Agatha Christie's Parrot
It Knew All That They Said
"There was only one rule: don’t open the door.”
That was just one of the stipulations on hiring the cottage once owned by Agatha Christie, another was to look after the parrot, which was old and said to have been Agatha's favourite, but that may have just been another story.
The writer who had hired the cottage was dead on the floor outside the open door with a knife in the back. They had not obeyed that rule.
When the police were called by a neighbour who had seen the body through the window, and a black shape disappearing through the unlocked door.
The police walked in and Agatha Christies Parrot gave them a list of suspects, none of which made any sense.
"The butler did it"
"Professor Plum did it"
"Moriarty did it"
The parrot wouldn't shut up and the police were tempted to strangle the beast.
They wondered if the budding writer had been down to the cellar, they were facing away from the door so whoever murdered them seemed to have come through the door from the cellar.
In the writer's notebook, they said they had heard that there were some lost Agatha Christie manuscripts in the cellar behind the locked door. Looking at the footprints in the dust on the stairs and cellar floor they could only see the writer's footprints, but there was a biting cold in the cellar.
There were a few sheets of paper but they were unreadable. The police wondered if the place could be haunted.
There was no way out of the cellar but they could both feel something malevolent there and thought they saw a cowled figure and the glint of a blade.
They both ran upstairs and locked the door.
They didn't want to end up like the writer.
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Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred
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More stories from Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred and writers in Horror and other communities.
Holiday
"There was only one rule: don’t open the door.” There was only one rule that was unusual and that was it. You get things like that when you hire a holiday home, no pets, no smoking, and no loud music, they want to make sure the place is kept in good condition and popular for all buyers.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred about a year ago in Horror
Comments (7)
Hahahahahaha this was brilliant! Also, I noticed that you posted this in the Fiction community. The challenge requires our entries to be posted in the Horror community. So you might wanna change that
Ha! This was a fab take on the challenge. Love the parrot.
Wonderful intrigue! Agatha Christie and the feeling of her writing style echoed in this tale.
You have a great start on your own Agatha Christie novel here. You have all the usual suspects lined up, but will they open the door or follow orders.
Wow, this story really pulled me in with its mystery and suspense! The connection between Agatha Christie's old cottage, an aged parrot, and the murder made the story even more intriguing. The rule "Don’t open the door" and the mysterious death had me hooked from the very beginning. The police investigation and the parrot’s constant chatter added a touch of humor to the story, while the mention of the cellar gave me chills. The writer’s footprints in the cellar, the biting cold there, and the presence of an unknown shadow created deep tension in my mind. The ending left me wondering if the cottage is truly haunted. Such brilliant and entertaining writing! You've used words so skillfully. Amazing!
Excellent writing. My mom was always reading Agatha Christie's books. Parrots, never shut up unless you cover their cage, lol. Loved the humor with the parrot. I love the scary mystery in the basement part of this story. Will your Characters survive in that cottage? Very Intriguing storytelling. Love it!!!! Know I have to look up how the author really died in real life
clever! Was just watching "parrot" reruns on Youtube!