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Chapter Nineteen
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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
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter One
CHAPTER ONEScream of the SirenThe Elvis bobbed idly on the ocean. The forty-foot fishing boat was owned by skipper Blenheim ‘Cockles’ Cochran. At this moment Cochran paced about his weathered deck, checking lines as he sang along to the beaten-up CD player lashed to the wheelhouse with thick rope.‘You in pain again, skipper?’ a squat, broad-shouldered man with a rosy-red face said, grinning. ‘I can get you somethin’ for it, if you’d like? You need a double dose, I reckon.’‘You’re as funny as chicken pox, Jimbo,’ Cochran replied with a chuckle.‘And you still can’t sing, Skipper,’ First Mate James ‘Jimbo’ Spirehouse said. ‘You’re gonna have to accept that fact some day. Why not do it now and save my sanity?’‘Because the King still sings, you heathen,’ said Cochran, jerking his head towards the speaker as it pumped out ‘Jailhouse Rock’. ‘And you were crazy before you ever set foot on this boat.’ The two men laughed heartily.Half a mile away, the fishing village of Dorsal Fin
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWOLobsters and Liberties‘Ah, Patience! Here is my little Princess of the Nile! How are you this fine morning?’Mr Khaldun Userkaf sipped his coffee, his dark eyes studying his daughter through the mist rising from the brim of his Pharaoh-shaped coffee mug. His sharp, angular features still carried the ghost of his youth and his broad smile was infectious.‘Morning, Poppa,’ Patience said as she tied her long, coal-dark hair into a ponytail. ‘Just a quick status update: I’m fifteen years old, we have no connection to royalty, and the Nile is filthy brown sludge that gives anyone who falls into it raging diarrhoea. You have plans today?’‘Of course,’ her father said, laughing at his daughter’s diatribe. ‘It’s Saturday, and I plan to do nothing!’‘That’ll be the day, Poppa.’Mr Userkaf was renowned for his staunch work ethic. He had been running his travel agency from out of Dorsal Finn for over three decades, and in that time no one in the village could remember him ever
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Three
CHAPTER THREEThe Reluctant SecretLucas Walker peddled hard, the surrounding cottages zipping by, the rushing sound of the wind tousling his bleached hair and roaring in his ears. On his back, the bright orange paper-sack was now deflated, empty save for a single copy of the Dorsal Finn Herald.There was a time when the last customer on Lucas’ paper round often left him both nervous and exhilarated. In truth, when Maud Postlethwaite had originally allocated the puzzle-loving Newshound to Mr Miller, Lucas had balked at the idea.‘The guy has weird eyes, Maud,’ he’d protested at the time. ‘It’s like he can see right through me.’‘There ain’t nowt wrong with his eyes, young ’un,’ Maud had replied. ‘’cept they might have seen a little too much, too young, maybe. An’ he can’t be blamed for that, now, can he?’‘I suppose not,’ Lucas had sulked. ‘But the guy’s scary.’‘How he looks isn’t how he is,’ Maud assured him. ‘I wouldn’t be sendin’ ye otherwise, would I?’Lucas had seen enoug
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Four
CHAPTER FOURTeenage FBIThe enrolment phase was a swift affair helped by the incredible efficiency demonstrated by the members of The Blue Thunder Foundation. Shrugging off the melancholy air prevalent at the flagpole, the boys and girls—all in their early to mid-teens—were now inside the hut, a huge space painted in blue and white with a stage and lectern at one end. A Blue Thunder pennant secured to the wall spanned the stage, making an imposing backdrop.A series of small tables, numbered one to four, were manned by members of the foundation who made sure that, by the time an enrolee had worked their way to the last table, they were a member of the organisation, equipped with three sets of folded, cellophane-wrapped uniforms and a membership pack. The latter included Marcus’ much lauded Blue Bolt DVD and comic book.‘So what do you think, Beatrice?’ Patience said with a furtive grin.‘About what?’‘Marcus, of course,’ she said, forcing the tone out of her voice in case anyone
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Five
CHAPTER FIVEHansel & GretelThe room was several square feet, with walls made from red bricks dulled by tangled cobwebs. A mist of fine plaster dust was turned to glittering fire under the beam of Agnes’ torch. But the bright fog didn’t distract them from the bold, red and gothic lettering painted upon the back wall. The text stood out despite the gossamer veneer.In this placeGuilt forges the scriptMaking wayFor the Cryptic CryptA bird in handOwes much to fatePulling open long locked gates‘Come on up here and take a look at this, young Lucas,’ Agnes said next to Dennis. The big man held the flashlight rock-steady so that the lettering on the wall was washed in creamy yellow.Lucas came to stand with them, his face scrunched with fascination.‘Look at that symbol underneath the writing,’ Elmo said quietly. But they had all already seen it; etched upon the old, dusty brickwork, a white eagle, wings frozen in flight, clutching in its talons an iconic symbol of evi
Beatrice Beecham's Cryptic Crypt Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIXThe TridentAt Dorsal Finn library, the metal box retrieved from the drop pod sat innocuously on the reception counter, subjected to the curious gaze of its six liberators.They had found out quickly that the lock on the box was unconventional: a circle with three holes, two at the top and one at the bottom, creating an inverted triangle.‘I could get an FBH from me van to open it,’ Dennis offered.‘FBH?’ Elmo asked. ‘Sounds major.’‘To you it means Flippin’ Big Hammer,’ Dennis laughed.‘Very major,’ Elmo concluded.‘Now, now, Dennis,’ Maud said. ‘We don’t want to be man-handlin’ the box an’ messin’ with its innards now, do we? Kid gloves are needed if we’re goin’ to make sure nothin’ that ain’t already broken stays that way. ’‘I guess so,’ Dennis said after some thought.Agnes was quiet and distant.‘What are ye thinkin’ Agnes?’ Maud asked.‘I can hear Klaus again,’ Agnes said. ‘He’s so faint but he’s there—that voice of his, strong and wilful. But I can’t und
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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
