The Phantom

by Jack Murray

  ‘Lord President,’ said Mary smiling up to Balfour, ‘I’ve been an admirer of yours for many years.’

  ‘And I, of you, for many minutes,’ replied Balfour nobly.

  -

  Around midnight the main dignitaries had retired for the evening. Wolf suggested they withdraw to the library for a nightcap. The library, if not as large as the drawing room, was as impressive. Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Some wall space was occupied by paintings from the French Impressionists who were gaining in popularity and value by the year in England.

  The room was lit by an enormous crystal chandelier which had, as Wolf demonstrated, a number of dimmer switches around the room. Mary had been subject to vigorous displays of what she and Kit later agreed was behaviour only marginally differentiated from a Gorilla beating its chest and a lot less impressive. All of which amused Kit and provided no end of entertainment to Mary as well as her new found friend, Arthur Balfour.

  With the politicians gone, bar the indefatigable Balfour, the conversation moved on to the recent spate of robberies in the city. This brought back memories, for some, of the thief known as ‘The Phantom.’

  ‘You’re not going to claim credit for that one also Kit?’ asked Balfour, with one eyebrow raised.

  Kit laughed, ‘No, I was just getting ready to go to the War when the Phantom was captured. I do know the chap who caught him: Chief Inspector Jellicoe. Good man.’

  ‘I must say, I was relieved when they caught him,’ admitted Wolf. Upon saying that he went over to a painting on the wall and moved it to one side. Behind it was a safe. Given that he was with men and women of unimpeachable background, Wolf felt completely at ease in what he was doing.

  He opened the safe and removed a small black velvet pouch. From the pouch he extracted a diamond necklace. Mary gasped involuntarily. She wasn’t the only one. There were over a dozen sizeable diamonds on the chain. It was beautiful and unquestionably worth a small fortune. Everyone in the room inched forward to get a better look at the necklace Wolf had placed on the table.

  Just as Wolf stepped back, the lights went out leaving the room in complete darkness. Two of the women screamed and there were shouts from a couple of the men. The lights came on again after a few moments. When everyone looked down at the table, the diamonds were gone.

  Wolf looked at everyone in the room, and said, ‘Is this some sort of joke? If I may say, it’s in very poor taste.’

  Mary looked up at Kit and whispered, ‘Do something.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Yes you.’

  Everyone turned to Kit.

  ‘Oh,’ said Kit, unsure of what was expected from him, ‘Perhaps we should lock the doors.’ Behind him the footmen in the room did as they were bid. Kit looked at Wolf. The room was silent as they waited for Kit’s next words. And then Mary spoke.

  ‘Well clearly they’re hidden up above. Who’s going to take a look?’

  Everyone looked up at the chandelier.

  ‘Good thinking,’ said Balfour smiling.

  A young man volunteered, and space was cleared for him to stand on a chair and to root around the chandelier with his outstretched hand. All this time Kit kept his eyes on Wolf.

  ‘I can’t find anything,’ admitted the young man.

  ‘Oh,’ said Mary, clearly disappointed that her first stab at detection had, on this occasion, been a failure. She felt a comforting hand on her elbow from Kit. She looked up and made a face. Kit had a faint smile. Mary frowned. She sensed what was coming.

  ‘What are you thinking, Kit?’ asked Wolf.

  ‘A greater and, frankly, more credible detective than I once said that if you can eliminate the impossible then whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.’

  ‘Go on Sherlock.’ said Mary, who made having a grin and frown at the same moment, not only physically possible but very enticing.

  ‘Well, with that in mind,’ said Kit walking forward to the safe and looking inside, ‘I would suggest that the necklace is back in the safe where Lord Wolf placed it when the lights went out.’

  The safe was empty.

  Wolf’s face was non-committal. Kit turned to face the room. No one had moved except to look either at Kit or the empty safe.

  ‘As you can see the safe is empty,’ said Kit. He caught Arthur Balfour’s eye. The glint suggested the former Prime Minister was enjoying this as much as he was fascinated by what the solution to the mystery might be. Mary was beside him. Her face now betrayed a degree of nervousness. With the safe empty, she was worried he was going to make a fool of himself. So was Kit.

