Tempest in a Teapot

Chapter 38: The Mysterious Dr. Magnus

Rain dripped down from the heavens and another loud crackle of thunder rippled across the sky. Pulling the hood of his cloak as far down as possible over his face, he plodded forward along the narrow cobblestone street back towards his room and dodged the other covered figures that rushed past. The day had been quite a productive one and he had made an important contact regarding the ancient artifact that he sought. Onward he continued through the maze of centuries-old, narrow streets, turning left then right then back left again. His somewhat uneven footsteps drowned out by the steady beat of raindrops falling around him. He didn't begrudge the rain. It was a merciful break from the dry baking heat of the dessert. Even the few mangy dogs he passed seemed to appreciate the cooler temperature as they huddled in doorways and against nooks created by the overcrowded, mud-brick light-colored buildings. Their noses turned up and twitching as they took in the smells that the rain heightened.

Above, noises from the homes on the upper levels could be heard as families gathered together to share the news of their day and eat their evening meals. The strong smells of incense, spices and tobacco floated about in the muggy night air as he moved forward. The rising and falling songs of evening prayers had been broadcast for the day and now only the occasional baying of dogs punctuated the night through the falling rain.

As he approached the archway to the steps leading up into the hotel he paused and slowly turned his head to glance around. There was nothing there but a lone figure heading down the street away from him and yet the hairs on the back of his neck bristled once more in warning. Quickly, he hobbled up the steps and into the safety of the building's bright, colorfully faded interior. For two days now he had experienced moments where he felt as if he were being followed. It worried him. In his line of work it was better to remain unnoticed and to move among the shadows.

Inside the narrow lobby, he approached the small front desk to collect any mail and messages from the elderly desk clerk before hurrying on to make his way up the stairs to his room on the third floor. The hotel was very old and somewhat shabby but clean enough to pass basic western sensibility. He had stayed here in the past and felt it to be safe. Now, however, he wasn't so sure. Perhaps his repeated favoring of this hotel over the last fifty years had brought his presence to someone's unwanted attention.

Unlocking the door to his corner room, he quietly stepped inside, immediately closing and locking the door behind him. The curtains were pulled partially back from the two windows, giving him enough light to see as he took three steps to his left to turn on the oil lamp at his desk. As the light got stronger and caused shadows to dance around him, the hairs on the back of his neck bristled again. His pulse quickening, his left hand closed around a silver letter opener on his desk as he straightened and, with a speed that belied his age, he spun around to face the intruder.

The sight before him was such an unexpected one that the letter opener slipped from his hand to land with a soft thump onto the thin faded, patterned rug underneath his feet.

"Good evening, Dr. Magnus," the tall, thin man greeted as he stood and half bowed in respect to his elder. "Please forgive the intrusion but we thought it best that our meeting be in private. You are a difficult man to track down."

"James Watson!" the older man exclaimed as the palm of his hand spread out over the base of his throat in shock. "What in the world?" Then, as Watson's words sunk in, he repeated, "We?"

A taller figure emerged from the darkened corner to the Watson's right, causing Gregory to cry out in alarm and step back into the edge of his desk with a loud bump. "What are you doing here?" the doctor hissed. "Stay back." He glanced down briefly to locate the sharp object he had lost and estimated that he would not be able to retrieve the weapon before his nemesis would be upon him.

Watson took a step forward, placing himself between the two men. "It is all right, Dr. Magnus. John means you no harm. We have only come here on Helen's behest. She has asked to see you."

Worried, the doctor gasped, "Helen? Is she alright?" Glaring at Druitt, he indignantly haphazard an accusation at the known killer. "What have you done with her? Have you harmed my daughter? Again!"

John glared back at the old man but said nothing. He had promised Helen that he would be on his best behavior and not allow her father to provoke him. James was to do the talking and John would attempt to not appear threatening in any way. Though Gregory had always been cordial to Druitt and did not withhold his consent when John had asked for Helen's hand in marriage, John had always known deep down inside that Dr. Magnus had not been enthused with his daughter's choice for a suitor. It had been very clear to him that Gregory preferred James as a match for his only child. If Helen had any inclination of her father's preference she had kept it to herself. Out of the four men within The Five, Watson was the only one of financial means and some social standing. And the two men shared some similar interests. John recalled Watson's comment about him sharing Gregory's interest in the subtleties of the Latin language back when the two former friends were trying to complete their task in Bhalasaam. The lines of Druitt's jaw tightened at the memory and he had to lower his eyes to keep the old man from seeing the hint of anger that had flared up over this old wound. Gregory had not been the only one who felt Helen would be better off with James, though none of those who felt this way had the guts to suggest such a thing to John's face.

"Calm yourself, my dear Dr. Magnus. Helen is fine. She is just a little under the weather," James tried to assure the worried father. "I give you my word that she is unharmed and that John is not a threat to any of us. He is here merely as a means of fast transport."

"Not a threat? The man is clearly deranged," Gregory exclaimed and then lowered his tone as he noticed the lines of the taller man's jaw and neck tightened in anger. He also noticed that Druitt kept himself at a non-combative stance behind Watson and made no attempt to defend himself. "What? Have you lost your tongue? You've nothing to say to me, the father of the girl who's heart you have crushed?" the old man asked bitterly. Despite his better instincts, Gregory had given this man his approval to court his beloved child only to have the big ox break her heart. That was not something he would ever forgive.

