When I came down to the dining room for lunch I was charmed by the pleasant display of food on the large table--plates of elegant cucumber sandwiches (Starry would be delighted!), bowls of seaweed salad and and trays of jam tarts.
Angelica was waiting near the table and greeted me with the welcome words: "Please help yourself, Constable.
We do not stand on formality for luncheon."
I was filling my plate when Starry arrived.
"My word, this all looks delicious!" he chuckled, "And I see you have the start on me, Constable!"
"Tuck in! Tuck in! And welcome!" I replied.
"Lovely guest bedroom, Angelica." Starry remarked to Angelica, "And I SO appreciated the music!"
"Oh, Dear..." Angelica said, looking disturbed, "WHAT music?"
"Why the sort of haunting melody--harp, I think--coming from nearby. It was just the thing to help me relax after our journey."
"But there was NO music playing near your room, Starry. There are four bedrooms on the second floor: yours, Constable Crabs--and the other two are empty. There IS a harp in one of the empty rooms, however--an old harp which belonged to my Aunt Minerva--but SHE HAS BEEN DEAD FOR YEARS!"
...
After our short interview with Morris we entered the elegant, lavishly furnished old mansion.
"Hettie, will you please show Constable Crab and Starry to the guest bedrooms on the second floor?" Angelica said to the housekeeper.
Then, turning to me she quietly remarked: "The bedrooms on the second floor are where most of the ghostly disturbances have taken place--I am afraid I am putting you in harms way, gentlemen."
"Perfectly all right since that is why we are here, Angelica." I replied. "We are most curious to experience for ourselves your ghost's doings."
Starry and I were led upstairs and shown to separate very nice bedrooms next door to each other--both with splendid views of the large formal garden below.
"Luncheon will be served in the dining room in half an hour if that will be convenient for you gentlemen." Hettie informed us. "Or, if you need more time to relax I can postpone it as you wish..."
"That will be fine with us." I replied. Then to Starry: "I'll meet you in the dining room in half an hour--and, in the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open."
"Oh, I will, I will." Starry laughed, "And this is not such a bad place for a little vacation, is it, Constable? I hope it's cucumber sandwiches for lunch!"
...
We were about the enter the palatial old home when we were startled by a voice from behind us.
"Welcome home, Angelica--gentlemen--I will call on you later, and, Angelica, do not forget our conversation of last week."
"Morris! In the daylight?" said Angelica,"Well, as long as you are awake and here, you must meet the two persons I have asked to help with our problem. Constable Crab--Starry Starfish, this is a neighbor and old friend, Morris."
"Delighted, I'm sure." said the large and rather think moray eel and Starry and I returned his greeting.
"Yes, I seldom get out and about in the daylight--I am such a night person--but I wanted to meet your guests and to welcome you home, Angelica."
It was indeed unusual to see a moray eel by daylight. In fact I had never seen one, since they are all creatures of the night.
But Morris certainly looked to me like a good specimen of the type--slippery, muscular--with excellent teeth and bright, rather beady eyes--and, in this case, a cultured upper-class voice.
...
Next day was perfect for travel and before noon the three of us--Miss Angelfish, Starry (who was quite willing to come on the adventure) and myself arrived at the imposing front entrance of the Angelfish family mansion, their "Heavenly Abode".
Angelica pulled an iron headed lever and deep within the massive reef home a bell sounded.
Soon a maid-fish appeared followed by an imposing trumpet-fish.
"This is Hettie, our Housekeeper, Constable and Starry and our Head Butler, Clarance.
Hettie, Clarence--these two gentlemen will investigate our problem and hopefully soon return things to normal around here."
"Oh, I DO hope so, Mum." squeaked the maid and the trumpet fish gravely bowed to us and added: "You are very welcome, Sirs, and I offer you any assistance of which I am capable."
...
I knew the location of Heavenly Abode, a stately manor in an out-of-the-way part of the reef, and it seemed to me the best way to discover the veracity of Angelica's strange tale was to go there and investigate on the ground.
It also seemed good to me to invite my old friend Starry the starfish along since there might be more to this adventure than I could handle on my own, so I made this request to the young angelfish.
"Whatever you think best, Constable." she said.
"I am so relieved that you will take an interest in what must seem to you to be some figment of my imagination. I am staying with friends here--I have been too frightened to stay at Heavenly Abode even though there are servants there of course. Perhaps you and your starfish friend could come home with me tomorrow morning? And you must stay there for a while since the ghosts are not active until darkness falls and they do not appear every night."
"I will contact Starry." I said, "Please meet us here in the morning about nine and we will travel together to your home."
Angelica thanked me profusely and, with a becomming flutter of her fins, left.
Shortly afterward I went out into the wintery afternoon to see if Starry could join me.
...
"Your reef home is haunted?" I said trying not to show too much surprise.
"I know it sounds demented, but I am terribly upset--and the strange going's on at our family's estate--we call it Heavenly Abode--are too weird to be explained in any other way."
"And what are these "strange going's on", please, Miss Angelica?"
"Terrible, frightening things, Constable. Weird sounds in the night. Objects being moved from one place to another. Shadows and even horrible apparitions suddenly looking in the windows!"
"Hmm." That is all I could say. This young angelfish certainly looked sane, but her story was pretty unbelievable.
"I know you must think me mad--sometimes I doubt my own sanity--I have never believed in ghosts or the supernatural but I have reached the limit of my endurance. Please help me, Constable Crab!"
...
A young female angelfish was at the door--pretty, but with a sad expression on her face.
"Yes?" I simply said--allowing her to tell me the purpose of her visit.
"Constable Crab--I need your help."
"Please come in and tell me what I can do. I'll help you if I can, of course."
She came in with a flutter of yellow fins and arranged herself very daintily, as angelfish do, to speak.
"My name is Angelica. I was left without parents at a very young age and have been raised in a good school chosen by an uncle. Recently this uncle also died leaving me quite alone--and the sole owner of the family estate.
Finishing my education, I have returned to live in the great reef home of my family...but...but..."
The angelfish was obviously under some strain so I quickly came to her rescue.
"Please be calm, Miss Angelica. You are absolutely safe here. I assure you that I will give you all the aid in my power. Please continue your interesting story."
"Oh Constable Crab, I feel like such a fool--but I am afraid my great reef home is--is--is--HAUNTED!"
...
