# Murder at the Table

## Chapter 1: The Last Dinner

An unusual silence reigned in the old manor house on the Vistula River. The wooden corridors smelled of dust and the aroma of freshly prepared dinner. Albert Rudzki, the host, stood up and wiped his hands on the tablecloth, arranging the glasses.

"Dear friends," he said, his voice echoing, "tonight will be special."

The guests glanced at each other, unaware that these words would prove prophetic.

The guests were:

* Helena Markowska, an art critic with a mysterious briefcase;

* Jerzy Langer, a former police officer and private detective;

* Maria and Tadeusz Brzozowski, a married business couple;

* Igor Stankiewicz, a young writer;

* Kaja Rudzka, the host's daughter, appeared unexpectedly.

## Chapter 2: The First Tension

Dinner began quietly, but the atmosphere was tense. Jerzy observed the guests, noting their gestures and glances. Helena held her briefcase tightly, Tadeusz seemed too relaxed.

“Wine?” Albert asked, pouring glasses.

Suddenly, the lights went out.

## Chapter 3: The First Murder

After a few seconds, the lights returned. Albert lay on the table, blood spilling onto the tablecloth. Jerzy immediately issued orders: no one touches anything in the dining room. Everyone present became both a witness and a potential suspect.

## Chapter 4: Investigation at Home

Jerzy led the guests into the living room. Maria and Tadeusz exchanged fearful glances, Helena held her briefcase tighter, and Kaja looked paralyzed. The detective watched every move, preparing a strategy.

## Chapter 5: The Secret of the Past

Jerzy began interrogating the guests. Igor was trembling, his explanations hesitant. A crash came from the hallway—someone had overturned a chair. There was someone else in the house.

## Chapter 6: Clues and Trails

Jerzy followed the noise, discovering an overturned chair and a glass. The drops led to the study, where he found Albert's knife with a dark smudge. Kaja was shocked, and Jerzy began to connect the dots of the past.

## Chapter 7: A Letter from the Past

Jerzy read Albert's letter: *"If you're reading this, it means one of my guests has come for me. Someone who was with me that night."* Maria confessed that she had witnessed the events of years past, when Piotr, Albert's assistant, had mysteriously disappeared.

## Chapter 8: A Message from Beyond the Light

Albert was afraid of someone he knew well and who might want to kill him. Kaja, Helena, and Maria realized that someone had returned to finish the work of five years earlier.

## Chapter 9: Voices in the Walls

A storm raged over the estate, and heavy footsteps and rustling sounds could be heard throughout the house. Jerzy found a brass box with a photograph of Albert, Helena, Piotr, and an unknown man with the inscription: *"This night will bury us, if anyone survives."* Piotr reappeared alive, terrified, saying that someone had returned to complete the murder attempt.

## Chapter 10: The Shadow Returns

Footsteps in the attic, lights going out, whispered pleas for help. Jerzy led the guests to safety, but the killer could be in any corner of the house. Piotr, Kaja, Maria, and Helena had to work together to survive the night and discover who was behind these events.

## Chapter 11: A Night Full of Shadows

The detective divided the group, planning their defense strategy. Shadows moved through the hallways, crackling sounds and whispered voices heightened the tension. Piotr recounted the events of five years earlier, when someone tried to kill him. The group realized the killer was close, and the night was just beginning.