John lowered his head and kept his gaze half-lidded at the riled father of his beloved. James had better get the doctor into a more cooperative mood soon or else John would have to grab the old man and be done with this part of what he felt would be a tense evening for them all. Helen had been evasive in her reasoning for requesting that they retrieve her father. At first John had thought that it was because she longed to see the one man she idolized and had lost in this world, but then he realized that there had to be more to it than that. They were making preparations to leave soon and arrive on the other side. Somehow Gregory fit into these plans. James too must have picked up on this for he seemed to understand that it was important that they locate the old man.

Bending down, James picked the silver object and stood to offer it to Helen's father. He had a great deal of respect for Dr. Magnus and had not wanted to be put in the position of playing referee between Gregory and his one-time possible son-in-law. "Please, Gregory. Helen wishes to speak with you on an urgent matter. We have been trying to track you down for the last three days."

"So it has been you who has been following me for two days now?" Gregory asked the sleuth in agitation. "Why wait until now to approach me?"

Exchanging glances with a confused John, James frowned as he looked back at the older man. "We have only located you today, sir. It has taken us some time to track you to this hotel from where you indicated you were staying in the last letter you wrote to Helen."

Looking away from Watson's keen eyes, Gregory mumbled, "I had to leave earlier than I had anticipated" and offered no further explanation.

Out of the corner of his eye, James could see that John had also caught the vagueness of Gregory's answer. The doctor had always been somewhat mysterious in his activities so much so that Watson doubted that any one person truly knew the real Gregory Magnus. What he did know at this moment was that the doctor was worried about his safety. "Has someone been following you?" James softly queried with a raised eyebrow.

Gregory frowned and cast an anxious look at the two. "You are sure it wasn't either of you yesterday?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes at Druitt, who shook his head slowly but refused to speak. The doctor had ever reason not to believe the insane villain yet he oddly did. Something was very off and Gregory felt more in danger now that he knew it was neither of the two men standing before him. Moving to a nearby chair, the elderly man abruptly sat down with a worried look on his face. Though he had no proof he was becoming more certain by the minute that someone, or something, was stalking him.

Cognizant of the look of fear in the doctor's eyes, James moved closer and bent forward to place a firm hand on Gregory's shoulder, causing the older man to look up at him. "Are you possibly in danger, Gregory? You obviously feel as though someone is watching your movements."

Gregory opened his mouth to deny Watson's observation only to see the concern visible in the younger man's face and falter. "I am not sure," he admitted bluntly as he scratched at his dark beard, which was beginning to have gray sprinkled throughout. "There have been a few times in the past two days when I feel as though I may have been the object of someone's interest. I do not know who."

Tilting his head, James leveled a sharp look at him. "Then perhaps it is best for you to leave this place… at least for the time being. Helen would like to speak with you. We can take you to her and then return you to whatever place you chose. Will you come?"

Both men waited as the doctor glanced around thoughtfully trying to make up his mind what to do. It had been several months since he last saw his darling daughter at their London home. Being apart from her always left an empty void within him that he had to force himself to ignore as he went about on his travels. Though she was a grown woman with a life of her own to lead, Gregory still thought of her as his little girl. The fact that she was in her forties and a doctor did nothing to change that fact.

Finally, Gregory stood and announced his intention to go with them. "You are to saying nothing to Helen about my concerns regarding being followed," he warned them. "I am an old man," he said giving them a short, false smile, "and my mind plays tricks on me. I do not wish to worry my daughter."

"As you wish, Dr. Magnus," James genially replied as an encouragement. Gregory's reaction was of great concern to the sleuth and he felt that they needed to leave as soon as possible. If the doctor felt his safety was in question it probably was.

Waiting until Helen's father turned his back to them to begin quickly gathering his belongings, John moved close enough to James to whisper, "Something's wrong. He's afraid."

"I know," James whispered back. "We need to go." They ceased talking as Gregory turned around and came back to his desk to retrieve a few leather bound books which he carefully tucked into the smaller of his two bags. After giving the room one more sweep with his eyes Gregory carried his bags over to where the two awaited and stated he was ready to depart. John reached out to place a hand on Watson's shoulder and, as he did the same with Helen's father, he could feel the man shrink back slightly in fear. Inwardly sighing, John teleported them away in a blink of an eye.

Roughly ten minutes later the knob on Gregory's locked hotel door rattled softly. There was a pause and then a few faint clicking noises were discernible. Soon the door swung open with a loud creak and two dark figures entered. They moved swiftly through the room in search of their prey. The long curtains, the closet and even underneath the bed was inspected before both men ended up in the center of the small room. One window was opened onto the narrow balcony that could be no more than two feet in depth and there was no way down except for a long drop onto the pavement below.

"I thought you said you saw him enter the room," the smaller, plumper man rasped in anger.

"He did," the taller, dark skinned man replied in Arabic with a confused expression. "There is only one exit from this room. He could not have left unnoticed."

The plump stranger glanced around again. "And yet he is not here. The room has been cleared of all of Dr. Magnus's belongings," he observed in his strong, clipped English accent as he answered back in the servant's native tongue.

"His belongings were here earlier," the servant swore. "I searched them myself. The paper weight was not among the items. Nothing of that description was there."

"It seems the good doctor knew we were coming and fled," the stranger concluded with a snarl.

"But how?" the servant cried in amazement. "It should not have been possible for him to leave."

Snorting in disgust, the stranger made his way to the door. His prey was gone. There was no point in lingering. "Perhaps he jumped off the balcony and flew away," he snarked as he exited the room.

Alone in the room, the servant whispered to himself that the doctor must have been a ghost and moved his hand quickly over himself in a sign to ward off evil. He then turned and rushed out of the empty room.