The Great Hall was quiet. Several butlers scurried about the room, but there were no guests in sight. They must still have been in their rooms.
Or vanished, I thought to myself.
Judge and I made our way up the grand staircase to the main part of the mansion. She insisted that we stop in the kitchen for something to eat.
Minutes later, after we had wolfed down roast beef sandwiches, we were moving again. To get to Judge's room we had to make our way through a twisting maze of hallways and staircases.
By the time we reached her room, we were both beat. “It will just take a second,” Judge was saying as she pushed open the door. She froze. My mouth dropped open at what I saw inside.
As she had asked, the staff had brought the engagement presents up to Judge's room. At that time, they were all still wrapped. That was no longer the case. Among other things, a silver goblet and a rather ugly teakettle had been liberated from their packaging. Fancy gold paper and expensive ribbons lay in pieces everywhere.
Asyla was opening Judge's presents!
And who was the cause of all this chaos?
None other than Asyla Notabe. Perched on Judge's bed, Asyla was busy trying to open one of the boxes she had just unwrapped. It was the large box I'd seen in the back parlor.
“Asyla!” Judge cried.
For a split second, Asyla had the grace to look embarrassed. Then that strange smile was back on her face. She said sarcastically, “Oh, no, have I been caught in the act?”
“What are you doing?” I asked, astounded.
“I was bored.” Sweeping back her long hair, Asyla glared at Judge. “You invite us here for an entire weekend of events, and then you cancel everything. Opening your presents seemed like a good way to kill time.”
Before Judge or I could reply, Asyla dumped the box on the bed, leaped up, and rushed from the room.
The packages on the bed jostled together as the mattress bounced from her speedy departure. The large box tumbled toward the side of the bed.
“Stop!” I cried, shouting at the box as if it were a dog that could obey commands. The box fell to the hardwood floor with a surprising crash. A sudden powerful odor—like something you might smell in a doctor's office—stopped me in my tracks.
I looked at Judge in shock and said, “That smells like…”
“Scotch.” She finished my sentence for me. “This box contains liquor.”
“Hooch? Booze?” I asked and saw the corners of her mouth twitch in a little smile at my outburst. I couldn't resist trying to get her to smile more. I rambled off a few other slang names for liquor. “Giggle water? Bootleg? Moonshine? Coffin varnish? Firewater? Hair of the dog?”
“Yes, G. Codd, yes.” I could see she was trying hard to smile. “And that means we now have an illegal substance leaking all over my room. Grab some towels from my washbasin, please. We need to get this cleaned up.”
“Who would give you a present like this for your engagement?” I asked, handing her the towels.
“I don't know. There's no card. But whoever gave it to me doesn't know me very well.” And that was true. Judge would never be a part of anything that even hinted of illegality.
“Do you think has something to do with John's disappearance?” I asked her.
“I'm not sure, but I hope not.” She was quiet for a bit, soaking up the liquor. I could tell she was thinking things over. Finally, Judge said, “Grab that book from my nightstand, G. Codd. We can check if that second plane is one of ours.”
I turned to pick up the book—and spotted Mang lurking in the doorway of the bedroom.
His eyes shone brightly above his long dark beard. “I knew I detected ze smell of something with ze nose!” he said in his strange accent.
“Yes,” Judge said. “I was just going to see if the waters have calmed. I want to send someone to the mainland to alert the police.”
Judge headed for the door.
In my study of illusions, I have seen magicians perform many acts. But none was as terrifying as the transformation that took place just then. In an instant, Mang's face twisted into a smirk of grim satisfaction, and he drew himself up to his full, powerful height.
In surprise, Judge took a protective step toward me. Like a snake shedding his skin, we watched Mang ze Magnifico, Master of the Séance, drop his disguise. The man he truly was began to emerge.
He moved with deadly confidence now, closing the bedroom door and blocking it with his body. The man crossed his arms over his wide chest. Without a trace of an accent, he said, “No one is going anywhere.”
Mang blocked the door!
Mang was a fraud!