice, someone very cruel, no means of escape. Then he examines the handprints on the woman's body – they are large and possibly not human. Could it be some kind of animal – an ape perhaps? That would explain the strange voice but what about the other human voice that was heard?

What a mystery indeed - but I'm going to leave it there. Join me again next time to find out what went on that night. Bye for now.