‘It was Albert Einstein who said, “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.” I do hope you have the good fortune to enjoy it some day!’
‘Well said, Giles!’ Laura’s face was slightly flushed as she added. ‘Now I almost forgot the youngest in the family - Edgar. He and his wife Sally are due to arrive on Saturday or Sunday. That’s all the introductions over; you’ve now met everyone at Maskelyne Hall, except “old” George!’
‘Laura, please don’t be disrespectful.’ Mrs Ramsden chided her daughter.
‘We’ve always called him that, Mummy. He really doesn’t mind.’
‘Will you pour the tea, Laura? Scone, Giles? They’re home made!’
Laura, giggling again, looked at Giles and winked.
The door opened and Mrs. Gardner, the cook, came into the lounge.
‘Will you be wanting more tea?’
‘Another pot wouldn’t go wrong, Doreen.’
‘I’ll have it here in a jiffy.’
Mrs. Gardner left in a swirl of skirts and apron.
Laura got up, closed the curtains and switched on a lamp.
‘It’s getting quite dark! We’ll really be heading for winter when the clocks go back after tomorrow night!’
The lamp Laura had switched on had not only added brightness to the firelight of the burning logs in the grate but had grabbed the attention of The Prof. It was a heavy solid object of beautifully turned wood; rare, with fine graining and of a rich and distinctive colour. The stunning artistry of such a wonderful household object had an immediate impact on Giles.
‘Now that’s what I call a lamp!’
’There’s a story attached to that lamp that you might like to hear,’ Laura said. ‘It has a secret genie and you don’t need to rub it! Want to hear about it?’
‘Try me!’ Giles quipped. ‘I love secrets!’
‘Not that again!’ Victor chipped in. ‘You know it’s only coincidence!’
‘Well I’ve never heard the secret. You never told me, Conrad.’ Mabel said. ‘I’d love to hear the story?’
‘It’s over to you, Conrad!’ Laura made a show business gesture with her arms.
‘Are you all sitting comfy? Then I’ll begin,’ Conrad said.
‘Let me see...it was early November 1951. I’d been to the Ideal Homes Exhibition in Glasgow. The lamp you see there was on show and I bought it for Mum and Dad’s wedding anniversary. There was something about the lamp. The quality of the turned wood or the grain or the colour; something that I couldn’t resist.
‘Anyway, on the Saturday after I brought it home, we were in this room listening to the radio. The BBC was broadcasting the Manchester November Handicap and father was quite keen to hear the race; Raymond Glendenning was doing the commentary and was talking about the runners down at the start. Father was studying them in the paper and Mother was enthusing about the lamp. "Good Taste,” she said at the same time as the commentator said the same two words; it was the name of one of the runners in the race. We all looked at each other in a kind of eerie silence and Mother repeated the words "Good Taste,” at the exact same moment as Glendenning spoke the horse’s name once again.
“That’s going to win!” she said. “I know it is!” Father checked the paper and pooh-poohed the whole idea. He said, “No chance! It isn’t even in the betting; 33/1 others. Hasn’t a bloody hope!” And that’s what we all thought!’
‘The race was run in a thick fog. The commentator made the best of a difficult job calling the leading contenders without ever mentioning Good Taste at any time. That is until the last few yards...when the horse appeared out of the mist to win at 28/1. Good Taste was ridden by leading Northern jockey Billy Nevett and trained in Yorkshire. The result was an incredible one to all of us listening. Probably the most dramatic finish to the race ever! Mother was white to the gills, and the rest of us could only stare at her; we couldn’t believe it!’
‘Pure coincidence! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again!’ Victor was adamant. ‘Either that.. or Mother is a witch!’
‘Careful, son!’ Giles cautioned. ‘Don’t be too ready to jump to conclusions!’
‘I can’t listen to any more of this nonsense! I’m going for a walk!’ Victor rose and, on the way out, said ‘See you at dinner, Giles! Welcome back, by the way!’
