The light grew stronger as they neared the end of the passage and emerged into a circular chamber that was open to the sky in the places where the roof had fallen in. For a moment, de Silva’s eyes played a trick, and he stood aghast, as Allan Quatermain and his companions had done. He saw the monstrous figure of Death, presiding over the skeletons of men who had been rash enough to venture into the fabled King Solomon’s mines. A shudder went through him, and he had to force himself to stand his ground, then the vision dissolved, and he saw that the only occupants of the chamber were Prasanna and Charlie Frobisher; both were covered in dust and cobwebs.
Hoping no one had noticed his moment of weakness, de Silva looked around him. The chamber was large enough to hold at least twenty people. Why had someone wanted to build a place of such a size in the middle of the jungle?
Charlie Frobisher straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. ‘We’ve moved most of the rubble from where the roof fell in, sir,’ he said, addressing Clutterbuck. He pointed to a small pile of objects. ‘That’s what we’ve found so far.’
‘Anything of interest?’
‘A few shards of pottery and some bones. Animal bones most likely. They may be the remains of creatures that came in here to die. Apart from that, we found a few coins like this one.’
He held out a small, dented piece of tarnished metal.
‘Would you like to hazard a guess as to how old it is? You’re the archaeologist among us.’
Frobisher gave a self-deprecating grin. ‘I’m far from being expert, sir. My grandfather was the archaeologist in the family. As I told Inspector de Silva, he never came to Ceylon, but he had some antiquities from the region in his collection. Looking at these coins, they do resemble some of the ones he owned. If I remember rightly, he said that they were from the time of the Kandyan kings, but I’m afraid that doesn’t give us a very precise date. The Kandyan kings ruled this part of Ceylon from the end of the fifteenth century up to the beginning of the nineteenth when the Kandyan kingdom became part of the British Empire.’
Clutterbuck nodded. ‘It gives us a vague idea though. How do you think the coins ended up here?’
‘The Kandyan kings didn’t always rule peacefully. They fought against the Portuguese and the Dutch as well as their own rebellious chiefs. This place might have been used by people trying to escape a conflict by hiding in the jungle.’
‘Hmm. Interesting. If that was the case, I imagine they would certainly have brought more than a few coins and pots with them. Gentlemen, I believe we can assume that this place has been looted at some point in time. But I’ve yet to see evidence that it happened recently and, until I do, I’d prefer not to make assumptions that it has anything to do with the murder of this man, Velu.’
A rumble made them all look up at the places where the roof should have been. Fat, hot drops of rain quickly followed, making dark patches on the dusty ground.
‘Drat!’ muttered Clutterbuck. ‘It looks like we’re in for another wetting. Bag up the coins and the pottery, de Silva, then we’d better finish up here as fast as we can and get off. All hands to the pump. I don’t mean you, Mrs de Silva,’ he added hastily. ‘Not a job for a lady.’
Jane’s face settled into an expression de Silva knew well. ‘You’re very kind, but I’m perfectly capable of making myself useful,’ she said firmly.
Between the six of them, they had soon looked through what remained of the wood fragments, cracked tiles and lumps of mortar lying on the ground. There were no more coins, but Jane noticed something glinting. When she bent down to retrieve it, she found that it was a small, curved piece of gold-coloured wire. She held it up to the light, and they all scrutinised it.
‘I wonder if it’s from a piece of jewellery,’ she said. ‘The hook for an earring for example, or perhaps it was part of the clasp for a brooch.’
Just then, there was the noise of angry chattering. A langur monkey was perched on the splintered remains of a massive beam that would once have supported part of the roof. As it flicked its tail and bared its teeth, de Silva noticed that something in its paw caught the light. He moved closer to try to see what it was, but the creature gave a defiant screech and bounded away.
He was about to mention it to the others when there was a crash of thunder, and lightning split the sky.
