The Silver Compass: A Minnie Ming Mystery

Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:

velvet ~ compass ~ echo ~ random ~ rust ~ silver
shadow ~ pebble ~ stone ~ drone ~ clip ~ dry

It was October 1926 and the rain fell dry that night …. the strange kind that promised a storm and delivered only dust. Inspector Minnie Ming crossed the pebble path behind the Delevan estate, her velvet glove dangling in her hands, a small rust-colored stain unmistakable, even by lamplight.

“Someone dragged something heavy here,” she murmured, more to herself than to the young constable trailing her like an echo. “Then thought better of it.”

Somewhere beyond the hedges, the drone of a motorcar’s engine was low and steady, fading toward the coast. She traced the sound until it died against the stone wall of the old carriage house.

“Bootleggers, likely,” the constable offered.

“Perhaps.” Minnie knelt and drew a small silver compass from the shadow of a hedge. “Or someone wishes us to think so.”

The initials on its case …. R.A. …. were no random matter. Richard Aldous, business partner of the murdered man, had reported a theft three days prior. A trifling matter, he’d insisted, unconnected to his partner’s death.

Minnie turned the compass over once in her palm, making note of its broken clip. Its weight set her thoughts to right as it once settled sailors bound for uncertain shores.

“Fetch Mr. Aldous,” she said. “Tell him his compass has been found. Pay close attention to his reaction and what he says.”

The constable frowned. “You believe he’ll lie?”

“I believe,” replied Minnie Ming, “a man who reports a small theft to conceal a larger one has already lied.”

NAR©2026
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This is “The Velvet Glove” by Jerry Colonna

Wordle 772

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