THE IRREGULAR CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (10 page)

‘Can you imagine what it will do to our efforts, and possibly the future peace of Europe, if an object as precious as this is lost? Metterling has kept the Stelé locked up in his castle, and allowed no one to see it, until now. It is a treasured family possession. If we have to tell him that it has disappeared within days of arriving in London, the work of years could be destroyed in a few seconds.

‘Let me put this to you very simply, Mr Holmes. On the day of the exhibition, three weeks from tomorrow, the Stelé must be standing in its place, or the consequences could be very grave for us all.’

‘Is it possible,’ I asked, ‘that this theft took place to sabotage your diplomatic efforts?’

‘I think not, Watson,’ said Holmes. ‘If that was the sole intention, it would have been easier to simply blow up an Embassy.’

Crossland wiped his brow with his handkerchief.

‘Please don’t say that, Mr Holmes! Don’t say that.’

‘Shouldn’t the police be alerted?’ asked Dr Wallis.

‘Only if you wish the world to know that the Stelé has been stolen,’ replied Holmes. ‘It has to be recovered without the fact of its loss falling into the hands of the press.’

‘Where would one even start?’ asked Miss Farrell.

‘With the assistant who has so recently disappeared. Such a theft could hardly take place without the assistance of someone within the museum. What do you know of this person?’

‘That he comes with the highest recommendation from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Mr Meguid has made himself very useful to me in a short time. An extremely personable and conscientious young man. I believe the Egyptian Embassy made special arrangements on his behalf, so highly did they rate his talents.’

‘Quite so,’ muttered Holmes. ‘Let us look at the way this thing was done. Surely one would arrange a substitute object in advance, smuggle it into the building, and make one simple swap. But what do we find here? An object taken from a case on display, placed in another case to cover the absence of yet another object substituted for the Stelé. Does it not seem the improvisation of a man in a hurry, seizing an opportunity as it occurred?’

‘It is true that I have been so tied up with the arrangements for the exhibition that Meguid has been left very much to his own devices for days.’

‘Then he may have struck while the iron was hot.’

‘I swear the thing is cursed,’ complained Wallis. ‘On the way here it was involved in a train crash, a death, and a fire on the boat.’

‘One could just as easily say,’ replied Holmes, ‘that these were the first attempts to steal it!’

‘I still do not see how Meguid could be responsible. I remain in the museum long after he has gone. He would have had to regain entry, which rather defeats the object.’

‘Could he not have hidden until you had gone?’ asked young Miss Edney.

‘Not in the offices, I am sure. Perhaps among the exhibits?’

Holmes nodded.

‘Most probably somewhere among the great statues and architectural reconstructions in the entrance hall. These are places large enough for a man to hide in. Let us see for ourselves.’

Holmes led the way to the great entrance hall, where he prowled around the temple façades and colossi, stopping eventually before a monumental sarcophagus of greenish stone. With the aid of his magnifying lens, he subjected the floor around the sarcophagus, its sides, and its top edge to minute examination. Then with a grunt of satisfaction he hopped lightly on to the top and disappeared from view.

We peered over the edge, and found him lying full length, face down in the bottom, looking at a small object held between his fingers.

‘I would say this is the wrapping from some sweetmeat,’ he said. ‘Miss Edney, would you be so kind as to give us the benefit of your expertise?’

He handed the piece of paper to the little girl. She examined it, held it to her nose, and delivered a solemn pronouncement.

‘Bitter lemon drops.’

‘Always consult an expert,’ said Sherlock Holmes. ‘You were about to say something, Dr Wallis?’

Wallis looked somewhat crestfallen.

‘Meguid was very partial to bitter lemon drops.’

‘He ate them while he was waiting, and left the wrapper behind. This is where he lay.’

‘He took quite a risk,’ I remarked.

‘Unless he had good reason to suppose that no one would look inside. It would be a simple enough thing. Perhaps he left some innocent object inside the sarcophagus and waited to see if it was discovered. When it was not, he could be quite confident in his hiding place. Your night watchmen should be a little more thorough in future!’

‘I also found this. In this case I think you can identify it, Dr Wallis—it looks to me like green wax.’

‘Nile green,’ conceded Wallis sadly.

‘He must have passed the time cleaning out your seal in preparation. Stamping the case once he had completed the swap must have seemed the perfect crowning touch.’

‘Don’t you think it is strange, Dr Wallis,’ asked young Miss Edney, ‘that this sarcophagus was made for Nectanebo II? The Metterling Stelé was made in his reign.’

‘Surely just a coincidence, my dear,’ replied Wallis.

‘That remains to be seen,’ muttered Holmes.

‘I have seen quite enough,’ interjected Crossland, ‘to convince me that you are the man who can help us, Mr Holmes. Will you take the case?’

‘I will be delighted to, despite grave doubts as to the chances of success. The Stelé could be taken anywhere. To locate it, catch those responsible, and return the object within three weeks could be a tall order. I may well be setting myself the most difficult challenge of my career. However, that merely underlines the need to begin at once. I suppose it is too much to hope that you have a photographic image of this young man?’

Wallis perked up at this. ‘I have indeed, Mr Holmes. Meguid has appeared in our
Journal of Egyptian Studies
. I can get a copy.’