‘What about a foursome at Bridge you two?’ Conrad said, checking his wallet. ‘Mabel and I will give you and Giles a run for your money, Laura. That’s if you have no objection, mother?’
‘Off you go, you lot, but a witches’ warning! Giles might be even better at card manipulation than he used to be! So beware! Anyway, let me have a word with him first! And alone, if you please. I’ll let him out of my clutches in a few minutes.’
When the others had gone Mrs. Isabella Ramsden folded her hands in her lap and said ‘Come and sit closer to me, Giles.’
Giles drew one of the chairs in front of the fire and sat down opposite the matriarch of Maskelyne Hall.
‘I know you wish to hear all about that fateful night in 1952 when dear Jack...’ She was beginning to stumble over her words. ‘I was the first to be at his side after he was shot! I want you to know everything that happened; but not yet!’
Giles nodded, took both her hands in his and waited for her to continue.
‘Have you looked into the library yet?’
‘No!’
‘When you have the time perhaps you’ll understand things a little better and maybe understand what Jack was attempting before things went wrong that night.’
‘I’d like to think so!’
‘Firstly, there is something I want you to do.’
‘Anything you say.’
‘I want you to open my husband’s private safe. Everything is as it was on that terrible night. Nothing has been disturbed! What you find may help to explain events leading to his death; but first you must discover a way to open the safe!’
’More hocus-pocus, Mrs. Ramsden? I’m beginning to understand why you sent for me!’
‘I didn’t send for you, Laura did!’ Mrs. Ramsden’s abrupt outburst surprised The Prof. ‘That’s beside the point! You’re here now and I’m coming to the conclusion that Laura made the right decision in getting me to go along with it.’
‘I’ll do my best! Now what do I have to do to open the safe?’
‘Solve a riddle. I believe you’re good at that!’
‘I have my moments!’ Giles said, releasing her hands from his grasp.
‘Jack always said, if others were on the same wavelength, they would be able to solve his riddles; a sort of mental telepathy.’
Isabella Ramsden, her coiffured white hair helping to soften her features lit, on one side by the fire and on the other by the magic lamp, picked up her handbag from the floor, reached in, produced two sheets of paper and handed them over.
‘One sheet explains the mechanism of the safe and the combination lock; the other is the riddle, which must be solved in order to discover the combination that will open the safe. Once the safe is open you will have the contents that may help you solve a more complex puzzle.’
‘Always assuming that nothing has been disturbed, Mrs. Ramsden!’The old lady smiled. ‘Take your time. And remember, Giles, if you should get into any difficulty the Genie of the Lamp is here to help you.’Giles was about to get up when Mrs. Ramsden caught him by the arm.
‘Please read them before you go so that I may have your first impressions.’
Giles looked at the first sheet.
Notes about Safe built into fireplace of Library at Maskelyne Hall - August 1952
The Combination Safe Lock consists of four wheels, or tumblers. With 100 numbers on the dial there are 100 positions for each wheel and a single knob can set all the wheels. Once the combination is known (in this case six digits) there are one million possible combinations.
The knob is turned anticlockwise until the first number of two digits comes opposite the arrow for the fourth time.
The knob is then turned clockwise until the second number of two digits is opposite the arrow for the third time.
Finally the knob is turned counter clockwise to bring the third number of two digits in line with the arrow for the second time. All three slots are then in one line and the handle can be turned to withdraw the bolts.
Being built into the solid fireplace gives additional protection to the entire structure, as the walls floor and ceiling of the safe do not have to be as strong as the door.
On the second sheet was the riddle.
Beginning or End of Vice?
With a Wee or With a Wubbleyou?
To Unlock, Try Beginning at the End
When This Won’t Trouble You!
Giles smiled and was about to speak to Mrs. Ramsden when he noticed her eyes were already closed. He tiptoed quietly out of the room.
