📌 Patreon — every new case first, ad-free and early ($2.99/month)https://www.patreon.com/NocturnalTales🌐 Website — every story we've ever made, free to listen. No paywall, no account, no password.https://nocturnaltalespodcast.comSussex, the first of November, 1931. A colourless sky after a night of rain, a square Georgian house above a small valley, and in a little pavilion among the beech trees, a benefactor dead with an ornamental dagger in his chest.The local inspector has sent for the Belgian Detective because nobody at Ferncombe House agrees about anything — except the death. A business partner says he watched the fatal struggle from the laurels. A young music teacher says he did it himself, to save her. The housekeeper says she saw the widow take the dagger from the study.And the widow, Celia Merriweather, meets them at a drawing table with graphite on her hand and a question of her own. Three people have told the police what she wanted last night. She asks only one thing: that nobody invent an innocent woman who happens to resemble her.She has drawn a plan of the pavilion. And something in one witness's account will not fit the building.ℹ️ FOR LISTENERSThis is an original mystery written by Nocturnal Tales, inspired by a listener's suggestion (thank you, Sabrina) and by the conflicting testimonies of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's "In a Grove", one of the stories behind Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon. The plot, characters and text are entirely our own creation, and all characters and events are fictional. The historical epilogue at the end discusses the literary and cinematic background. No affiliation, endorsement, or official connection is implied.💬 QUESTION FOR THE COMMENTSFour witnesses, four different women standing beside the bench. Which account persuaded you first — and what finally made you question it? 🕵️🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - Introduction01:29 - Chapter One - The Question She Brought09:47 - Chapter Two - The Pavilion17:12 - Chapter Three - An Honourable Man25:26 - Chapter Four - A Door and a Drawing32:34 - Chapter Five - The Rescue41:36 - Chapter Six - What the House Heard48:17 - Chapter Seven - The Woman Who Arranged It56:07 - Chapter Eight - The Dead Man’s Record1:04:22 - Chapter Nine - The Empty Chair1:13:32 - Chapter Ten - Her Account1:24:17 - Chapter Eleven - A Witness Who Stayed1:32:27 - Chapter Twelve - No One to Rescue1:41:07 - Chapter Thirteen - The Last Account1:50:27 - Chapter Fourteen - What She Kept1:57:37 - Historical Epilogue - The Stories Behind the Story2:02:58 - Closing📖 GET THE EBOOK — $3.99📌 Patreon — included with Writing Table & Archive Society, or one-time purchasehttps://www.patreon.com/posts/156573383🛒 Gumroad — EPUB + PDF includedhttps://nocturnaltalespod.gumroad.com/l/ebookvol2❤️ SUPPORT & LISTENING OPTIONS📌 Patreon — every new case first, ad-free and earlyhttps://www.patreon.com/NocturnalTales🌐 Website — every story, free, no account neededhttps://nocturnaltalespodcast.com📺 Rumble — free, supports us with ad revenuehttps://rumble.com/c/c-7820714❤️ Buy Me a Coffee — one-time supporthttps://buymeacoffee.com/nocturnaltales🎧 Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nocturnal-tales-mystery-audiobooks-and-crime-stories/id1896195848🧾 CREDITSWritten by Nocturnal Tales. Narrated by Nocturnal Tales.🔖 TAGS / KEYWORDSBelgian detective mystery audiobook, Rashomon inspired mystery, unreliable witnesses, conflicting accounts, country house murder, Sussex 1931, Arthur narrator mystery, golden age mystery audiobook, classic whodunit audiobook, full-length mystery audiobook
