RING! The doorbell rang and George Travis, the greatest detective of all times, woke up with a jump. He glanced at the luminous clock on his bedside table.

“It’s 6:00 am!” he groaned. “I’d better go quickly … it might be a client.” George hurriedly brushed his teeth and leapt down the stairs. He opened the door to find an elderly woman standing in the doorway, looking anxious. George invited her inside and she seated herself on the sofa, with George facing her.

“Mr Travis, I have troubled you at this time in the morning due to an emergency. But first, I must introduce myself. I am Lady Ellenore Hangleton of Chaselbury. I live in a large manor in the countryside. It is so large that even I, Lady Hangleton do not know all parts of it. My ancestors have lived in that mansion for almost a millennium.

“But now, at night, strange things happen! I hear screams, wails and moans. Last night, I went to investigate and saw a monster. A horrible, ugly monster!”

“Can you describe this monster, please, Mrs Hangleton?” Mr Travis asked.

“It was huge!” she cried hysterically. “Long red hair, a large purplish nose, long thin fingers, a cruel twisted face and fangs! And many arms and legs ….”

“What did you do?” George inquired.

“I hit it with an umbrella stand and ran for my life! I came here as quick as I could in my carriage.”

Ideas and suspicions began to form in the detective’s shrewd, analytical mind.

“Is there anything valuable in the house?” he asked.

“Valuable? My dear Mr Travis ‘everything’ in my house is valuable! The sofas, the chandeliers, the carpets ….”

“Err … I meant something easier to steal.” muttered George, hastily.

“Oh,” Lady Hangleton’s lips trembled. “There is a v-v-vault hidden behind my bedroom. The vault contains all my jewels, gold and money. I do not trust banks, you see.”

“I will investigate this case. Can you sleep somewhere other than your bedroom?

“I will not sleep with a monster in my house!” she cried, standing up. “Mr Travis, I count on you to eliminate this monster. I shall sleep in a hotel until then.”

“Then may I sleep in your house? I will go at night to eliminate this monster,” said Mr Travis.

“Of course!” she agreed, graciously. “I must go now.”

George saw her off to the gate and slumped into bed. Later that evening, George slipped a gun into his pocket. He mounted his bicycle and headed for Chaselbury Manor.

“Waaaaaailll! Eeeeaaaaaoooo! Aaaaahhh!”

George Travis woke up with a start. He grabbed his gun and woke up the butler who was sleeping on a mattress in the same room.

“Get up, Williams. Didn’t you hear the wails? As Sherlock Holmes would have said, the game is afoot! Lead the way!” George reached into his pocket and revealed a pair of handcuffs. He gave them to Williams and they broke into a run.

“I don’t think handcuffs would be of much use,” said Williams, exasperatedly. “This is a monster we’re talking about.”

“We’ll force it to wearing them somehow,” panted George, as the turned into another set of corridors. “And if it needs persuading, I have a gun.”

They emerged from the labyrinth of corridors and halted as they came to a door. George stuck out an arm to stop the butler.

“Waaaaaailll! Eeeeaaaaaoooo! Aaaaahhh!” Bloodcurdling screams came from the other side of the door. Williams almost fainted with fright.

“On my word …” George tensed himself like a predator about to pounce upon its prey. “One … two … three … go!”

They burst into the room. A tall, horrible monster stood there, waving its arms just as Lady Hangleton had described it.

“Oooooooaaaaaaeeeeee!” Without further ado, George whispered frantic instructions to Williams, who was shaking from head to toe, and sprang at the massive figure. It stumbled.

Williams had never seen a monster stumble before. Now that he came to think of it, he had never even seen a real monster before. He tried to steady his shaking hands which were pointing a gun towards the scuffle between the detective and the beast.

George yanked at something on the monster’s hideous body. It was a zip. Yes, a zip, thought Williams. How strange! To Williams’ utter amazement, two short men tumbled out of the creature’s skin — or rather, costume.

“Why, that’s Master Albert, Lady Hangleton’s nephew. What are you doing dressed up like this?” he asked sternly.

George jumped to his feet. He and William both had their guns pointed towards the men who were sprawled on the floor.

“Hands in the air! We’ve got you. Turn out your pockets!” George commanded.

Their pockets were empty.

“So you haven’t found the vault?” The two thieves shook their heads glumly. “The police will be here in (George checked his watch) six seconds.” And sure enough, the door burst open and six burly men in blue uniforms marched into the room.

George addressed the inspector. “Ah, Inspector Pryce!” he called. “These men were trying to steal from the good Lady’s vault. They tried to frighten her away so that they can have easy access to her bedroom. They don’t seem very bright. And what a terrible costume.”

The two men looked as if they would dearly like to hit George. The police locked them away in a van and drove them off to prison. Lady Hangleton was so grateful when George told her about his adventure that she gifted him a Ferrari.