The Deadly Curse (9 page)

The
frightened housekeeper did as I asked and the combined weight of Van Helsing and I soon forced open the lightly constructed door. As the two of us staggered into the room Mina stepped lightly between us and advanced to the bed.

On
it laid a grotesquely swollen corpse: that of a man in his late fifties, formally dressed in a dark suit and waistcoat, with his jacket removed. His bloated stomach and outstretched limbs were irresistibly reminiscent of Mr Tenniel’s illustrations of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, although there was little humour in the sight before us. The livid colouration of the face and the rigidity of the features made Van Helsing’s search for signs of life pointless.

The
Professor lifted up one of the dead man’s arms. ‘There’s a spot of blood here,’ he said, rolling up the sleeve of the shirt. ‘It’s Limonov all right, I recognise the poor man. Now, what’s this?’

Mina
and I pored over Van Helsing’s shoulder. There, on the inner forearm of the corpse, we could see two bright red puncture wounds, set about a quarter of an inch apart.

Mina
jumped backwards with a cry. ‘My G-d! Surely it cannot be! I thought we were rid of him forever.’

I
placed my arm around her shoulders. ‘Think, Mina. Those marks are far smaller than the wounds that were inflicted by Count Dracula.’

She
breathed deeply. ‘You are right, Jonathan. But just for a moment....’

Van
Helsing stood up from his examination of the body.

‘I’m
afraid it’s quite clear what has happened. Jonathan is quite right – this is not the work of a vampire, or indeed of any warm-blooded creature. Dr Limonov has been killed by the venom of a particularly poisonous snake.’

I
swiftly looked about the room. ‘Then should we not find the creature before it strikes again?’ I said. ‘Mina, perhaps you had better wait downstairs.’

‘I
think not,’ she said with a smile. ‘Three are better placed to search than two. Besides, if the reptile were to follow me and kill Mrs Garnett, I would never forgive myself.’

With
that we armed ourselves – somewhat inadequately – with a variety of objects from Limonov’s bedroom, and gingerly commenced our search. As I peered beneath the wardrobe I heard Van Helsing’s sharp intake of breath behind me and turned round to see him lifting one of the pillows on the bed. He held a clothes brush in his right hand poised to strike, but lowered it slowly to his side.

Mina
and I gazed at what his search had revealed. Resting on the sheet where the pillow had been was a broad and heavy bracelet of bright gold, in the shape of a flattened snake and of a size evidently designed to fit round a woman’s upper arm. One end terminated in a pointed tail and the other in the reptile’s head. The design appeared to be Ancient Egyptian, although neither Van Helsing, Mina, nor I were expert enough to identify it with certainty.

The
Professor shook his head. ‘What, I wonder, will Detective Inspector Delland make of this? Mina, I suggest that you go in search of a constable, and send him to bring Delland here. Please ask Mrs Garnett to remain downstairs and to ensure the servants are kept out of this room. Meanwhile, Jonathan and I will continue to look for the snake – although if my reading of this latest tragedy is correct, I fear our search will prove fruitless.’

Chapter
7

Less than twenty minutes after Mina had given her instructions to a constable and rejoined us in Limonov’s house, Inspector Delland came trotting up the stairs and joined us in the bedroom, where we had left the swollen corpse undisturbed, the golden armlet placed by its side. He was closely followed by an officer whom I recognised: Sergeant Drew. Instead of expressing dismay at yet another scene of inexplicable murder the Inspector appeared positively buoyant.

‘Ah!’
Delland cried, quickly taking in the bizarre scene in front of him. ‘This is all of a piece – the jigsaw’s coming together nicely. I’ve sent for the police doctor. You’re a medical man, Van Helsing. What do you think? A poisoning? And that bracelet’s another Egyptian relic, I’ll be bound.’

Van
Helsing pointed at Limonov’s arm, where we had left the sleeve rolled up. ‘I’m no expert, but I believe that to be a snake bite – and the cause of death.’

Delland
looked unconvinced. ‘I take it you’ve not found a snake in the room?’

‘Correct,’
I said. ‘Unless you count this one.’

I
picked up the armlet and passed it to Delland, pointing to the snake’s head. To my surprise the inspector laughed loudly.

‘Better
still!’ he exclaimed. ‘Our murderer has a sense of humour, if nothing else.’

