The Tale of Three Servants

The next morning, as the oldest servant came into the dining hall to set the table for the master’s breakfast, he dropped the plates in his hand and let out a high-pitched scream.

The master’s meal from the prior night was still on the table, but slumped over in the master’s chair, was the youngest servant – dead. The second servant and the master hurriedly came into the hall next to the older servant and stood aghast at the lifeless figure.

“How did this happen?” said master in shock. “I was seated in that very chair last night. When I awoke from my slumber, I was too tired to eat so I retired to my bedroom for the evening. Tell me, how did this happen to my faithful friend and servant? Why does tragedy continue to afflict this place?”

The master cried out in grief, and the two servants wept uncontrollably and reached out to the lifeless body of their fellow servant. As they did, the master’s body began to shake and he fainted. The two servants quickly turned back and caught him before he hit the stone floor. They laid their master on the ground, and tried to awake him. When the master finally opened his eyes, he sat up and began to cry anew. The two servants sunk to the floor and simply sobbed alongside him.

The local authorities were promptly alerted to the terrible situation and the chief of police dispatched a young detective to determine the youngest servant’s cause of death.

The detective interviewed everyone who had been at the mansion the prior day – the banker, the master, and the two older servants. After gathering testimony from the witnesses, he put on latex gloves and thoroughly examined the young servant’s dead body – which in the morning light appeared old and withered from the many years of service he had rendered to the master.

The witnesses waited with bated breath as he inspected the youngest servant’s hands, mouth and face, as well as the meal and flatware sitting in front of him. Then, abruptly, the detective stood up and declared, “He was poisoned. Not once, but twice. He picked up that fork in front of him and took a bite of the bread pudding. An aggressive poison on the fork entered in through his skin and probably stopped his heart at the same time that the poison on the blueberries he ingested stopped his breathing.”

“How could this be?” replied the master shuddering and staring intently at the detective and then the banker. He closed his eyes and shook his head. None of it made sense. But then, slowly, the old master turned his gaze to his two eldest servants. He looked on them in horror.

The detective stared at each individual in the group and then pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen and swiped a number of times with his finger. Then, he looked up and declared, “I know who killed the youngest servant.”