  ‘However, if I do this,’ said Kit, pressing down on the base of the safe and extracting from the compartment underneath, a diamond necklace which he held up for all to view, ‘then the diamonds reappear, as if by magic’.

  Everyone broke out into spontaneous applause, none more so than Lord Wolf who was laughing in delight. Shouts of ‘Bravo’ filled the air. As the ovation died down one voice broke the silence.

  ‘Of course, you’re now in trouble,’ said Arthur Balfour.

  ‘Indeed, that thought has also just occurred to me,’ admitted Kit.

  Wolf and the others in the assembly turned to Balfour for an explanation, who dutifully provided it.

  ‘Well Kit has, rather publicly, been proved right. I fear his delightful fiancée will, indeed must, make Kit spend a lifetime reflecting on how he chose to deploy his unquestioned intellect ahead of a piece of wisdom that has existed at least as long as the human race.’

  ‘Which is?’ prompted Mary, with something approaching relish.

  ‘That women are always right,’ finished Kit, shamefacedly.

  Mary stepped forward and kissed Kit gently on the cheek. This brought a second round of applause.

  ‘I think you’ve gotten off rather lightly, Kit,’ said Lord Wolf with a grin. The smile on Wolf’s face changed in a moment to confusion. He stared at the diamond necklace and then looked back up at Kit.

  ‘What’s wrong Peter?’ asked Kit, looking also at the necklace. He looked back at the ashen face of Lord Wolf.

  ‘It’s fake. The necklace is a fake.’

  Wolf went over immediately to the safe. He placed his hand down on the base which tipped down to into the hidden compartment found by Kit during the practical joke.

  He turned to face the assembly. Incredulity was written over his face. Kit picked up the black velvet pouch and turned it inside out. As he did so, a small card fell onto the table. Kit lifted the card and showed it to Lord Wolf.

  On the card was the face of a phantom.

  Chapter 2

  There was at a gasp as Kit showed the card to the assembly. Wolf sat down, in shock.

  A voice from the back of the group asked, ‘But how? He’s in prison.’

  Kit looked around at the group. Every person in the group was someone of rank either through inheritance, patronage or wealth. It was inconceivable, to Kit that one was a thief.

  ‘I believe the best course of action, Peter, is to call Scotland Yard immediately. We need Jellicoe. I also think it best if your guests retire for the evening. You’ll all probably be asked to give a statement tomorrow. My feeling is that the diamond necklace was stolen before tonight. The security I saw this evening would be something no sane thief would look to take on.’

  Wolf looked up at Kit and nodded gratefully. Kit turned around to search out Mary, but she was already at the door instructing a footman to call the police. In fact she had moved before Kit had addressed the group, clearly anticipating the need. Kit felt a glow of pride as she returned.

  ‘Police?,’ asked Kit.

  ‘Police,’ responded Mary.

  ‘I would get used to this, if I were you, they’re always one step ahead of us,’ pointed out Balfour. This lightened the mood in the room and even seemed to raise the spirit of Lord Wolf.

  ‘Did you ask the footman to insist on Jellicoe?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Mary, ‘I
do listen to you, you know.’

  ‘Enjoy that, while it lasts, Kit,’ added Balfour glancing archly at Mary.

  -

  Half an hour later the only remaining people in the room were Kit, Mary and Lord Wolf. A maid brought some tea as they discussed what would happen next. Wolf, by now, had regained his composure following the initial shock. However, he remained bewildered at how a thief could have entered the house never mind located and stolen the diamonds.

  ‘By the way, Kit, you know that you don’t have to stay,’ pointed out Wolf.

  ‘I’d like to Peter,’ replied Kit before adding, ‘besides which, I know Jellicoe.’

  ‘I understand Kit and thank you. But you, Mary?’ asked Wolf.

  Kit glanced at Mary one eyebrow raised.

  ‘I should like to stay also, Lord Wolf, if I may. The alternative is to return to Kit’s aunt or stay with Kit and yourself. Not such a difficult choice when you think of it.’

  Wolf smiled and bowed his head.

  ‘Your aunt Kit?’ asked Wolf turning to Kit.

  ‘Yes, Mary and her sister have moved into the house of my aunt, now that she’s back from the Riviera. You may know her, Lady Agatha Frost?’

