Malice at Midnight

Please bear in mind that I originally started writing this story when The Sims 2 (TS2) was new and exciting so the pictures may seem somewhat dated. I had to Photoshop some elements as these pictures were taken in my game even before Apartment Life (with its magical ceilings) was introduced. Since I was part of the BBSN (BBS Neighbourhood) I had a very limited amount of CC (custom content) so you will have to use your imagination quite a bit :)

I could have started fresh using The Sims 4 game I have installed along with a gigantic amount of CC but I didn't think that would be fair to my TS2 'actors' and that's why I've decided to push ahead and use my old TS2 pictures. Just think of it as a retro TS2 movie/story and I think (hope) that you will still derive some pleasure from it. So, without any further ado let us enter 'Simburbia'...

In the quiet tree lined avenues of Simburbia, malice is afoot.

Gordon and Cynthia Holmes had returned to the family home in Simburbia together with their daughter, Diana, in celebration of Mable's birthday; but they had more than one reason for returning home. Sitting round the modest sized cherry wood table the Peyton-Jones family stared awkwardly at each other then hastily all dropped their eyes and remained stiffly silent.

Ella Peyton-Jones, the youngest of the three sisters and always the peace-maker, made a valiant attempt to break the stiff silence. "So what are you up to now, Diana dear?" she enquired with a hint of barely concealed nervousness.

Diana, also keen to break the stifling silence, replied eagerly, "Oh Aunt Ella, there are so many things I want to do I'm having trouble making up my mind!" Mable looked disapprovingly over the rim of her spectacles at her exuberant young niece and although her mouth tightened slightly she did not say a word. Cynthia stared pleadingly at her daughter and tried to convey a silent warning using only her eyes and a slight shake of her head.

Diana's father smiled indulgently and beamed at his pretty young daughter with all the pride a father could hold before adding gruffly, "We're very proud of our Diana. She's already quite famous as a model but her brain is second to none and I reckon we might just have a scientist in the family." Thus the evening continued until they all went their separate ways claiming the excuse of fatigue.

Next morning, as was her custom, Mable rose early - before the rest of the household was awake - collected the crisply folded newspaper in the hallway and then settled herself comfortably in the blue drawing room. She quickly scanned the general news pages then headed straight for the stock exchange section and tut-tutted when she saw the current share price for Peyton-Jones lingerie. 'That idiot, Gordon will completely demolish the family business if I don't stop him!' she thought with a stab of irritation and made a mental note to swiftly resolve this problem. Still trying to swallow the irritation that burned like fire in the back of her throat she was about to put away the newspaper when her eye fell upon the tiniest of stories. It was a mere one-inch long but its impact on Mable was greater than an earthquake registering 7 on the Richter scale!

"Well what did you see?" demanded Fanny with acid asperity. 

"I--er--I'm not really s-s-sure," Ella stuttered frantically.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Fanny rasped and added, "Just spit it out."

"Well," Ella began hesitantly, "It's not so much what I saw, as what I heard." Fanny waited impatiently and glared at the shaken woman in front of her without displaying one iota of compassion. "I overheard Diana on the phone this morning. She was talking to David. David Wallis" Ella clarified and hurriedly went on, "And she seemed a little too friendly with him." Ella shrugged her slim shoulders and widened her lapis blue eyes then added, "That's all really." Fanny nodded grimly but said nothing.

Minutes later Fanny had found her mistress and was quickly repeating everything Ella had just told her. "Madam, she said that Mistress Diana was far too friendly with young Mr David Wallis."

"What does 'too friendly' mean?" Mable asked sharply.

Fanny shrugged with a slight frown creasing her otherwise smooth brow, "She didn't say madam. But it can't be good...can it?"

"Leave it with me," Mable instructed.

"If you find out anymore you are to come to me immediately, do you understand?" Mable said sharply and looked enquiringly at her housekeeper.

Fanny nodded vigorously, "Yes of course, madam."

"I also want you to keep a close eye on young Diana," Mable added coldly.

Again the housekeeper nodded, "Everything Mistress Diana does or says will be passed on to you straight away, madam." At that moment Cynthia entered the hallway and Mable quickly dismissed the housekeeper with a warning glance.

