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Chapter Thirteen
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Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Fourteen
CHAPTER FOURTEENWolf at the DoorIf Miller’s garden was a tangled hotchpotch of junk, inside the shack was three times worse. There were spindly chairs blocking the narrow hallway, the boys having to navigate around them before finding themselves in a large living space littered with newspapers and magazines. Here and there buckets had been strategically placed to catch rainwater from the creaking, buckled roof. A table in the middle of the room appeared as though it would collapse if so much as a glass of milk were placed on it, and a small camping bed was under the large window, piled high with coarse, crumpled sheets and blankets.To Lucas it felt as though he was in the belly of a pirate’s galleon; one that had been peppered with Royal Navy cannon balls and was a hairsbreadth away from sinking below the waves. The wooden walls were warped and split, deep grooves in the grain giving the unsavoury impression of bloated veins.Over in a corner, lying on a coarse, grey blanket, Wo
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Fifteen
CHAPTER FIFTEENThe Last SupperThe Macbeth’s were staying in a rented cottage not far away from Dorsal Finn’s museum. The cottage was compact, yet consisted of many rooms that led away from a hallway made even smaller by wallpaper with deep purple flowers. There were many pictures dotted around the small wooden cupboards and dressers in the hall.Beatrice noticed what she presumed to be images of the many stages of Alice Macbeth, one with raven hair and unblemished skin. Another had an image of a middle aged woman leaning on a cane with a moorland scene in the background.‘Welcome, my dear,’ Macbeth said. ‘It’s good to see you again.’‘Thank you, Ms Macbeth,’ Beatrice said politely despite her nervousness.'Oh, call me Alice! Please go through to the lounge,’ Alice said gesturing with her hand to a door a few metres away. ‘Marcus is just putting together a little supper, seeing as we’ve brought our tea date forward a day or so.’‘There really isn’t any need,’ Beatrice said, not
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Sixteen
CHAPTER SIXTEENTime nor TideMaud struggled against her seatbelt.‘Trussed up like a kipper,’ she groaned. ‘Never saw that comin’ when I woke up this mornin’.’‘Don’t worry, Maud,’ Albert said unclipping his belt. ‘I’ll have you out of there in a jiffy.’‘Me hero.’ Maud grinned. ‘Who said men are good fer nowt most of the time?’‘I think that was you, wasn’t it?’‘Ye know somethin’, ye might be spot on.’‘Yes,’ Albert said positioning himself so he could assist Maud’s escape from her confined and indignant position. ‘Good job I ignore such rubbish.’‘Aye, ye’re a good un, no doubt about it,’ Maud conceded, patting him on the arm.‘Don't you be going soft on me now, Maud,’ Albert said working on the seatbelt mechanism which appeared stuck.‘Me? Nah,’ Maud said. ‘It’s this blood rushin’ to me noggin.’‘Well, I’m working on it,’ Albert grimaced as he yanked on the seatbelt clip.‘Hold up, Albert,’ Maud said, her nose wrinkling suddenly. ‘Ye smellin’ that?’Albert sniffed th
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEENChamber of HorrorsPatience couldn’t believe what was going on, despite the evidence playing out before her very eyes. Albert’s car was on its side and on fire. Its owner was on his knees, hands clasped behind his head, an unearthly howl playing on his lips and reverberating around the street. But amid the howl was one word that had Patience moving towards him, fast.Maud.‘Albert, what’s the matter?’ Patience crouched beside him.Albert looked up suddenly, his confusion matching that of the olive skinned girl squatting next to him.‘Patience?’ he said. ‘Maud, the car ... ’‘Are you saying Maud’s in the car?’ Patience clarified. ‘The burning car?’Albert nodded, the lump on his head glistening in the lamp light. ‘Seatbelt’s jammed.’Patience looked around and espied the cold chisel. She grabbed it and sped to the car, the heat almost making her hesitate. She fought on. She got to the open door and peered in, thick smoke hampering her vision as she
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Eighteen
CHAPTER EIGHTEENMarch of the CadetsDennis Hodges woke with a start, his head pounding fiercely.‘Dear Lord, stop yer drummin’ in me noggin',’ he said to the ceiling. A cool breeze whipped across his face, and he relished the moment. Then he heard the rumble of thunder.‘Couldn’t ’ave shut me bedroom window,’ he said, opening an eye. Then he saw the black, nebulous clouds overhead. ‘Couldn’t ’ave made it home, either.’After helping Albert and Maud load the transmitters into the back of the Metro, Dennis had decided to treat himself to a Cinder’s Cider or two. Problem was, when Hodges talked about two, he usually meant jugs. In a way, he felt it was a minor celebration given that the immediate danger had passed with the transmitters now safely in their possession.He risked sitting up, his hands grasping the surface supporting his large frame. He felt wooden slats against his palms; recognising where he was immediately since he often found his way to this place when out on a nig
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Nineteen
CHAPTER NINETEENBattle Beneath the EarthThe doors to the school hall clicked open, those guarding the interior moving to one side to allow their comrades access.The captives inside the hall groaned with fear and dismay as they watched twenty children file into the hall and line up facing them.Agnes couldn’t believe when she saw Thomas Beecham among them, and even Edna Duffy was officially lost for words as twenty MP40s trained on the crowd in the middle of the hall.Marcus Macbeth walked into the hall and addressed those cowering before the guns.‘You are the first to bear witness to the New Reich! Weep if you must, kneel to your God, but today is for the young. Today is for the Reich!’Marcus turned to his comrades and lifted his arm. ‘On my command, open fire!’***‘Oh, this is starting to annoy me,’ Patience said sternly to the big man barring their way. ‘Haven’t you people got anything better to do than take over the world and make a general nuisance of yourselves?’T
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Epilogue
EPILOGUEThe Vague HorizonBeatrice stared at the ocean, the gulls and a few mottled clouds the only things marring an otherwise azure sky.It was three weeks later and, on the surface, life in Dorsal Finn had returned to some semblance of normalcy. This was not much of a surprise given the town was never that far away from the unusual in the first place.Investigations followed, and allegations were made. Fingers pointed, but those in Dorsal Finn shrugged them off. The Blue Thunder Foundation collapsed and Mayor Codd was absolved given the national scale of duplicity that the organisation had managed to orchestrate.Xavier Pontefract had disappeared on the night that the Nazi army had been brought back to life and reacquainted with death. It was an issue for Beatrice knowing her arch nemesis remained at large, yet she knew that he would neither be caught or resurface for some time. But she had more pressing matters to occupy her time.Once the Blue Thunder Foundation had relinqu
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Prologue
PROLOGUEUnlocking EvilThe shop has been in existence for over thirty years, its huge plate glass window a lidless eye gazing out upon an ever changing street. The window has watched a country turn into something quite unrecognisable—quite incomprehensible. Where there had once been chaos, there is now order. Where there had once been civilisation, there is now only brutality. This is a country that has lost its soul in a quest to find a heart. This is a country in the cold, unyielding grip of Nazi doctrine: cruelty in the name of order.This is Vienna, Austria, 1941.Vienna is now an extension of Nazi Germany, since its annexation by the German army in 1938. A climate of oppression is symbolised all around the plaza; the quiet streets, citizens exiled by the evening curfew. Huge flags are draped from the third floor window of the Heldenplatz; bent, black crosses encircled in white, and languishing on a field of blood red.Swastikas.These flags may flap lazily in the chilly Aus
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- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Epilogue
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Nineteen
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Eighteen
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Seventeen
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Sixteen
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Fifteen
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Fourteen
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Thirteen
- Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Twelve