  The look on Wolf’s face a suggested delicate mixture of surprise, amusement and fear, rather in the manner of meeting a baby shark and then its mother.

  ‘Well,’ smiled Wolf, ‘I do know the lady in question. Quite formidable if I remember correctly.’

  ‘Your memory does not betray you sir,’ smiled Mary, ‘Formidable is one way of putting it. Terrifying would have worked also. Thankfully I, too, have an aunt who provided rigorous training in dealing with, well aunts, Lady Emily Cavendish. Their meeting a week ago was really quite something.’

  -

  Two weeks earlier, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery Hospital had bid farewell to a victim of poisoning. Thankfully the victim, Mary Cavendish, left the hospital mostly off her own steam but with some assistance from her sister Esther, and fiancé.

  As Mary climbed from the hospital bed, Esther Cavendish found her emotions threatening to overcome her. Mary noticed the change in Esther and smiled.

  ‘I’m fine now Essie, don’t worry.’

  Esther hugged her sister. It had been close. The thought of life without Mary had, at times, been too much to contemplate and had threatened to cast a shadow over her romance with Doctor Richard Bright.

  Kit looked at the two sisters. So different in temperament yet so alike in their beauty. The bond between them was palpable. He realised much of his relief at Mary’s recovery was for Esther’s sake as much as his own. The very difference in their nature, the electrical vibrancy of Mary and the serene, inner harmony of Esther, it seemed to Kit, strengthened their attachment at an atomic level.

  Harry Miller, Kit’s manservant, joined them at the hospital door. Mary refused the use of a wheelchair, choosing to lean on the arms of Kit and Esther in order to walk down to the Rolls.

  ‘Hello Harry,’ said Mary somewhat shyly. She had not seen him since Kit had unmasked Eric Strangerson as a murderer and, in doing so, saved Miller who had been the chief suspect thanks to Mary and Esther’s early attempts at detective work.

  Miller smiled at Mary and said, ‘Great to have you back on your feet milady.’

  ‘Thank you Harry,’ said Mary, fighting to control her tears. Seeing Harry had caused a wave of guilt to engulf her as she remembered the period when he’d been taken away by the police. She looked at Harry and said, ‘I’m so sorry about what happened. I hope you’ll forgive me.’

  ‘Nothing to forgive. I’m just glad we’re on the same side now,’ replied Harry with a wink. Mary laughed and then nodded in gratitude to the small Londoner.

  ‘Thanks,’ she whispered. They all moved towards the car and soon were on their way back to Kit’s apartment in Belgravia.

  Much to Mary’s delight, or so she made seem, there to greet her was her aunt, Emily and her cousin, Henry, the new Lord Cavendish, following the death of her grandfather Arthur over Christmas.

  ‘Well you’re certainly looking much improved since the last time I saw you,’ announced Lady Emily.

  Mary looked surprised, the last time she had seen Emily was at Cavendish House, moments before Eric Strangerson’s poisoned dart, intended for Kit, had pierced her neck causing her to fall into a coma. Then she realised Emily must have visited during this period.

  ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t much company,’ laughed Mary.

  ‘Don’t worry, we hardly noticed,’ said Emily, causing barely disguised mirth in the two sisters.

  Henry, however, did pick up on what his mother had said.

  ‘Are you sure you meant it that way, mama?’ asked Henry with some irritation.

  ‘Oh, yes, well, quite. You know what I mean,’ responded Emily breezily. ‘Anyway I don’t understand why you’re not returning to Cavendish Hall to recuperate.’

  ‘We’ve been through this Aunt Emily,’ replied Esther sternly. ‘I want to be close to Richard and Mary.’

  ‘Well,’ replied Emily stiffly, ‘I find the situation distinctly odd. Your hasty engagement to a man you hardly know and then high tailing it down to London to stay near him. You read about this sort of thing, of course, in the News of the World. I never thought for a moment my own niece would indulge in such behaviour.’

