Chapter IX: Forensic Philology
Author's note: This chapter runs in parallel with the later events of Chapter VIII, which concern Kelly and Sam examining the sigil at the Anaheim Stadium McDonald's, as well as Chapter X, which summarizes Sam's testimony to Kelly.
As Kelly was discussing her plan of action for tonight with Bosley in the conference-room, Kris and Sabrina got down to business in copying the text of the tome before them. Pulling out a small notepad from her purse, Kris told Sabrina: "I wrote down what Kelly read last night. We might be able to use it as a key of sorts."
"That's nice," answered Sabrina, "but weren't you trained in typing back in San Francisco as part of your duties? Let's head over to the typewriter there on Bosley's desk. I'll pull up a stool so I can sit down with you."
Kris looked askance upon Sabrina and her idea but grabbed the tome and moved over to Bosley's typewriter. She slid a piece of high-quality paper between the rollers and adjusted it to begin the transcription near the top of the page. After Kris typed what she had heard Kelly read, Sabrina resumed the dictation. To assist Kris, Sabrina had promised to bring her copy of Wright's Old High German text; for having heard Kelly's reading of the opening words of the tome, Sabrina had a feeling that it would help with their work, especially with matching the phonology of the language to its orthography. Of course, the focus was on copying the text to typed form, which would make the next step—editing—much easier.
Even with the Old High German textbook to help them, the Angels found the task time-consuming, as the pages of the tome had seen better days. Father Time had obscured the script somewhat, although it could still be read fairly easily, and the leaves were actually in good condition for a book of its nature and apparent age. Furthermore, the words were spelt in such a way that did not completely align with how Sabrina had come to expect. She remained confident, though, that it might just be a variation stemming from the local vernacular or a copyist's error. After all, both were common until the last 500 years or so. "It will be interesting to see how this translates into English," she remarked to Kris.
"Sure," Kris replied under her breath. "I wonder how Charlie feels about his detective agency being turned into the Charles Townsend Philological Society!" But lest she betray dissent, Kris continued to type as Sabrina dictated from the tome. By noon, the Angels had completed about ten per cent of the job, which wasn't bad for having started only a couple hours earlier. It was estimated that, depending on the condition of the rest of the book, they could get one-third transcribed by closing time and fill Kelly in on their progress.
Indeed, perhaps owing to its having been committed to the page later than previous parts of the tome, the writing became easier to read as Kris and Sabrina proceeded onward in their labours. At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Bosley stepped out to check on the Angels and was astonished at how far they had proceeded despite being down one. He said: "That looks like an ancient text, yet the two of you are flying through it like you were trained in philology rather than solving crimes! How did you manage to get through it so quickly?"
Sabrina stood up from her barstool and replied: "We're far from finished, but for its condition, it's rather easy to read. Of course, we won't know what it says until we edit our transcription and translate it."
"Now you tell me," Kris retorted. "How long is that going to take?"
"You do realize we'll have Kelly back in the fold, don't you? Many hands make light work, as they say."
"What do you suppose we ought to do with the tome once such a translation is made?" Bosley asked the Angels.
"I say we talk with Sam," Kris recommended. "By the time we even finish transcribing this book, Kelly will have had time to process his answers. In fact, the first of those will be done by then."
"It certainly can't hurt to follow up after he tells the story of how he lost Simon," Sabrina added. "But what will the tome have to do with Sam's answers?"
"He did say Simon's corpse was found near a Burger King, and there is a bit of a rivalry between the two chains. Perhaps the tome explains not only how the murder took place and whodunit, but also how the remains ended up at a rival chain to where Sam works. Of course, much will depend on what Kelly relays from her interview with him."
"I've heard much about the rivalry," said Bosley, miffed by Kris' seeming condescension about the matter. "But the murder took place in 1971, long before any hint of loggerheads between the two chains. It must be something else."
"And that is why we are going to edit and translate the text as soon as we've transcribed it," Sabrina admitted. "You can never rule any evidence out, after all. It still boggles the mind as to what a codex like this has to do with a murder that took place this decade, though."
Straightaway a thought entered Kris' mind. "Have you never kept a diary?" she asked Sabrina. "Perhaps the éwartas Managhornas whom Kelly read of last night was the murderer, and we need to catch them. Often, a murderer will keep some sort of cryptic record of their victim or victims. And a diary may be such a record."
Upon hearing this, Sabrina beamed. "You know, why didn't I think of that before? Maybe it's somebody who has studied Old High German or teaches it at a college or university like UCLA. We need to go to Westwood tomorrow!"
Having agreed to table their philological activity until Kelly's return—they had made it almost 35 per cent of the way—Kris, Sabrina and Bosley decided to take a break at five o'clock.
Four hours later, Kelly returned from Anaheim, having completed her interview with Sam about his brother Simon's murder and his family's decision to move from Platteville, Wisconsin, to Orange County. She parked her company car in the underground garage, two spaces from the Chariot. (As the captain of the Angels, Sabrina was entitled to the space between, and Kris was next over as the newest member.) In her arm was the notepad she'd taken for recording Sam's answers in shorthand, and she had the negatives of the PlayPlace sigil in her bag. As she entered the office, she expected to find Kris and Sabrina working on the tome. Yet there they were with Bosley, just sitting there in anticipation of Sam's testimony. Perplexed, Kelly remarked: "I thought you were working on the tome."
"Well," Sabrina began, "we made it so far without you that we decided to call it a day at five. Kris had something of an insight into the nature of the book that she wants to share with you."
"And what might that be, Kris?"
"I think it's some sort of journal," Kris answered. "It sounds like the person you mentioned had something to do with the murder of Simon Majerus back in 1971, so tomorrow we'll go to UCLA to talk with faculty and see if they can help."
"Perhaps you want to know what Sam told me about his brother and family. I also have photos of the sigil that we should develop. It's a pretty strange symbol."
"We might be able to develop them tomorrow," Bosley said. "But it's closing time, so be sure to put the negatives in the vault."
"And the tome. We don't want to forget this time."
"Of course."