Meanwhile Ella had followed her usual routine and went to the end of the long, winding driveway to collect the morning's post. As usual there were a bunch of junk flyers with the odd utility bill tucked in between. But what was this? Ella slid a faintly scented terracotta envelope out from the rest and stared questioningly at the unfamiliar handwriting. The long, spidery scrawl had to be that of a woman - but who? Ella did not recognise the handwriting and had no idea who would be writing to her eldest sister so she dismissed her curiosity without further consideration. Shrugging with slight nonchalance Ella dropped the day's mail on the coffee table then disappeared into her favourite room to finish off the painting she'd begun a few weeks before.

"Oh please, Derek" Diana pleaded shamelessly, "it's the only way. Really it is."

"I don't know Diana. It seems so---so sneaky" Derek replied with obvious reluctance.

"Look, you like Jade and I'm crazy about David," Diana explained patiently. "But neither of them will notice either of us if we don't do something about it. Especially if we carry on letting my aunt and David's mother have their own way!"

"I know, I know" Derek agreed wearily and swept his hand through his thick copper hair impatiently.

"So it's agreed then?" Diana asked hopefully.

"Yes," Derek agreed with a hint of hesitation. He stared up at the ornate ceiling, bit his lip then shook his head as though shaking out the doubts. "Agreed," he added more firmly.

Diana beamed and threw herself into his arms joyously then quickly recovered and insisted they start planning their strategy straight away. "You join the card game but try not to win" Diana cautioned. "Then I'll come and pretend to rescue you by taking your place at the table. That will put me next to David and leave you free to pursue Jade." Derek nodded and went to change out of his swimsuit so the strategy could begin.

Derek played poker more poorly than usual and was soon nearing the end of his chips but the reason for his poor performance wasn't that he was following Diana's instructions. It was because his thoughts were centred solely upon the handsomely dishevelled man seated on his right. David Wallis, heir to the Wallis Real Estate fortune and captor of Diana Holme's pretty heart. A stab of jealousy ripped through him and Derek wondered, for the umpteenth time, what it was that David had that he, Derek, did not - aside from a simolean fortune of course! He silently chastised himself for allowing Diana to talk him into helping her get closer to his rival and smiled bitterly when he remembered he had allowed her to go on thinking that he was actually in love with Jade. His pride would not permit him to reveal his true feelings and he felt a tinge of guilt for Jade, who was a truly pretty girl but in his eyes, only a pale reflection of the woman he'd loved since boyhood. Right on cue, Diana entered the room...

...and quickly took Derek's place at the poker table. She smiled at David who had given her a quick wink and felt her heart flutter in her breast like a tiny bird trying to escape its cage, but then her ardour was quickly quenched as she noticed her father was still in his pyjamas; that could only mean he'd been at the table all night! Again! Her brow creased in concern despite the large stack of chips beside her father's elbow and she knew, from experience, it would be impossible to shift him from his chair until he had no chips left and nothing of value to place instead. Diana's plan to impress David with her witty commentary and woo him with her smiles was quickly forgotten as she struggled to think of a way to get her father away from the poker table. It might be a family game but Diana knew her Aunt Mable played for keeps.

Just when she thought there would be no rescue, Diana hit upon a plan to stop the game. If she could lure David away it would leave only her father and Aunt Mable at the table - they couldn't continue with just two of them...could they? 'It's worth a shot', she thought grimly and played the alluring woman for all she was worth. Within a very short space of time David decided to cash in his chips and followed Diana to the centre of the room. He felt as though his flesh had been seared when he felt the warmth of her hand through the thin silk of his shirt as she gently rested her palm on his shoulder and smiled into his eyes. He felt a strange attraction to this girl and an overwhelming urge to protect her. This was like nothing he'd ever felt before and he was suddenly gripped in blind panic. "I--erm---I think I ought be going. Mother'll be wondering where I've got to and I have no desire to sit through another of her lectures!" he finished with feeling.

The brief exchange between David and Diana wasn't missed and Mable's mouth tightened with distaste. 'Once again she would have to put things right' she thought angrily and immediately contacted Rebecca Wallis. On the pretence of a neighbourly get-together Mable set up a card game to which Gordon was not invited and then she, together with Rebecca, David's mother, and Fanny the housekeeper plotted to separate David and Diana once and for all. After some time Mable turned to Fanny and said quietly, "You know what to do." Fanny nodded, stood up with her mouth pulled in grim determination then left the room.