‘His home will have to be searched too.’

‘We would be glad to be of any assistance, Mr Holmes,’ offered Miss Farrell.

‘That will be most helpful to us. Take the Journal to the Egyptian Embassy and learn what you can about Mr Meguid. With your permission, Mr Crossland, they might use your name? That is good. Watson, let us search this young man’s place of residence.’

The address supplied was a lodging house in Newington Butts. Meguid’s room was sparse and serviceable, and showed signs that it had been vacated at short notice. On opening the wardrobe our noses were assailed by a strong, sweet odour.

‘This is incense, Watson, but not one that I recognise. Have you encountered it in your travels?’

‘No, Holmes, I cannot say I have.’

‘The paper lining of this shelf is impregnated with the smell. I will tear off a piece and see if anyone can identify it. That aside, we appear to have drawn a blank, Watson. A somewhat inauspicious start!’

Back at the museum, we found Dr Wallis with the Misses Farrell and Edney, who were in a state of great excitement.

‘His name is not Meguid, Mr Holmes, but Zeini; and he is known to the Egyptian authorities as a thief and a confidence trickster who steals Egyptian Antiquities.’

‘And not only that,’ added the young Miss Edney breathlessly, but all the things he steals are from the Dynasty of Nectanebo!’

Holmes nodded and produced the fragment of paper from the shelf. ‘Well done, ladies. Can any of you identify the incense impregnating this paper?’

Dr Wallis raised it to his nose and smiled.

‘No doubt about it, Mr Holmes. This is
Khyfi
, ancient Egyptian incense from a recipe only found in the Book of Coming Forth By Day.’ ‘There is one other thing we should have told you,’ added Miss Farrell. ‘All the stolen objects that have been recovered have been found in Egypt.’

‘And that, I am now sure, is the destination of the Stelé,’ said Holmes. ‘Although exactly how we could trace it once we were there, escapes me.’

‘Mr Holmes,’ said Dr Wallis, ‘might I suggest that if it is your intention to pursue the Stelé to Egypt, you should speak to Professor Bhey at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. He is an outstanding scholar, a very trustworthy man, and is an expert on the Nectanebo Dynasties.’

‘I too would like to offer my services, Mr Holmes,’ said Miss Farrell. ‘Dorothy is, of course, too young to travel, but I could go and help.’

I could not help laughing at this.

‘It is very brave of you, Miss Farrell, but you would do better to wait here with Dr Wallis. There may be dangers too great for a young woman.’

Miss Farrell went very red, but said nothing.

The journey to Alexandria by the fastest trains and boats available used up three days of our precious time. When we got to Cairo we went at once to the Museum and sought out Dr Bhey. He proved to be a very impressive young man, deeply devoted to the study of Egyptian History, and eager to help us in any way he could. It was obvious that he held Dr Wallis in very high regard, and took his recommendation as a great honour. As he led us through the impressive halls of the museum, a collection far vaster and greater than that of London, he spoke with enthusiasm.

‘It is very fortuitous that you should seek information about the Dynasties of the Nectanebos. It is my major subject of study. As you have heard there were two Pharoahs of the name. The first, who reigned in the thirtieth Dynasty, ordered the creation of the Stelì which you say has gone missing. He was an interesting man, a non-Royal who usurped the throne. He built great avenues of Sphinxes between the temples of Luxor and Karnak, and at the Serapeum at Sakhara. Nectanebo II later built a temple to Apis by the Serapeum.’

‘Why did the second Pharoah assume the same name?’ I asked.

‘That is a good question, Dr Watson,’ answered Bhey, throwing open a door and gesturing us inside, ‘and to answer it, I must show you a papyrus of exceptional interest. It is demotic, late, and appears to be a copy of an older work. Now look at this, gentlemen. It seems to suggest that Nectanebo I and Nectanebo II were one and the same person. You see, it is known that Nectanebo I was a notorious sorcerer, and claimed to have the secret of eternal life. These symbols mean the Old One who will become young again. In the Dynasty of Nectanebo II it seems to have been believed that he was no more than a renewed form of the earlier Pharoah.

‘Now this will interest you greatly, gentlemen. Nectanebo’s power of eternal life came from a Stelé into which he placed all his knowledge of magic, making the holder of the object Master of all Powers of Heaven and Earth and the Underworld. To regain his youth, it was necessary to take the Stelé on a journey of rebirth, performing rituals at certain sacred places.

‘The identity of these places is not given openly, but by symbolic descriptions. I think the first site was Sakhara, forty miles west of Gizeh. A procession carried the Pharoah and the Stelé along the avenue of Sphinxes to a temple that stood by the Serepeum. I have not translated the rest of the papyrus yet, but I think that the other stages of the journey are given.

‘Here is a depiction of the magical Stelé, with Horus standing on serpents, holding reptiles in his hands. It quite obviously represents the Metterling Stelé.’

Holmes pored over the document with great interest.

‘And I take it that you believe this document throws light on the motive for the theft of the Stelé?’

‘It seems to me possible that someone believes the Stelé has magical power, and is trying to use it. If that is so, then the ritual journey must be re-enacted. Your search should begin at Sakhara, at the Avenue of Sphinxes.’