Mysteries of Winchester: The Lost Secret

A perfect mystery novel sure to impress even the most criticizing readers

By Mahi Kumar on 18 June 2023

Ella was sick of her life at Winchester Academy for Girls. It was boring, it was repetitive, and mainly academic. Her father would always write her letters and he would always update her about what was going on at home. In fact, today she’d received a letter from him.

Dear Ella, how are you doing?
Do you have any friends? How is your schoolwork?
Maddie is doing fine back here (but she dug up the Thompsons flower garden).
Love you.
From,
Papa.


Ella shook the envelope and a 10 pound note fell out. A photo of Maddie also fell out. She picked the note and the photo up and tucked them away in her pocket. Ella smiled at the photo of Maddie. Her little border collie puppy was always getting into some sort of trouble from time to time. She deeply missed her licks and her soft fur. Suddenly, she heard a screech. Ella peered down the corridor and saw a girl dragging a heavy-looking trunk across the polished floor. Ella folded the letter, shoved it into her pocket and scrambled down the hallway to help her.”Hi! I’m Ella. Would you like some help?”, she asked. The girl had jet black hair and bangs. She had round rose-gold rimmed glasses. The girl stopped pulling the trunk and brushed her hair off her glasses. “Yes, please. That would be nice”, she panted.”I’m Audrey by the way”. The two girls picked up the trunk and started walking.”Wait!”, Audrey exclaimed suddenly. She fished out a small piece of paper from her pocket.”Audrey Fitzwarren, your accommodation is…”, Ella could hear her muttering under her breath.”My dorm is 23”, Audrey declared.”Oh, same!”, Ella squealed. Ella was finally starting to get a little bit excited. She hadn’t got a roommate yet, and she was dying to have one. The two resumed what they were previously doing. After some time, they had managed to lug Audrey’s trunk all the way to Dorm 23. Ella opened the oak door and helped Audrey in. “Oh, so this will be our humble abode?”, Audrey questioned as she started to unpack her things. “Yep!”, Ella exclaimed. She suddenly remembered the letter. She pulled it out of her pocket and pinned it onto her corkboard with one of her colourful pushpins. Audrey turned her gaze from her things to Ella’s side of the dorm. “Wow!”, she said, dumbstruck. Above Ella’s bed, there was a string of fairy lights. Photos of Maddie and Ella dotted the walls, but the most amazing thing was the butterfly mural which took up one entire wall! “I know! That’s the best thing about WAG. They let you decorate your dorms”, Ella said as she flopped onto her bed.”What’s WAG?”Audrey asked as she neatly folded her clothes and placed them into her wardrobe.”Winchester Academy for Girls, duh!”Ella said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.”Oh yeah. Noted”, Audrey said sheepishly. Audrey took her rucksack off her back and opened it up. She produced a bright pink folder and pulled out a crisp sheet of paper. “What’s that?”, Ella asked. Her interest was piqued. “My schedule”, Audrey replied as she pulled out a box filled with pushpins. She opened the box and picked out a pink one. She crawled over to her corkboard and pinned it on. “Wait!”, Ella exclaimed. She walked over to her corkboard and delicately pulled out her schedule. She held it next to Audrey’s and examined the two closely.”OMG! Yours and mine are exactly the same!”, Ella squealed.”Wait, they are?”, Audrey asked. “Yeah! Look. Science, Latin, Math, English, Social Studies and then History”, Ella said, reading off her schedule.”Oh, great!”, Audrey exclaimed happily. Ella pinned her schedule back onto her board.”Hey, wanna go to Kenneth’s & Maclin’s?” Ella asked as she slid off her bed.”What’s Kenneth’s & Maclin’s?”, Audrey questioned curiously.”It’s the local grocery and department store”, Ella said as she grabbed her satchel in anticipation.”Sure”, Audrey replied with glee as she picked up her satchel as well. She slipped her wallet into the front pocket, delicately dropping in a copper compact at the same time. The letters E & G were engraved on it.”What do those stand for?”, Ella asked as she pointed at the letters.”Oh, umm. My grandma’s initials. Emily Gordon”. Audrey started to shuffle around uncomfortably.”It’s all I have left of my family”, Audrey said. Tears started to well up in her eyes. Ella scooched next to Audrey and started to comfort her.”I’m so sorry Audrey! I never knew”, Ella shook her head. Audrey wiped at her eyes and picked up her satchel. She ran towards the door as if nothing happened.”Hey! Wait for me!”, Ella shouted as she grabbed her wallet.”Come on, slowpoke!”, Audrey giggled. Ella folded the 10 pound note and stuck it into her wallet. “Audrey! That’s the wrong way. It’s this way”, Ella chuckled.”Oops. Sorry”, Audrey said sheepishly. Ella and Audrey sprinted the rest of the way till they saw a blackboard. Kenneth & Maclin’s was written on it with white chalk and their “Deal of the Day” was written below.”1 packet of lollies for 5 pounds. 2 packets of lollies for 7 pounds”, Audrey read aloud.”Not a bad deal”, Ella said as she inspected the board. A bell jangled as they opened the door. The store was full of schoolgirls. They would typically come to the store on a Saturday, buying new books and stationary. Most of the girls were crammed in the magazine aisle as they browsed through. Audrey and Ella rushed to the snacks aisle. It was deserted, apart from one first grader All they could see was the top of her head. It was jet-black, exactly like Audrey’s. She was sitting in the corner, crying.”A-Addie?”, Audrey stuttered. The girl looked up at the sound of her voice.”Audrey!”. The girl ran to her in glee. Audrey swept her up in a hug. Ella stared at the two girls. They looked exactly alike with their jet-black hair, apple cheeks and their chocolate brown eyes.”Is she your sister?”, Ella asked, a bit more rudely than intended. Audrey was a little taken aback.”Yeah. Ella, meet Addie. Addie, meet Ella”, Audrey introduced the two.”Hello!”, Addie said brightly. “Wow, this is a change from the girl I saw before”, Ella thought. Ella looked at Addie a bit more closely, and saw that she actually was quite cute. “Come on Addie! Want some lollies?”, Audrey asked as she took hold of the child’s hand. “Well, I haven’t got any money. The two mean girls stole it”, Addie whimpered.”Wait, are you talking about Ari and Margaret?”, Ella asked.”Mmm-hmm”, Addie nodded. Ella growled in anger. The two twins were her cousins (4 years younger), they were spoiled brats and known bullies.”When I get my hands on them, they’re gonna get it!”, Ella growled.”I’ll be right back”, Ella said as she rolled up her sleeves. Ella sprinted off back to the school. Ella guessed that they’d be in the craft room and just as she predicted, she was right.