Winchester's Secrets

Epilogue☄️

1st January, 2020

Currently, I was feeling a wide range of emotions.

I was tired. Everything after Christmas day happened so fast, it became hard to keep up. Mr. William had been arrested for multiple counts of murder, kidnap and attempted murder giving him life imprisonment. Michael Stone had gone down for the same thing, excluding the former. His sentence was better as he got ten years. Mrs. Burrows wasn't so lucky, the fatal stab wound delivered by Emily had landed directly in her heart.

I was sad. Inspector Davies ended up with a sack letter and six months of imprisonment for accepting bribe. Apparently, our new mayor was a no nonsense man with a strict policy for honesty. Ironic how he and Mr. William Brooke were once friends. Unfortunately, Mr. Burrows passed hours after he was told of his wife's involvement, most likely from heartbreak but the doctors insisted on lead poisoning as cause of death.

I was relieved. Emily Brooke, the star of the show, was back safe and sound. She and Mrs. Brooke had patched things up, the fear of death could do wonders. I was told the three Brooke ladies, including Janet Brooke were leaving Winchester to begin a fresh start. John Burrows had been given a bit of pardon due to his honesty about the crimes, but the town, especially Emily, was eager to see him punished so he was also given a sentence of one year. According to her, they were supposed to have run away together that night but he betrayed her and assured her kidnap. I really couldn't blame her, the girl had almost died because of that. Also, Claire Burrows' could finally rest in peace as her killers had finally been brought to book.

From the confessions by Mr. William, Michael, and John Burrows, we had cleared up a lot of things. Claire had been forced to befriend Emily, and then betray her that proved abortive as Claire sought to protect her. John then succeeded in kidnapping Emily after Michael had threatened to kill his sister, Claire. According to him, it would still be family over girlfriends but unfortunately it ended badly. Mr. William Brooke admitted that Michael had been under some sort of spiritual influence, but that was after he found out his mother was to be killed too. So no justification there.

I was happy. The Christmas celebrations weren't stopped even after all that happened, rather it became a double celebration. Of course, Winchester's citizens were disappointed in Mr. William Brooke and Marie Burrows but they were happy to see justice. I was more happy to see that no one was severally hurt, and those that were got what they deserved excluding the father-daughter duo. Linda, David and I had been given awards of excellence, and an expense paid trip to any country for two weeks. My year-long dream of visiting Africa with Jack would be possible, thanks to the new Mayor of Winchester. Of course, Linda and David had discovered more of a spark between then and were travelling together and I was glad, my matchmaking words had paid off. The only sad thing was... I would be the third wheel.

I walked home smiling as I played with the left-over snow continuously melting in my hands. Winter was fading away, and as Spring was approaching, all I was eager to go home and plan a well-deserved vacation with my fiancee.

*****

And it's a wrap. Thanks readers, and followers for all your support and love ❤️❤️. It's the end of Snowy Murder, and I'm sincerely happy and proud I was able to finish my first book. I can't say if there's going to be a part two, but if there is, it will be in Africa.
Right now, my focus will be mostly on writing my other book, Fashionista.
NB: I'm changing the title of this story to Winchester's secrets, and I hope you all still enjoy this writing.

Thanks, everyone. Much love!!!