Van
Helsing smiled at the officer. ‘Detective Inspector, it seems to me you have the advantage of Mr Harker and I. You have clearly discovered the secret behind this case, whereas Jonathan and I are still very much confused. While we are waiting for the police doctor to arrive, would it be possible for you to share your theory with us? I can assure you we will treat it with confidence.’

‘I
see no reason why not, gentlemen, as you and the two ladies have been so helpful. Let me explain. You’ll remember that when Mr Theodore Flinzer was done away with I said he was known by Scotland Yard to be less than honest in his art dealings, and that I suspected he’d fallen out with some criminal acquaintances – and suffered the consequences. Well, the subsequent murder of Signor Fosco Peretti, and now this latest crime’ – he pointed to the grotesque corpse on the bed – ‘have not altered my opinion. But before I say any more, I’d like to hear what you know about the unfortunate gentleman.’

After
Van Helsing had told the inspector all he knew about Dr Limonov, the three of us withdrew to the drawing room, leaving Sergeant Drew to guard the body until the doctor arrived.

Inspector
Delland settled comfortably in a well-upholstered armchair. ‘This is how I see it. The grotesque brutality of Flinzer’s murder suggested to me a distinct possibility that a
foreigner
was involved. The English criminal is a straightforward enough fellow in his own way, and in the main predictable. The fact that a vicious decapitation had occurred suggested the hot blood of a Southern European; or the cold cruelty of an Asiatic; or perhaps the savagery of an African.’

I
smiled inwardly at this exhibition of the inspector’s prejudices. After a short pause Delland continued.

‘However,
at first my enquiries came to nothing. I discovered from one of my informants that Flinzer had disposed of a stolen painting in early October, but there did not appear to be any disagreement over the transaction. Then came the Peretti murder. I soon discovered from the Chief of Police in Naples that far from being a harmless connoisseur, Signor Peretti was known to be an associate of the
Mantello
Rosso
.’

Van
Helsing interjected. ‘An organisation even more deadly than the
Mafiosi
, albeit less well known.’

Delland
nodded. ‘You’re well informed, Professor. It seems that Peretti had left Sicily in 1893 because his life was in danger. Now, although I’ve found nothing yet to link him with any wrongdoing since he moved to London, I
have
discovered how he obtained the two Egyptian jars. Peretti’s valet, Babcock – a very respectable servant who was previously in the employ of Lord Drumgannon for over fifteen years – happened to be in the garden at about ten o’clock on the evening of Wednesday November 10th, the night before the discovery of Peretti’s disembowelled corpse by the parlourmaid on Thursday morning. Babcock had been looking for the housekeeper’s cat, which had not been seen all day. After locating the creature fast asleep in the stables, Babcock was on his way back to the house when he saw his master in conversation with a young man. There was a three-quarter moon that night, and the valet got a good look at him. He said he was short and slim, had dark hair, was clean shaven, and seemed to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old: a good-looking youth, Babcock said. He wore a heavy woollen coat and a soft felt hat. After they’d finished speaking, the youngster handed over two large parcels wrapped in brown paper, each about twice the size of a shoebox. In return Peretti passed him a small canvas bag, and Babcock swears that as he did so he heard the chink of metal.’

‘Presumably the parcels contained the canopic jars,’ I said, ‘and the mysterious young man had been paid in cash. It would seem from his age that he was an errand boy rather than the seller of the jars.’

‘Exactly,’
Delland said. ‘Now, bear in mind the violence of Flinzer’s murder. Such a way of dispatching one’s enemies is typical of the
Mantello
Rosso
. The idea is not just to dispose of an opponent, but to do it in such a way as to create such terror that none will dare to oppose the perpetrators. I believe that Peretti – or an associate – killed Flinzer.’

‘And
what of Peretti’s own horrible fate?’ Mina asked.

Delland
smiled. ‘It has all the signs of a
vendetta
. Clearly, some associate of Flinzer has carried out a revenge attack. And I’m sure that we’ll find that Dr Mikhail Limonov is yet another member of the criminal fraternity engaged in this deadly rivalry. The man’s a foreigner after all!’

Van
Helsing coughed gently. ‘He was
Russian
by birth, Inspector.’