Chapter 3
THE MAN WHO COULD WALK THROUGH WALLS
The Prof paused at the door to the library thankful he now had something to take his mind off his dismal performance at the card table. After leaving Isabella Ramsden, asleep by the lounge fire, his brain had been occupied with the imminent opening of the safe and examination of the contents! Winning a rubber at Bridge had been far from his thoughts! It wasn’t so much losing to Conrad and Mabel that rankled. It was letting Laura down that hurt the most. Now, at last, he had something to get his teeth into.
The library door opened silently on well-oiled hinges and he stepped into what had been one of his favourite haunts, when he had been privileged to visit the room. He switched on the light and closed the door.
The bookcases, which almost filled the entire wall to his left, were as he remembered them. They contained a treasure trove of biographies, mostly of the great conjurers and magicians, definitive works on the history of magic and priceless volumes on early entertainment in music halls, theatres and circuses around the world, which had been a great passion of the late Jack Ramsden.
The room was floored in solid oak, on the centre of which was a long mahogany table, with an upright chair at each end. Two leather armchairs, one on each side of the large Adam-style fireplace, situated in the middle of the wall opposite the door, served as invitations to potential readers to enjoy a stay in the company of rare books. A standard lamp was conveniently placed beside each armchair and a large, ornate, Japanese screen obscured the fireplace, which contained the safe. To the right of the door were a cocktail cabinet and a writing desk.
The wall opposite the bookcases, had double small-paned sash windows, which overlooked the gardens, set into the left half, nearest to the fireplace, with a long heavy curtain on either side that did not quite reach the floor. The other half of this wall, which backed on to the room next door, was blank except for a large framed poster of Chung Ling Soo, billed as the Celestial Chinese Conjurer, who tragically died after performing The Great Gun Trick at the Wood Green Empire in North London on 23 March 1918.
Four small-paned sash windows, each fitted with long heavy curtains, were built into the fireplace wall, two on each side of the old fire, and between the two windows to the left facing the door as you entered hung an oil painting.
The painting was a portrait of a female dancer in a Spanish costume of scarlet and vermillion against a sandy background. The pose was theatrically professional and strikingly provocative. In her left hand the dancer carried a fan and, in her right hand, she held a long thin-bladed stiletto dagger! It was her face though that really caught his attention. Even though the black hair puzzled him there was no disguising those hazel eyes. The portrait was that of....
‘Well, I’m damned! It’s you, Laura!’ His words sounded like a stage whisper in the silence of the room.
‘You’re talking to yourself, Giles!’ Laura’s mildly scolding tone made him jump like a naughty schoolboy found raiding the sweet jar.
‘I didn’t hear you come in,’ he said as he turned to find her standing behind him.
‘Of course you didn’t! You were much too absorbed with the painting! And you were wrong! It isn’t me!’
‘But I would’ve sworn!’ Giles’ brow creased into a frown as he studied the portrait again.
‘Daddy had it commissioned just before he married his young bride. The artist partly worked from a poster of Isabella when she’d been a dancer in Vaudeville in the early 1920’s and he was designing and making theatrical sets. Daddy presented it to her as a wedding gift.
‘Uncanny, wouldn’t you say? You could pass as twins!’
‘Well, we’re not! Not even modern medical science has been able to produce twins born so long apart!’
’Hang on a minute, Laura! I don’t remember seeing the portrait when I was here during the war!’
‘Nor did any of us. Daddy had it stored away in a safe place. Anyway, I’m sorry if I upset you. I only came in to see if you’d cracked the safe. I see you haven’t!’
‘Not yet.’ said The Prof, moving the Japanese screen out of the way and getting down on his knees to examine the fireplace and safe: ‘.. .but I’m sure I can solve the riddle and the rest should be easy.’
‘I’ll leave you to get on with it then! See you at dinner!’
He rose and turned to speak only to find the library empty and the door closed. Laura had vanished - as if she’d never been there. The question was...had she really been in the room, or had it all been a figment of his imagination? If she had been there, had she glided silently across the floor and exited via the well-oiled door, in the time it takes to wave a magic wand, or had she, like The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls, done just that and walked through walls? He really must get a grip, he thought, and returned to his knees.
