
Curator's note: From
the records of the French Imperial Security and Defence Committee.
The file indicates the original was a cyphered message attached
to a jar containing a severed human head preserved in "brined
wine."
His Excellency the Vicomte de Molineaus
Embassy to the United Kingdom
58 Hyde Park Gate
London WC
His Grace the Duc de Lorraine
Tuileries Palace, quai des Tuileries
Paris
My dear Admiral,
Please accept with my compliments the earthly remains of that international criminal and imbecile, Montelimar. It is my sincere hope that the preservation process does not render the subject unsuitable for further investigation.
My petition to the London authorities for custody of Montelimar's body was never officially granted. Fortunately for us, Montelimar solved that problem himself by escaping from the morgue and sneaking onto our premises. We believe the object of his criminal intent was Rambaldi's Swan.
As tenaciously as the English held onto Montelimar's corpse, I half expected them to insist on extraditing it back from the embassy after we dispatched him again on our rooftop. They were not interested. The exact words were, "Perhaps you can keep him from causing further trouble."
Montelimar was one of two parties which independently attempted to procure Rambaldi's Swan. That annoying de Vere woman, having attended the ball in the company of Admiral von Klink, was the one to actually incapacitate several guards and remove the Heart of the Swan from its mechanism. Neither she nor Montelimar succeeded in making off with the Heart, in no small part due to the timely assistance of your old friend Sir C and his associates. I must bring particularly to your attention the young ward, Miss M. She acted with both grace and swift intelligence, alerting us to the situation without alarming our guests.
The Swan is intact and is secure once more in the embassy vaults. Before being returned, the Heart of the Swan was examined closely by both the de Vere woman and her sister. Several other members of Sir C's group handled the Heart in one way or another. It appears to all examinations to be unharmed by any of this, and the Swan functioned exactly as before after the Heart was reinstalled.
The Atlantean Agreement has been concluded as per Your Grace's instructions. Copies of the treaty will be arriving in the conventional manner.
You were correct, as usual, that working with Sir C and his associates would never lack for excitement and would be an educational experience.
I thank Your Grace for your attention to this matter,
de Molineaus
From the records of the London Metropolitan Police.
His Highness the Prince of Wales
Marlborough House, Westminster
Mr Charles Oliphant
Superintendent, Detective Department
7 Great Scotland Yard
London, WC
Dear Mr Oliphant,
May I commend to you Inspector Simon MacGreggor, who I had occasion to meet at the French Embassy Ball on the 15th.
I must say, most sincerely, that I have never before encountered a man so doggedly devoted to his duty.
Most sincerely yours,
Albert, The Prince of Wales
From the personal papers of the Duke of Florin
His Highness Prince Lukas of Florin
Royal Netherlands Embassy
38 Hyde Park Gate
London, England
His Majesty King William
Paleis Noordeinde
Gravenhage, The Netherlands
May it please Your Majesty,
The St. Damien matter has been brought to a conclusion in which the The Netherlands has received a statement of apology from the government of the United Kingdom, a personal (and I believe quite sincere) apology from the Commissioner in charge of the St. Damien expedition, an agreement from the United Kingdom and the Empire of France to share all information regarding St. Damien Island with Your Majesty's government, and the return of the property seized at St. Damien Island.
In exchange we have agreed to protect the secrets of St. Damien Island, to share with our allies any pertinent information we gather about St. Damien Island, and render appropriate aid to agents of our allies working to protect said secrets. We have also, as Your Majesty hoped, been granted coaling rights at the British facilities on Praia.
I hope these arrangement meets with Your Majesty's approval.
Thank you for entrusting this matter to my care. I hope to have been of some service to the Kingdom. I remain always your most obedient servant,
Lukas
His Highness Prince Lukas of Florin
Royal Netherlands Embassy
38 Hyde Park Gate
London, England
Her Serene Highness Kristiana of Orange
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Via dei Mille 30
Naples, Kingdom of Two Sicilies
Dearest Mother,
I do hope that the duties of state have not been too onerous on you. I hope also that the wedding and festivities have been a lovely experience and that you continue to find Naples agreeable.
While the people and sites of London continue to remain most delightful, I must say that the weather has become frightful. It is so frightful in late August that everyone who can afford to do so flees the city for the more agreeable climate of the English countryside. I have received numerous invitations to hunting lodges in the north. I have accepted two such invitations, with the approval of the embassy staff. Tomorrow I leave for the Scottish estate of the Earl of Carston, where I have been assured by many the grouse hunting is quite good. Two weeks later I am to be the guest of the Prince and Princess of Wales at their home, Sadringham, on the coast. The hunting there is also said to be exceptional.
The Prince is a thoroughly delightful man and an enthusiastic outdoorsman. I believe that the Prince and Princess would be amenable to a visit to Florin Castle, if you wished to invite them. I have not in any way promised such an invitation, of course, though it may be expected of me to extend some sort of invitation at the end of my visit with them.
As my Uncle the King has indicated he would like to improve relations between our country and the United Kingdom, such a visit might prove beneficial to all concerned. It's a thought.
Herr van Schoonhoven tells me the amusing little fellow from the French embassy is here with a message from their ambassador. So I will close for now.
I remain your loving son,
Lukas
From the private papers of the von Schekel family
Wilhelm, Margraft zu Worphaven
Claridges Hotel
6 Brookstreet, London WC
Frau Gertrude von Schekel
Schlossplatz 14
Aurich, East Frisia, Lower Saksony
My dear Tante Gertrude,
It it with heavy heart I write you once more with news on my investigation into the horrible tragedy of Heinrich's death. I regret to say that I will not be transporting his murderer back to Frisia in chains, there to face the German Justice he so richly deserves. However, justice has been meted out. The man responsible was, not surprisingly, involved in other criminal activies here in London. He was the odious French ex-patriate who had on numerous occasions tried to buy the Egyptian artifacts from your son. He was killed while resisting arrest.
In the course of my inquiries I have found that this same man was wanted in connection to a number of murders and other foul crimes in both France and England. He intended to use the artifacts in a rather elaborate and insane plot to kill a number of important persons attending the imperial wedding festivities in Paris. That plot, at least, was stopped in time.
Unfortunately, most of the artifacts were destroyed. The man was assembling bombs of devastating power within residential neighborhoods. It is not surprising that such gross irresponsibility and negligence would result in unintended explosions, fires, and other disasters. So we may add to the list of his crimes the destruction of valuable historical artifacts.
Your suspicions about Madame de Vere proved to be more than slightly accurate. I am convinced, now, that she had nothing to do with Heinrich's death, or the theft of the artifacts. However, it is clear that her relationship with the frenchman was one of rivalry. They seem to be theives attempting to steal the same prize. Unfortunately, she has thus far eluded justice. I hold out hope that I may eventually gather enough evidence to prosecute her and bring at least partial justice to her.
I am sorry that I cannot bring your son's killer to you so that you may see justice done to him. Please rest easy knowing that Heinrich's murderer is dead and his wicked machinations have been brought to an end.
I hope that this letter finds you in good health. I do not yet know at what date I will be returning to the continent, as there have been complications. I will call upon you then.
I remain your devoted nephew,
Wilhelm
Proceed to Tales of the Unconventional Intelligencers
Contents this page copyright 2005 by Gene Breshears. All Rights Reserved.