Mable and Rebecca continued their pretence of playing cards yet all the while their plotting continued undaunted. Rebecca bore a fierce hatred for all the Peyton-Jones sisters but her hatred for Mable was strongest of all because it was Mable who had informed the authorities that there was an able-bodied man in the neighbourhood who had not enlisted. That able-bodied man was her husband, David senior, and because of Mable he had gone to war never to return. Despite her hatred, Rebecca agreed to Mable's schemes because it was more important, at this moment, to separate that conniving girl from her beloved son.

"They were kissing," Mable stated with distaste, her tongue curling around the words as though they were formed of bitter aloe. "Quite openly with no regard for discretion!"

"It must be stopped!" Rebecca responded angrily.

"Yes," Mable agreed with silky venom, "and I know exactly how to do that."

Leaving Rebecca alone at the poker table Mable wandered over to the snooker table so that she could eavesdrop on David's and Jade's conversation.
"Shall we have a game?" Jade asked casually.

David shrugged lazily, "I guess," he agreed without enthusiasm.

"Could I borrow you for a moment, David?" Mable interrupted as Jade went to prepare the snooker table for their game.

"The theatre?" David asked in confusion.

Mable leaned in and nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yes, yes. Don't you see? Jade is head over heels in love with you and the theatre is probably the best place to let her down gently." David stared at Mable, his doubts clearly obvious so Mable rushed on to explain in more detail. "The theatre is dark - no one to see her tears; it's crowded so Jade is unlikely to make a scene and you can hire a private booth so the whole thing can be done without any nosey onlookers." David nodded as Mable's explanation finally convinced him.

Playing along with Mable's plan, Rebecca invited Jade over for lunch to give David the opportunity to ask the young girl on a date. Of course neither she, nor Mable actually wanted David to break up with Jade - that would serve no purpose at all. The outcome of their plan was to achieve exactly the opposite and Rebecca knew just how she was going to help Jade win David's affections once and for all. 'If anyone's heart was going to be broken it would be that little snip of a girl, Diana!' Rebecca thought spitefully.

"So, have you two made any plans to celebrate your special friendship?" Rebecca asked tactlessly. Jade blushed a pretty pink and hastily got up from the table to clear the plates, hoping that David didn't think she'd put his mother up to this. David sighed in exasperation, it was clear his mother was not going to let go of her dream to see him and Jade walk down the alter. He knew that she was particularly fond of Jade so it would be hard on her to see them split up and although he didn't like to disappoint his mother he wasn't prepared to seek her approval at the cost of his own happiness. Although he was well aware that his mother strongly disapproved of Diana he was hoping that Rebecca's maternal love for him would finally make her accept Diana. For now he would leave her under the illusion that he and Jade were still an item. "No, we haven't but I was thinking we could have a chat about it. Jade?"

Leading Jade into the small drawing room that joined the kitchen, David kept up a meaningless flow of conversation trying to work up the courage to invite her to the theatre. 'She would accept in delight' he thought, 'never knowing his real intent until it was too late.' Another stab of guilt flushed his face brick red. "Whew! It's a bit wam in here, don't you think?" he gabbled nervously to cover the awkward moment. Jade felt her heart constrict with love for this man and knew that he was struggling to break free of their relationship. She almost let him go then but then his mother's words rang through her mind again, 'David doesn't know what's best for him. Doesn't realise you will be the perfect wife for him. If you love him Jade dear, you must fight for him.' And fight she would, thought Jade with grim determination.

Finally, David seemed to find the courage to ask Jade on what he assumed would be their last date, "I was thinking---um--that---erm---we could go to the theatre this week. There's a pretty good play on at the moment - a bit girly, but I know you'll like it."

Jade nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, that would lovely David." David didn't reply, he just nodded glumly thinking that the die had been cast and there was no way to undo the path he'd chosen. He didn't want to hurt Jade but he also didn't want to lose Diana. It was a no-win situation.

Meanwhile, back at the Peyton-Jones mansion Mable had gathered the family before dinner to set the next step of her plan into motion. Turning to Cynthia she said, "With all this modelling and travelling it's hardly surprising to see that Diana still hasn't found a boyfriend." Cynthia gasped speechless - opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. Ella turned to her eldest sister and was about to try to pour oil on the troubled waters of her family once again, while Gordon stared angrily at his sister-in-law.

Before anyone had a chance to verbally respond to Mable's deliberately spiteful remark, Diana jumped to own defence, "For one thing Aunt Mable, I am sitting right here and you could have addressed your comment to me - I am perfectly capable of responding with a modicum of intelligence." Ella gasped in horror, silently applauding her niece's spirit; Cynthia squirmed uncomfortably in her seat - pleased that her daughter was defending herself, but hoping that Diana didn't antagonise Mable too much because that would destroy any chance she and Gordon had of negotiating a financial rescue. Diana ignored all these reactions and rushed headlong into further justification, "And contrary to popular opinion I have found someone whom I love with every fibre of my being!"

