THE MIDNIGHT EXPERIMENT: The grand old house held its breath as night fell.
Sydney could feel their eyes on him—Wettler’s nervous glances, Robin’s fawning attention, Hashinto’s barely concealed amusement. But it was Philip Buntler who interested him most. The man moved through the halls like a sleepwalker, eyes glazed… until they suddenly sharpened, locking onto Sydney with unsettling intensity.
As the clock neared 1 AM, Sydney made his move.
12:47 AM
A knife flashed in the candlelight. Sydney methodically sliced the wax taper, scattering fragments across the veranda like breadcrumbs. Then—the revolver.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three shots shattered the night’s silence.
Sydney sprawled on the floor, limbs splayed, revolver at his side—the perfect corpse.
Chaos erupted beyond the door.
“Murder!” Buntler’s voice cut through the clamor.
“Suicide, more like!” Wettler countered.
The door burst open. Light flooded over Sydney’s “body.”
Hashinto moved first—silent as a shadow, reaching toward the scene.
Sydney’s eyes snapped open.
“An experiment,” he announced, rising smoothly. “To see how you’d react to murder.”
Wettler sputtered indignantly. Robin wrung his hands. Hashinto’s teeth gleamed in a Cheshire grin.
But Buntler?
“Brilliant,” he murmured, studying the wax fragments. “A psychologist’s trick. Though I wonder… was this really about our reactions—” His eyes met Sydney’s. “—or about who didn’t come running?”
2:15 AM – Buntler’s Bedroom
The microscope gleamed under lamplight as Sydney scraped samples from Buntler’s shoes.
“Transparent flakes,” Sydney mused. “Curious.”
Buntler leaned in. “Just ordinary—”
A match flared. The slide hissed over flame.
Under the lens, the residue transformed—crystalline structures glowing like tiny stars.
Sydney’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Know what this is, Professor?”
Buntler paled.
“Neither do I,” Sydney lied. “But it matches what I found where Stanwood’s wax double was stored.”
Somewhere in the house, a floorboard creaked.
TO BE CONTINUED…
(Adapted from Earl Stanley Gardner’s “The Mystery of the Missing Body”)