The Memorist

Chapter 48

Tuesday, April 29^th-12:00 p.m.

They were all sitting at the round dining room table in Jeremy’s house and trying to make sense of the clues they’d amassed, Meer’s memories and information Sebastian was looking up in books from Jeremy’s library and on the Internet.

“You mentioned a staircase in the Society,” Malachai said. “Where did it go?”

“It was a hidden staircase that led to an underground vault,” Meer said. “I think Caspar must have told Margaux where it was because she knew where to find it, but the flute wasn’t there.”

Talking about the memories now-with some distance from when she’d experienced them-was easier than she’d expected. This was like recounting a scene from a movie or a chapter she’d read in a book.

“I wonder if it’s still there? I never heard about a hidden staircase,” Sebastian said curiously. “But I haven’t been a member that long. Where in the building was the staircase?”

Meer closed her eyes and concentrated. “Inside a closet in what I think must have been a library.”

“And down that staircase is the vault?”

She nodded. “In a small room with stone walls and a door with iron bars.”

“It sounds medieval,” Sebastian said.

“Anything else about being down there that you remember?” Malachai asked.

“No, there wasn’t much that mattered once she found out the instrument wasn’t there.”

“I’d like to focus now on what you noticed when you were in the auction house looking at the gaming box,” Malachai said to her. “You said there were two nines of hearts in one deck and both had been slightly damaged. Do you remember how you noticed the aberration? Were you looking for something?”

She answered the last part of his question first. “I must have been but the only reaction I remember is the one I had when Dad first told me about the Heart Crypt. At the auction house I was so stunned at seeing the box…”

“I can imagine,” Malachai said with a hint of what sounded like envy. “I’m certain even if you don’t remember it, you were drawn to the deck of cards for a reason. Like you were always drawn to the cards in my office when you were little…” He paused for a moment to think about that and then continued. “Were you curious about any of the other items in the chest? Did you feel a sense of urgency while you were looking at them? Did you focus on any of the other game pieces?”

“I don’t remember.”

“What about anything to suggest there were other clues in the gaming box?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know but even if I did, the box is missing.”

“Yes, it is. Let’s turn our attention to Jeremy’s copy of the Beethoven letter. He said it mentions a metaphorical key. Sebastian, can you find that section and read it to us…or maybe it would be helpful if you read the whole letter. There might be something that would otherwise have been elusive but will now be obvious,” Malachai said.

Sebastian found the letter and glanced at it for a moment. Even though it was a copy, seeing the words written in the maestro’s hand, he was moved and he took a moment before he began to read.

“‘Dear Beloved.’”

As he listened, Malachai reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a well-worn deck of cards. Their presence was no surprise to Meer, who was used to his habit of shuffling when he was deep in thought. The soft slapping noise, rather than being a distraction, was like a musical accompaniment to the words Sebastian was reading.

“‘Having been able to decipher the music and having experimented with it, I’ve seen firsthand how extremely dangerous it is. Much too valuable and dangerous to put in the hands of men who want to use it for nefarious gain. At the same time too valuable to mankind to be destroyed. So I have chosen to tell you three, lest the secret be lost forever.

“‘Herewith are the clues to where the flute is hidden.

“‘The gaming box holds the heart of the puzzle, and the key to that puzzle is yours, Rudolf, to find.

“‘Once found, Stephan, you will be able to unlock the treasure because it is already in your possession.

“‘As for the music, Antonie, you alone will understand this. I’ve done the only thing I could with the music and have given it to our lord and savior. The same who sanctified and blessed our love.

“‘One more note. Antonie, if you find this letter by happenstance, please put it away, forget you read it and don’t try to decipher it or attempt a treasure hunt on your own at any cost.’”

Sebastian put the papers down on the table. “And it’s signed with his initials.”

Meer reached for the letter and looked at it, not sure why since she couldn’t read German, but the scrawling curves and lines moved her. Across the centuries she imagined the man who wrote these words struggling with something he didn’t understand. That she still didn’t understand.

Malachai didn’t waste any time on an emotional reaction and was already reasoning out the cryptic instructions. “Well, clearly Beethoven didn’t divulge the hiding place of the flute in the letter itself. Was there any question Beethoven died under suspicious circumstances?” he asked Sebastian. “Do you know?”

“Not then, no. Although there were always rumors. Recent tests done on his hair prove he was indeed quite ill but interestingly it seems the medicines that he was taking might have hastened his death.”

“So there’s a possibility the individual letters Beethoven left for these men were never opened and the fact that this letter was still hidden in the false drawer suggests that no one ever found it. Thus one might assume no one ever found the flute either.” Malachai had stopped shuffling the cards at some point during the reading of the letter but now began anew.

“The monk mentioned the Archduke Rudolf this morning in the crypt, didn’t he?” Meer asked.

“Yes, and it’s well documented that he was one of Beethoven’s closest friends, as was Stephan von Breuning whose son, Gerhard, was very important to the composer in the last year of his life and-”

“Maybe there’s something in Beethoven’s papers or letters,” Malachai suggested, interrupting, excited by the idea. “Where are they?”

“Didn’t my father say he had access to them on his computer?” Meer asked.

“Yes, but he can only read extracts online,” Malachai reminded her. “Where are the actual letters?” he asked Sebastian as he stood up. “We need to see them. As soon as possible.” He was putting his cards back in the pack. “Are they here in Vienna?”