Mable stared at her niece coldly then without a word she turned back to Cynthia, "Your scoundrel of a husband has once again put the family business into jeopardy with his incessant gambling." Cynthia stared at her sister and flushed angrily but did not say a word. Diana was about to leap to her father's defence when Mable's cold tones cut in again, "How do you propose to put the situation right?" she demanded harshly, then added, "Because I will tell you right now, the other family concerns will NOT be bailing out Peyton-Jones Lingerie once again." She fell silent as Fanny approached with the lobster thermidore.

"What did she say?" Gordon asked his wife with undisguised indignance. "She said she won't be bailing us out - practically called you a thief," sobbed Cynthia in reply.

Ella rubbed her wrist nervously and tried to ease the tension, "Let's discuss it after dinner. The lobster looks too delicious to spoil with business talk."

"Oh shut up, Ella! None of us want to hear your pathetic whining and this has nothing to do with you." Mable strident tones grated on everyone's ears and she sent Ella a withering look which reduced the poor woman into numbed silence.

"Call me a thief, will you?" Gordon blustered angrily. "I'll have you know that I've given everything I have to the business. For far less than most managing directors would demand." he added.

Mable tittered and replied sarcastically, "Which isn't saying much."

"Now you listen, Mable" Cynthia interupted in a firm voice. "Gordon has worked tirelessly for P-J Lingerie. His long hours have cost him two heart attacks. Yes - one - two." Cynthia emphasised by counting on her elegantly manicured fingers.

Fanny had finished serving the lobster thermidor but as she had made no move to leave the area, Mable dismissed her with a curt nod.

"Daddy, how could you let her talk to you like that?" Diana asked tearfully.

Gordon gave his daughter a warm smile and squeezed her hand gently, "Because I'm a gentleman and sadly your aunt is not a lady." Diana smiled through her tears and Gordon went bravely on, "Don't worry sweetheart, everything will be just fine - I promise." Mable had ruthlessly cracked open her lobster and had greedily eaten most of it; Cynthia stared down at her plate and toyed listlessly with her's; Gordon was still comforting his daughter while Ella stared at him with a newfound admiration. 'There was more to this man than met the eye' she realised. 'No wonder Cynthia adores him' she thought with a hint of envy.

Cynthia felt her relationship with her eldest sister had been damaged irreparably and any loyalty she may have had for Mable had quickly dissipated in this latest onslaught of spite. Gordon was determined to put forward his case and launched into his defence with an illusion of bravado. "Mable, I understand your misgivings and I realise that my recent bouts at the poker table haven't done anything to disillusion your low opinion of me, but I would never - never let anything destroy P-J Lingerie. I love that company. I've given it my life and I'll continue to do so - whether you believe that, or not."

Mable briefly lifted her face from her plate and replied coldly, "That's good to know, Gordon. Your words might be put to the test very soon."

With that parting enigmatic remark Mable cleared the last bits from her plate, stood up and left the dinner table without so much as a backward glance. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as the visible evidence of their anxiety left the room. The aftermath of the tension was hysterical relief and they all started talking at once.

"I don't know about you all, but I need a drink!" Cynthia declared defiantly. Everyone nodded their agreement and pushed their plates of uneaten food away before making their way into the blue drawing room. By 11:30 pm they had all gone their separate ways to retire for the night. Diana leaned up and kissed her father on his whiskered chin then hugged her mother and made her way to her bedroom. Cynthia headed into the bathroom adjoining her's and Gordon's room to begin her nightly bedtime ritual of removing her make-up and brushing out her hair, dyed the golden honey of her youth. Gordon slipped downstairs to pour their nightcaps while Ella decided she needed a walk round the garden to wear off her nervous energy.

Mable's body hung limply from the noose; an overturned chair lay beneath her feet and the medieval candle lights burned brightly in the dusty attic. The large house creaked and groaned as old houses are wont to do, but no one stirred in the midnight darkness.

A tale of four parts - this is the first of the quarter (if I have enough pictures). Who murdered Mable Peyton-Jones? A 'whodunnit' with a cast full of motive which tests every ounce of logic the talented detective has...