‘Time to go!’ shouted Clutterbuck. ‘We’re in for a serious storm by the look of it, and it could be dangerous out here. I doubt we’ll find anything else now. In any case, we can always come back.’
On the way to the cars, the heavens opened; like a monstrous beast waking from slumber, the rain crashed down.
‘At least it’s washed the dust off our raincoats,’ said Jane as de Silva helped her into the Morris.
He closed the door then hurried round and jumped into the driver’s seat. ‘Whew! Cats and dogs are nothing. Today, I think it’s raining elephants.’
Jane smiled. ‘It certainly is. All the same, it’s been worth the wetting.’
She reached into the pocket of her trousers and brought out the piece of wire she had kept. ‘I wonder if it’s real gold?’ she mused.
De Silva shrugged. He was far more concerned with keeping the Morris on the road and trying to ignore the pain in his ankle. Visibility was rapidly diminishing with the torrential rain that had now set in. The windscreen wipers arced from one side to the other as if they were engaged in a tennis match to the death.
‘What are you going to do now?’ Jane asked.
‘Get us home safely, I hope. I can hardly see a thing. If we come off the road, we’ll be stuck here for hours. The way Archie drives, rain or no rain, he’s probably halfway to Nuala by now. I doubt we can rely on him to spot us if we get into trouble.’
‘I’m sure you’re being too harsh, dear.’
‘Well, I’d rather not find out.’
‘Where are we going, by the way? Everyone was so keen to get out of the rain that we didn’t agree anything.’
‘I think we should go home and change into some dry clothes to start with. After that, I’ll go on to the police station. Prasanna and Nadar should be there by then, and if Archie and Charlie Frobisher aren’t with them, I’ll telephone the Residence to discuss what we do next.’
Jane clutched the dashboard as the Morris went into a slide. His lips set in a grim line, de Silva resisted the temptation to slam his foot on the brake; with his sore ankle, it would have been a very painful thing to do in any case. Fortunately, the Morris slowed, and he was able to bring her back on course before the deep gully at the side of the road claimed its prey.
‘Sorry about that. I had to swerve to miss that big stone in the middle of the road. It wasn’t there on the way here. The rain must have washed it down from somewhere. I doubt the tyres would have survived a collision.’
Jane let go of the dashboard and relaxed back in her seat. ‘That’s quite alright, dear. As you know, I have complete faith in your driving.’
De Silva’s lips twitched. ‘Thank you, my love.’
‘Where were we? Oh yes, what are you going to do?’
‘That will depend on Archie. He obviously wasn’t convinced there’s a connection between Velu’s murder and the building we found, but I hope I can persuade him that it’s worth taking the things we found with Velu’s body to Colombo for a second opinion. I don’t want to take Coryat’s word for it that they’re worthless.’
‘Don’t forget the new coins and my little piece of wire.’
‘I won’t.’
‘If Archie agrees, perhaps he’ll suggest someone. Or that nice young man Charlie Frobisher may know an expert. He already has an interest in archaeology.’
‘Maybe, but I was actually thinking of visiting one of my former colleagues down in Colombo.’
‘Who’s that?’
‘You’ve never met him. His name’s Rudi Chockalingham.’
‘That’s an unusual combination of names. Is he Sinhalese?’
�
��His father was, but his mother came from Dutch stock. He’s an amusing fellow. Rather wild, and very fond of driving motorbikes extremely fast, but good at his job.’
‘Which is?’
‘Tracking down thieves who steal from temples and other religious buildings. Of course,’ he added, ‘I haven’t seen him for years. He may have calmed down by now.’
‘Oh, I do hope not. I’m looking forward to meeting him.’
De Silva grinned. ‘So, you’re determined to come?’
‘After today, I’m not missing the fun.’
He reached over and patted her hand. ‘Good. Rudi used to have plenty of contacts in the antiquities world, and he knows how to be discreet. I’m sure he’ll be able to find someone to give us an opinion on the pieces I showed to Coryat and today’s finds without too many questions being asked.’
