A Haiku Mystery Tea Party

the kettle boiled
the envelope opened as
the lemon tea steeped

one page and the tea
fell to the floor with a shriek
her body lay limp

Perfectly good tea
stains an antique persian rug
irking the butler



the letter is gone
loyal butler hears foot steps
running down the hall

then the young maid screams
with a blood soaked letter-knife
held out to inspect

trampled flower bed
muddy footprints are leading
towards the old pond

there it was floating
recognizable by none
truly bothersome

and there, on the path
hinges buckled, lid askew
an antique tea chest

empty except for
a soiled gossamer cloth
and an envelope

Three pairs of eyes turned
to the algae covered pond
red painted tea ball


Wild eyed brother shouts
jumps in the pond, grabs the chain
maid runs to him, No

The police inspector rang the door bell. The butler answered and led him to the pond. The young man was hysterically jumping on the tea ball while the maid sobbed.
The inspector looked at them then went back to the parlor to see the young woman who lay dead on the floor covered in blood from the stab wounds by a letter knife.
The butler answered some questions which revealed that the young woman and her brother lived in the house alone. Their parents died a year ago and left them both the large house which was full of antiques. Eight months ago, the young man started behaving strangely. He was normally a quiet man but since then had become extremely irritable. He had difficulty sleeping and had terrible headaches. His symptoms were becoming worse. The young maid nursed him and had become very fond of him.

Everyone was brought into the house and kept under surveillance until the next day.

The following day, the inspector asked that everyone come in to the parlor. "The young woman was steaming the letter open. I found the letter in the envelope in the tea chest yesterday. It contained the test results for a blood test that was done two weeks ago. A test for lead done on the young man. You see, the woman was poisoning her brother for his half of the inheritance. The tea ball had lead paint on it and the soil in the gossamer cloth was highly contaminated with lead. His Sister prepared his tea nightly for him, using that tea ball and mixing the soil with the tea.

It was the maid that killed the sister. She knew that she was trying to kill the man that she loved so she arranged for the blood test to be done. When the woman was about to read the letter, she grabbed the letter knife and ...

then she tearfully
flung the antique tea chest to
her bosom and fled

The End

Thanks for joining the party
Carol the Hostess:
Mango
Polona
Nancy
Mompoet