Come to think of it, the man who walked through walls brought him back to the job in hand; the opening of the safe. He was pretty sure that the conundrum, which would provide the combination to the safe, referred to the person credited with the ability to walk through walls, Harry Houdini, the Master Escapologist. Firstly, he had to give the safe a thorough going over.
What used to be a large opening in the fireplace was now entirely filled by the solid steel safe. An expert had obviously built the safe into the fireplace; it appeared to be secured by bolts and the top and sides were flush with the top and sides of the opening, which were also made of steel. To remove the safe would’ve required demolishing the entire granite fireplace. The combination to the locking system was the only means of entry.
The Prof, remembering the conundrum, took no time at all to apply his reasoning to the tumblers, but to no avail. The door to the safe wouldn’t budge. It was locked tight! Something was wrong! Was he losing his touch?
As he sat back on his heels, a slight noise to his right made him look towards the windows. It was now very dark outside but he thought he could see something looking in at him. It was a face...and only a face! A face without a body and surrounded by darkness! And it was smiling!
He got up, went over to the windows and looked out. It was difficult to see anything outside but the entire area appeared empty of anyone or anything! Whatever he’d seen, or thought he’d seen, was gone.
Giles closed the curtains and returned to the fireplace. The puzzled frown was back as he thought over his previous actions including the logic behind the interpretation of the conundrum and the solving of the riddle. All the imponderables required consideration. Where had he gone wrong?
He moved across to the door, opened it and was about to switch off the light when he turned to take a last look at the portrait of Isabella. Was it a trick of the light, his imagination, or were his nerves beginning to get the better of him? The painting seemed different! What was it? Did the fan flutter? Was the dagger hand much more threatening? No, it was the face! The face was smiling! Had it been smiling when he first looked at it? He wasn’t sure! He couldn’t remember! One thing he could remember though...the smile was the one he’d seen at the window!!
Something was now rattling the combination tumblers in his
brain. The frown was disappearing from his tortured forehead.
He closed the library door, nodded at the dancer with the dagger and the blood-red dress and muttered, ‘Let’s try again, shall we!’ Then, as he knelt down in front of the safe, he could imagine Laura saying, “Giles, you’re talking to yourself again."
The Prof, rubbing the tips of his fingers against the material of his black polo neck, as he’d seen the safe crackers do in the old movies, was convinced that The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls, Harry Houdini, was about to open the safe, almost forty years after his death.
The first part of the riddle, referring to Vice? With a Wee or Wubbleyou surely meant WEISS. Ehrich Weiss, pronounced vice, was the name that Harry Houdini, the son of a Hungarian rabbi, was given when he was born in 1874. The reference to beginning at the end in the riddle must surely refer to the date of Houdini’s death. The Prof had used the date 31/10/26 as the three sets of numbers to be introduced to the wheels of the combination locking system. He’d done that, but they hadn’t worked the magic! Why? Of course - the smile at the window! Someone had been trying to tell him something. He had it the wrong way round and that someone had been watching to see when the penny would drop. It was dropping now.
Ehrich Weiss, Hungarian born, had gone to America and changed his name to Harry Houdini - and he became an American citizen! He was an American. An American who died on Hallowe’en in 1926 and, in America, the date of his death would be 10/31/26 and not 31/10/26. The Prof had failed to think the problem through and the smile had triggered the action and reaction necessary for the solving of the puzzle.
His euphoria was complete when the numbers were fed into the wheels and he was able to turn the handle and open the safe.
Dinner, on his first evening back at Maskelyne Hall after an absence of many years, was a convivial affair for Giles. He was in the company of friends; for the time being!
Friends? I suppose so; he thought looking round the table at his companions. Companions who’d welcomed him with open arms and made him feel as if he’d never been away. Nevertheless, if the reason for his visit was as had been suggested by mother and daughter, one of those friends could be - a murderer. It would be his task to discover which one. Which one was playing a part? Perhaps more than one! There was always that possibility!
The Statue of Three Lies Page 3
