I'm not entirely familiar with the system, so allow me to think out loud for a moment. Everyone is welcome to add, argue and discuss of course, but I have some thoughts regarding the motive.
Pertinent Details:
The theft occurred a 'few years' ago.
Items stolen include Gold Coins, a Diamond Necklace and a Gold Bar.
Ms. Trice has worked long enough to have a wine barrel designated for retirement.
A broken wine barrel was found at the alleged point where the thief escaped.
Ms. Trice was the only one to see the thief escape.
Given this, I believe that:
Ms. Trice set up the scene in advance, planting footprints along the grounds in order to draw suspicion away from the staff. She also, during the theft, allowed herself to be seen, in order to further push suspicion away from her.
The loot was promptly stashed inside of the wine barrel marked for her, and a separate wine barrel was broken in order to mask the fact that hers was opened (Or that it overflowed as a result of adding the gold bar). It was her intention to use the barrel as cover to escape with the money at a later date.
With her mother growing sick, that 'later date' came rather suddenly. But what I can't figure out is why she killed Mr. Hishel when she simply could have quit and taken the wine. Perhaps she attempted to resign, and he refused? Or, perhaps, she simply thought that suddenly quitting when she desperately needed the money would look suspicious...
I'm not sure about this, but I'm pretty sure wine barrels are pretty damn well sealed up... but since I don't know for sure I'll tell you what I have been thinking. This pretty much. Only because of the barrel thing I thought it was the manservant who put the loot into a barrel that hadn't been sealed, sealed it, booked it, got hired, and was attempting to get his stolen goods. Now for the part that is more relevant to your theory (and mine I guess) I'm thinking the victim figured out the trick, after all he spent all that time looking at cellar inventory reports while in the cellar (as far as I'm concerned he was also looking over house maintenance stuff, which is the domain of the manservant) he eventually confronts the culprit, and get strangled for his troubles.
The estimated time of death, assuming you trust Mr. Pilck's testimony is some time before five o'clock. If you don't trust him, the detective knows that he must have been killed before someone called the constable.
Cellars have a habit of making it hard to get a good ETD, beyond being dead for at least 30 minutes~
Can we only state blue truth when we think we know how who and why or can we use it to state facts like: "The sky is green" or "She died by ricing poisoning by doing x while y" ?
For a mystery like this, blue truths should be either parts of theories or the whole thing. Say the HOW but without the Why/Who. Or the Why and Who without the How. Or the whole theory.
So you write out a part of your theory in blue and present it, and then I respond in red to counter a part of it, or accept it as a part or the solution if your theory matches the solution. So more the second example presented.
who: it was the manservant, he tried to frame the maid by placing one of the maids white cleaning cloths
the maid forgot to clean the study today as she did not mention being there
he killed Mr.Hishel while the butler was outside and the made otherwise occupied, he checked her progress to see where she was in the house and find the right timing to act and move the body from the study to the cellar after he meet the maid
The manservant entered trough the window of the cellar from the outside making that footprints while he made the round in the garden.
who: it was the manservant, he tried to frame the maid by placing one of the maids white cleaning cloths
the maid forgot to clean the study today as she did not mention being there
he killed Mr.Hishel while the butler was outside and the made otherwise occupied, he checked her progress to see where she was in the house and find the right timing to act and move the body from the study to the cellar after he meet the maid
The manservant entered trough the window of the cellar from the outside making that footprints while he made the round in the garden.
You happen to be missing a motive and perhaps an unimportant detail or two. But other than that... I don't have any reds to block it~
Good Sleuthing. But now you must find the heart of the mystery! /Umineko Reference
The manservant was the thief all those years ago. Unable to escape with the loot, he stashed it inside one of the wine barrels, breaking another to hide the displacement of wine. Set on recovering the stolen property, he took a job with Mr. Hishel, knowing that if he worked there for 2 years, he could claim the barrel as his own.
Unfortunately, as Mr. Hishel was preparing for his birthday, it became known that he was planning on selecting that very barrel as the wine to be used to celebrate. Should the wine barrel be tapped, Mr. Hishel would immediately know something was up and recover the stolen property, causing the Manservant have wasted months of time. Instead, the Manservant killed Mr. Hishel, knowing that the will would ensure he recieved his barrel in due time.
The manservant was the thief all those years ago. Unable to escape with the loot, he stashed it inside one of the wine barrels, breaking another to hide the displacement of wine. Set on recovering the stolen property, he took a job with Mr. Hishel, knowing that if he worked there for 2 years, he could claim the barrel as his own.
Unfortunately, as Mr. Hishel was preparing for his birthday, it became known that he was planning on selecting that very barrel as the wine to be used to celebrate. Should the wine barrel be tapped, Mr. Hishel would immediately know something was up and recover the stolen property, causing the Manservant have wasted months of time. Instead, the Manservant killed Mr. Hishel, knowing that the will would ensure he recieved his barrel in due time.
Well done. You've solved the mystery. Thus, Angela has reached the conclusion (The answer will of course not be mentioned in story. Other than as The Answer~). Gotta avoid spoiling people.