‘You just have to persuade Archie.’
‘As you say.’
Jane thought for a moment. ‘I wonder if he’ll want to come down to Colombo with us. He did seem very enthusiastic about today’s search.’ She smiled. ‘At least until the rain got so heavy.’
‘I don’t blame him for that.’
De Silva shivered. The Morris’s heater wasn’t used to having to cope with so much wetness. As a result, his clothes were still damp and clammy, and he felt a tickle in his throat. He hoped his cold wasn’t coming back.
‘It was strange finding a building like that all on its own in the jungle,’ Jane remarked after a while. ‘One would need hundreds of workmen to cut all that stone and wood and make the roof tiles.’
‘I expect it wasn’t on its own originally. The workmen would have been given far more modest accommodation, probably wattle and mud houses with palm-frond roofs as our villagers use today. If that building’s a few hundred years old, they would have collapsed and rotted away to nothing long ago.’
‘I suppose you’re right. It would be very interesting to know more about what went on there, and why people chose it as a place to live.’
‘I expect Frobisher’s right. It was a hiding place where people hoped to escape to safety during some violent period in our history. There have been many of those.’
‘I wonder how long it was occupied for. I doubt anyone would go to the trouble of building from stone if they hadn’t expected to stay for quite a while. It must have been someone of high status too.’
De Silva nodded. ‘Which indicates that their possessions would have been valuable.’
‘But would they have had time to bring them with them if they were fleeing from an enemy?’
‘A good question, my love. Unfortunately, we may never know.’
**
Home at Sunnybank, they changed into dry clothes and one of the servants took their wet, muddy ones away to be washed. It was no wonder he’d been so cold, thought de Silva; every stitch he had on had been wet, including his underpants.
Jane removed the dressing she had applied to his ankle in the jungle. ‘I’m afraid that swelling’s going to take a while to go down,’ she said as she applied a salve to the graze and gently rubbed it in.
‘Ow! Must it be so tight?’ He winced as she re-bandaged the ankle.
‘It needs to be tight to support it. Perhaps some ice would help too.’
‘I’m not sure I want any part of me getting wet again today.’
‘Then rest it, at least.’
‘I will later, but I must get down to the station first.’
In the drawing room, a fit of sneezing seized him. Jane clicked her tongue sympathetically. ‘You’d better have some tea to warm you up before you go.’
She glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘And what with sharing the picnic with Prasanna and Nadar, you didn’t have much lunch. You must be hungry.’
He had forgotten the needs of his stomach in all the excitement, but with the mention of food, they reclaimed his attention. ‘I am rather.’
Jane rang the bell. ‘I hope Cook has something he can get ready quickly.’
‘Now I come to think about food, even a sandwich sounds quite appealing.’
‘It’s not often I hear you say that, dear,’ said Jane with a smile.
Luckily, there was some dahl and curry left from the previous evening. De Silva was soon savouring the delicious aroma of spiced sweet potatoes, cauliflower and peas. After a second helping, he felt much better.
He sat back in his chair and patted his middle. ‘Just what was needed. No detective should be asked to solve a murder on an empty stomach.’
‘Would you like some more tea before you go?’
‘No, Nadar can make himself useful in that department. I’d better get down to the station and see what’s going on.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘I notice that Archie hasn’t telephoned me here. He may have had enough adventures for one day.’
‘Poor Archie. At least he won’t have had to face Florence’s wrath for coming home in a bedraggled state.’
De Silva chuckled. ‘Yes, I doubt she’d be pleased. She has such definite ideas about the dignity of Archie’s position. Just as well she’s safely out of the way. Now,’ he pushed back his chair and stood up. ‘If it’s to be worth going at all, I must be off to the station. At the very least, I’d like to know what was said in Archie’s car on the way back to Nuala.’
Chapter 12
Prasanna and Nadar were still at the station, but there was no sign of Archie or Charlie Frobisher.