  ‘It certainly conjures up an interesting image of you reading the News of the World, mama,’ said Henry, giving voice to everyone’s thought at that moment

  Emily turned to Henry who was smiling. All at once a number of thoughts went through her mind. Horror at being mocked by her son, shock at the public nature of the jest and, even more surprisingly, pride. More and more these last few weeks, she was beginning to see the things in Henry’s character that she had longed to see for many years. That this would necessitate occasional opposition to her wishes, she was growing to accept.

  Slowly.

  Humour was a new weapon his armoury. So like Robert. His comment had produced smiles in the group around her which confirmed where their sympathies lay. A natural military tactician, Emily withdrew from what was a weak position to one where she felt she could regain the high ground.

  ‘Well, you’re young and it’s your life, Esther, it’s not for me to undermine your wishes by dint of such minor considerations as wisdom and experience.’

  This signalled an end to the initial conflict however, as Kit was acutely aware, the second was imminent. Kit felt it best to prepare the ground for the looming encounter.

  ‘So, Lady Emily, my aunt is coming to visit this afternoon. She may have a solution to our problem.’

  ‘Your aunt?’ said Esther, Mary and Emily in unison.

  Kit smiled, grimly and said, ‘Yes.’

  ‘And remind me of your aunt’s name, Lord Aston,’ asked Emily.

  ‘Lady Agatha Frost,’ offered Kit.

  This prompted an unexpected reaction from Emily. She burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Esther looked mystified. Then Kit looked at Mary. He tried to smile. A mistake, he realised afterwards. Her eyes narrowed. This wasn’t good. In fact, this was the opposite of good.

  Emily sat down as she sought to regain control of herself. In fact, it took longer than expected as one glance at Esther and Mary caused a further relapse.

  ‘Is this as bad as it seems, Kit?’ asked Mary in a dangerously slow and even tone.

  A further burst of laughter from Emily made any answer from Kit academic.

  ‘You can always say ‘no’, Mary,’ offered Kit. Rather feebly, it must be said.

  ‘Do you know, Lord Aston, you’ve just made my day,’ said Emily finally recovering composure. This prompted another look from Mary that had Kit squirming inside. Thankfully Esther, the angelic, beautiful Esther, offered an olive branch of hope.

  ‘I look forward to meeting your aunt, Kit. She has a residence in London?’

  ‘Yes, Grosvenor Square.’

  -

  Lord Wol
f looked at Kit and Mary with a smile, the undercurrent regarding Lady Agatha was plainly visible although he sensed something else which he couldn’t quite divine. If pressed he would have described it, unfathomably, as amusement on Mary’s part.

  A footman appeared in the room to announce the arrival of Chief Inspector Jellicoe. Moments later James Jellicoe entered Wolf’s library accompanied by a young detective. The arrival of Jellicoe caused Wolf to do a double take such was the policeman’s resemblance to the reigning monarch, George V. His beard and moustache were a case study in different evolutionary periods. His beard flecked, as it was, with large patches of grey seemed positively pre Cambrian compared to the more Cenozoic moustache that, so far, seemed to be a relatively recent development. The overall effect was to give Jellicoe a mournful appearance which his naturally sober personality did little to mitigate. He was a serious man doing a serious job.

  If Wolf had done a double take at the royal resemblance, it was matched by Jellicoe’s surprise at seeing Kit again.

  ‘Lord Aston,’ he exclaimed, unable to add much to this initial thought.

  ‘Chief Inspector. I hadn’t anticipated meeting you again so soon after, shall we say, our last case. May I present Lord Wolf.’

  Lord Wolf walked forward and shook the hands of Jellicoe and also the young officer. ‘I’m sorry we should meet in these circumstances, Chief Inspector. My young friend, here, speaks very highly of your capabilities.’

  Jellicoe looked at Kit. ‘I have a very high regard for his ability also, Lord Wolf. If I may, this is Detective Sergeant Ryan,’ said Jellicoe turning to the young officer beside him. Kit looked up at Ryan, for he was at least as tall, if not taller than Kit. Ryan was, in Kit’s estimation, in his mid-twenties, well made and quite handsome.

  Once the introductions had been made, Jellicoe became aware of Mary’s presence. She had remained sitting down as the police had arrived. Kit saw the direction of Jellicoe’s gaze and smiled, ‘And, this Chief Inspector, is my fiancée, Lady Mary Cavendish.’