Delland
stood up. ‘Russian – Sicilian – be that as it may, there’s some connection, believe me. Of course the gold snake bracelet had been left with his body as a warning. I daresay the murderers brought a real venomous snake into the house in a box, released it on to the sleeping doctor, then took it away with them. However, I’m confident that I’ll track them down. I intend to make a thorough investigation of all Limonov’s associates. One of them will lead me to the murderers, I’m sure. And gentlemen, Mrs Harker: be sure to let me know what else Miss Wilton discovers about the canopic jars.’

*

Shortly afterwards Mina, Van Helsing and I had completed the short journey back to Van Helsing’s house, and were enjoying a welcome cup of tea. By tacit agreement we had said little on the journey regarding the death of Dr Limonov, each of us keeping our thoughts to ourselves. I had managed to persuade Inspector Delland to allow me to take away the golden armlet, on the pretext that I wished to give it to Sarah Wilton for examination. That in itself was true, but my primary motive was to ensure that it was placed as soon as possible in the strongroom in Mrs Flinzer’s house, where I planned to return it the next day.

Mina
was the first to speak. ‘Well, Jonathan, our visit to London has turned out to be surprisingly stimulating. How unfortunate that I will not be able to include the events of the last few days in my next novel: my readers would complain that it was far too fantastical. Tell me, Professor, what did you make of Detective Inspector Delland’s theory regarding the case?’

Van
Helsing shook his head. ‘The Inspector is clearly a shrewd and experienced officer, and no doubt excellent at arresting safe crackers, cat burglars, forgers and the other varieties of London criminal. However, I think this case is a little too exotic for his imagination. As for his explanation, it appears to me that there is really no evidence of the involvement of feuding villains, Sicilian or otherwise. It may be true that Signor Peretti has had a dubious past, but that is hardly a sound edifice for the rest of Delland’s deductions.’

‘I
agree,’ I said. ‘Although it will be hard to convince him otherwise. Let us hope that Miss Wilton’s analysis of the writing in the canopic jars will shed some light on this intractable mystery. I recall that she arrives at six o’clock. Perhaps you will allow me to explore your library until that hour, Professor?’

*

When Sarah Wilton arrived she brought the remains of the jars with her in two cardboard boxes, which she deposited in a corner of the drawing room. We lost no time in telling her about the appalling fate of Dr Limonov; when I gave her the snake armlet that we had found next to the body she examined it with great interest.

‘This
is certainly of the same period as the other objects from the tomb of Karnos,’ she said. ‘In fact, I’m sure that I recollect seeing it when the Wilton Collection was briefly displayed to the public. Perhaps my translation of the inscription inside the canopic jars may help to explain why the armlet was found by the body.’

Sarah
took a handwritten paper from her valise. ‘The first part of the inscription is in one jar, then it is continued in the other,’ she said. ‘The hieroglyphs are Eighteenth Dynasty, and that alone would suggest that the vessels came from the tomb of Karnos II – that is, that they were part of the Wilton Collection and had been taken from the strongroom in the Flinzer’s house. However, the
content
of the inscription makes their provenance certain. Let me read it to you, as I have only written out one copy. I must warn you that my translation is only approximate: the nature of this ancient writing is such that finding an exact equivalent in English is impossible.’

Sarah
cleared her throat somewhat theatrically and commenced the narrative that follows.

The
last
confession
of
Nebet
,
High
Priest
of
all
Egypt

Know
,
reader
,
that
a
great
deception
has
been
practiced
upon
the
peoples
of
Egypt
.
It
has
come
about
thus
.
For
many
years
the
wise
and
beautiful
Queen
Merhote
held
the
highest
place
in
the
affections
of
Pharaoh
Karnos
II
,
and
was
preferred
to
all
other
of
his
queens
and
concubines
.
She
served
the
god
-
king
faithfully
,
and
yet
although
she
could
give
him
her
loyalty
,
she
could
not
give
him
her
love
,
since
that
belonged
only
to
me
.
We
both
knew
that
our
secret
could
be
revealed
at
any
time
and
that
to
be
discovered
would
be
fatal
,
yet
still
we
risked
everything
for
each
other
.

The
death
of
Karnos
II
did
not
bring
us
security
.
Far
from
it
.
We
have
long
suspected
that
the
new
pharaoh
–
the
brother
of
Karnos
II
–
knows
of
our
love
for
each
other
:
in
which
case
our
deaths
would
follow
his
accession
as
surely
as
the
sun
god
Ra
reappears
each
dawn
after
his
journey
through
the
night
.