The Stone Of Secrets
(being, in some sort, a continuation of The Light Of Araby)
by John M. Joyce (December 2009)
Mark took the two pieces of bagged silver and examined them carefully for a few moments.
Mark was shocked by the news that Sir Bernard had been killed.
With that he sped off in search of Mrs. Samantha Fox-Talbot.
***
There was a brief moment of silence which Mark broke, a high colour flushing his cheeks.
A little social chitchat ensued and then Lushkins made to leave. As he opened the door and stepped out onto the High Street Mark called out to him.
***
As a result it took scarcely twenty minutes before they were bowling up the two miles long driveway to Teal Hall. As they approached the great house Mark and Samantha thought that they caught a momentary glimpse of several soberly dressed men in the undergrowth beside the carriageway.
Samantha parked the car in front of the great, rambling, old house and Mark assisted her in fitting the tonneau cover for the sky had a distinct look of rain about it. They went inside carrying their briefcases and laptops and after a few brief words with the Police Sergeant in the entrance hall they split up and started work.
She was already there when he opened the door and stepped into the room.
She pressed a few keys and waited for Lushkins to answer.
Some reply was given by Lushkins and Samantha said a goodbye and hung up.
Samantha grabbed the waving picture from his hand and studied it minutely and then she looked at the room.
As she set the tea tray gently down on the low table in front of Mark and lowered herself into the chair opposite him he suddenly stood up.
With that, he sat down again.
She got up and went over to the desk. After two or three minutes of systematically searching every draw she had to admit defeat. There were no photographs and no reports in the desk. She went back to the tea which Mark had poured and sat down. Mark looked at her quizzically.
She reached for her mobile just as Mark sprang to his feet again and strode quickly over to the bookcase and started to thrust his hand behind the books systematically on each shelf and slide it along.
With that there was an audible click and an entire section of the bookcase swung outwards into the room. Mark pushed this revealed door of books wide open and there in a space behind stood a large safe.
She poured herself another cup tea and sat and watched him. Occasionally he grunted to himself in a satisfied way but mostly the only sound she heard was of him counting upward.
The proper pleasantries having been exchanged D.C. Ashburton turned his attention to the safe.
She watched as the light and the dark hunched against the safe and smiled inwardly. Ever since Mark had joined her in the business life had become very much more interesting than it had been previously. It was almost as if he was some sort of magnet which drew adventures and mysteries inexorably towards him.
Samantha rapidly filled him in on what she and Mark had discovered so far.
***
***
***
Suddenly the sound rushed back and she became aware that she was standing in her own sitting room and that Michael Lushkins had his arms wound tightly around her and that he was trying to say something to her and that she was struggling in his grip in a futile attempt to follow Mark. She stopped struggling. The voice inside her, the essential her, reasserted itself.
She did just that. She knew it was right and Lushkins sensed the change in her and released his grip as she calmly sought to disengage from his protective embrace, but he kept hold of her hands and guided her to an untainted chair.
That threw Lushkins completely out of his stride.
***
Lushkins grinned and handed over a brown paper bag full of lusciously sweet red, almost black, Regent grapes.
Those were pointless questions for Mark had fallen asleep. The painkillers had finally overtaken him again and given him, as he needed, blessed relief from the pain of his wounds.
***
***
Two days later Mark was released from hospital into the competent care of his aunt. When she had settled him comfortably into the small flat next to hers above the shop she made some tea and sat down opposite him.
Ashburton expressed some surprise and obviously asked why.
***
There were a few moments of silence as they each gazed at the safe and considered the options.
They both set to work on the safe and were rewarded a scant few seconds later with a loud click from behind it. Matthew Ashburton firmly tugged at the left hand back corner of the safe and it swung easily out into the small space behind to bookshelves to reveal a large, shelved cupboard behind it. Every shelf was filled almost to overflowing with small ingots of gold and on the floor between the shelves was a medium-sized, flattish, comfortable looking rock.
Mark stopped to consider.
***
She watched as he patiently quartered that garden feature and watched as his interest finally alighted upon one medium-sized, comfortable-looking stone. She watched as he dug the stone up and laboriously lifted it into his large, stout plastic bag. Then she stepped forward and offered to help him carry it to his car.
Together, in friendly silence, they carried the heavy bag back to his car and put it in the boot.
They took some tea together but not much was said.
Mark smiled at her.
Mrs. Browse walked away from the car and opened the gates. Mark stopped the car beside her as he drove through the open gates and wound down his window.
***
***
Mark took the bag but before he looked at its contents he looked the D.C.I. squarely in the eyes and asked:
Mark started at that news.
Mark became aware that he was holding the evidence bag that the D.C.I. had handed to him a minute or so ago. He lifted it and inspected its contents. The little, oval, silver box inside the bag looked greasy and had a few brown, almost black, marks on its surfaces.
Notes:
In Arabic rendered into modern English orthography:
gayheeba = bitch
kara beech (or beek) = shit in you
koos = cunt
here.
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