Stirred by the Discovery Prompt ‘Notes’ it was easy enough to recall a mysterious murder I was able to solve, with some small difficulty, last year.  I was spending a quiet few days in the historical town of Narbonne, in France. The inestimable Hotel de Paris has a singular check-in routine.  Check in is from 2.30pm, but the hard working staff take their rest between  1pm and 5pm. One is provided only with a code to the front door. Inside, I was led to expect, there’d be all the information I needed to make myself at home.

I let myself in and found 7 notes placed on the reception counter. Each one, I knew, contained a key and a message of welcome. I was the first to arrive. The hotel, small, but comfortable, was deserted. Next to reception was a satisfyingly spooky spiral staircase up to the rooms. I shall not divulge the names on the envelopes. It is far too recent for that.

I felt like Hercule Poirot…. I would not have been surprised to hear of a murder that night, probably in a room locked from the inside.

I did see my fellow tenants at breakfast the next day. Sadly they did not include a retired Major-General, a shifty guy & a young woman, an alluring woman of a certain age, or even an American millionaire (incognito).

The murder then, happened in my imagination… the setting is real.

When this plague is over, I will certainly return. It was a very enjoyable stay.