‘Nothing useful, sir,’ said Prasanna when de Silva asked what had been discussed on the drive back to Nuala. ‘Mr Clutterbuck spoke of fishing and shooting, and Mr Frobisher mostly listened.’
The British, thought de Silva irritably. And they frequently had the nerve to accuse his countrymen of being slow at getting on with whatever job needed doing. Never mind, as the two subjects were Archie’s favourites, apart from golf and his dog, Darcy, it indicated that he was still in a good mood. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was after six o’clock. As Archie hadn’t telephoned or left a message, possibly it would be wise to leave calling him until morning.
Once he’d sent Prasanna and Nadar home, he spent half an hour writing notes on the day’s events. Despite Archie’s views, increasingly he felt convinced that the mysterious building in the jungle was connected in some way with Velu’s death. The artefacts found with his body might have been a small proportion of a greater haul that had been looted.
But who had taken that haul and where was it now? Even if Clutterbuck was reluctant to query Henry Coryat’s assessment of the pieces de Silva had shown him, surely, he must see that it was a mistake to give up yet. There was so much they needed to find out.
Rudi Chockalingham would know how to handle things so that word never got back to Coryat. Although the man was such a recluse that it was unlikely in any case. The only way it might happen was if today’s adventure was the start of something big, and Nuala ended up being famous for a great archaeological find: a fatal one in poor Velu’s case.
He locked up and climbed into the Morris. On the drive home, he amused himself with speculating whether today’s expedition would go down in the history books. Howard Carter had become world famous for finding the tomb of the boy pharaoh, Tutankhamun, and so had Sir Arthur Evans for his work on the palace of Knossos in Crete. In Ceylon, the great sites at Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa were famous. Why shouldn’t Shanti de Silva be lauded as the discoverer of – he was still trying to settle on a name when he drew up at his front door.
‘I’ve decided that archaeology might be an interesting new string to my bow,’ he said to Jane as they sat in the drawing room, enjoying their pre-dinner drinks.
She smiled. ‘I do find the idea rather appealing. Let’s start in Nuala, but I’d love to see Egypt one day. Do you suppose we might find something exciting there? Or Greece perhaps? With such ancient civilisations, surely there must be lots that’s undiscovered. When I was a governess, I worked for a while in a family where the father was a professor of Ancient Greek
. I learnt a little of the language from him, so that would be useful.’
De Silva chuckled. ‘That’s good, we have it all decided. Once we’ve finished here and we’re famous, we’ll take a long break from Nuala and travel the world.’
His expression turned gloomy. ‘After I’ve got to the bottom of this murder, of course. I just hope Archie won’t delay that by being in one of his stubborn moods.’
He stifled a sneeze then pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose. His head felt thick with catarrh.
‘Oh dear, your cold must be coming back,’ said Jane.
‘Not surprising after the wetting today. When they come to review police pay, I hope the British will consider how I suffer in the line of duty.’
**
In the end, he telephoned the Residence from Sunnybank early the next morning. Archie was in a meeting, the secretary informed him, but had left a message that he would be available at eleven o’clock. De Silva spent the intervening time rehearsing what he would say; trying to anticipate Archie Clutterbuck’s objections and thinking of how he would refute them.
He arrived at the Residence just before eleven and rang the bell. A servant answered and led him straight down the corridor to Clutterbuck’s study. A sneeze prickled at the back of his nose as he followed the man, erupting just as he was shown in.
‘Bless you!’ Clutterbuck gave him a look that was almost one of sympathy. ‘Nasty cold you have there. I don’t suppose that weather yesterday helped.’
‘I’m afraid not, sir.’
‘Friar’s Balsam: that’s the ticket. My mother always had a bottle handy. Used to dose my brother and I up with it when we had a cold. A few drops in a bowl of steaming water, towel over the head and breathe in. Never failed to put us right.’
The Inspector de Silva Mysteries Page 59