Chapter Five - Back at Maugham Museum

Kali sat on the train back to London, playing with the stone and mulling over whether she should have confided in Lesley about her find. On the one hand she wanted to tell her. After all, Lesley had confided in her about the chest, though it didn’t take her much persuasion to give out details. And that’s where Kali thought it was best after all to keep it to herself. Lesley was a liability. Sure, she would tell people the ‘mystery’ chest was found and was just a wooden box but whoever this Tony bloke was and ‘dear George’, Kali didn’t know if they could be trusted. Lesley’s words repeated in her mind. The rope that was once around it was particularly intriguing. She was not aware of anyone who would tie up a chest with rope and put a large knot in it.

It was late by the time the train pulled into King’s Cross. Kali knew that the museum would still be open, to the staff anyway. The exhibition set up would take all hours of the weekend to complete by Monday morning. With the nights drawing in for winter, it was already dusk as Kali stepped out of the carriage and saw the station clock at quarter past four. By the time she reached the museum it would be dark and she could easily slip in through a door somewhere.

She hurried down to the tube and found a seat. A man in a white shirt flew through the carriage doors as they were closing and bent over slightly, catching his breath. He then went and sat at the back, a broadsheet under his arm. Kali stared at him for a minute. Was he the same bloke from the restaurant in Brighton? This bloke didn’t even look at her, let alone stare. She couldn’t see any evidence of a green jumper on his person either. She continued to stare, wishing she had gotten a proper look at the man in Brighton. This man now looked up and caught her stare. She quickly dropped her eyes, waited a minute, and then looked back up again. He had gone. No, he’d gotten off the train. Crap, it was her stop as well! She leapt up from her seat and squeezed out of the doors just in time. She looked around and couldn’t see him for the crowd. She shook her head. Paranoia was definitely the word of the day. She stepped out of the station and made her way towards the museum, instinctively wrapping her coat tighter around her as the wind rushed around the corner and blew leaves up into the air.

Kali walked past the front of the museum and then around the back. She could see the goods lorry still unloading boxes. She crept around the side of the lorry and waited. The two men grunted as they lifted a particularly heavy package and staggered down the lorry ramp and through the back door. Just before it closed, Kali ran in and let the door slam behind her. Closing it gently would have alerted the men into thinking something was up. She navigated the various corridors, careful not to bump into anyone, most of all Professor Andy. She would never hear the end of it if he caught her here again.

Her office corridor was empty again and she hurried down to the end, hastily unlocking the door. She let herself in, closed the door behind her and pulled down all the blinds before switching on the light. Suddenly the door opened and in the doorway stood a man in a white shirt; the man from the tube.
“So, where is it?” he asked.
“Excuse me?”
“The chest. I know you have it. I had it brought it here to you.”
“Who are you?”
“My name isn’t important.”
“Well, I think it is. Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.”
The man paused for a second, and then said, “Lewis.”
“Well, Lewis,” Kali said, emphasizing his name, “you have no right to be here so I’d advise you to leave now.”
“I don’t think you have a right either,” he countered. “Sneaking around your own office at night?”
He stepped towards her. “Now, where is it?”
“What’s it to you?”
“I happen to reckon that its worth a few bob. And you’re the woman who’s gonna get my money for me.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because you’re Kali Trodat.”
“And?”
“I’ve heard about you. From Mrs Manners at Brighton Uni.”
“And I’m some sort of money miracle worker? I haven’t seen anything on this chest that could consider it to be of value.”
“She said you were the best restorer in the south-east. She definitely seemed excited when she saw you earlier.”
“How do you know about that?”
“I was there when you called her. She started chatting about you as soon as she was off the phone.”
“You were there when I called?” Kali queried. “Tony Lewis?”
“That’s me!”
“Why didn’t you say?”
“I did. Just not my first name”.
Kali rolled her eyes. Lesley was right. Tony was a bit clueless. His attempt at being a mysterious stranger was lame.
“Of course,” Tony continued, “all I had to do was get to the restaurant before her and… well, I know you saw me.”
“You were in the green jumper (!)”
“Yep! Just needed to see what you looked like. The photo in the Chronicle was a bit small. Besides,” he said, getting closer, “you’re an attractive woman. An attractive woman on her own? Easy to spot.”
“Attractive?”
“Yes.”
“Any other forms of flattery or are you going to leave now?”
“Feisty. I like that too.”
“That chest is worthless.”
“So why are you here?”
Kali kept quiet.
Tony smiled. “I know it’s valuable. And I’m not leaving until I see that chest and you get me the money.”

Tony was very close to her now and she felt quite intimidated. He stood at least five inches taller than her and from the outset looked physically strong. She would never win a struggle with him. Left with little alternative, Kali pulled her keys out of her pocket and opened the filing cabinet. Tony systematically opened all the drawers, reaching the bottom one last. The drawer swung open and he saw the chest. He picked it up and put it in the middle of Kali’s desk.
“Now,” he said, looking around the room, “we just need to get this baby open.”
“What are you looking for?”
“A lever.”
“If you were just going to lever it open, why did you bring it all the way here? You could have done that at home in Brighton!”
“I need the chest valued as well, not just its contents.”
“Levering it open could damage it and devalue it.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“I suggest you don’t touch it again without a latex. Any acidity on your hands can damage the material.”
“Bit late for that,” Tony said, running a hand through his hair. “Probably got handled all the way down here. My brother brought it down for me. He only works around the corner.”

Kali reached into her pocket and pulled out the stone from the beach. Tony put his hand out and she gave it to him. He flipped it over a few times and passed it back.
“What’s with the fossil?”
“It’s not a fossil, it’s a key.”
“A key? You having me on?”
“I found it on Brighton beach near the pier.”
Tony folded his arms and looked at her, puzzled.
“When I was studying the chest I found this circle,” Kali said, pointing at the indentation in the chest. “It looks as if something has fallen or snapped off. Easily done when something washes up on shore and hits an object. In this case, as it was Brighton, lots of pebbles. All I had to do was search the beach and it was right by the water’s edge. You don’t get a lot of movement on the beach out of season so it’s probably right where the chest was found all those weeks ago.”
“So, open it then! What you waiting for? Kingdom come?”

Just hope this works, Kali said to herself. The last thing she needed was an angry Tony. They’d probably already made enough noise to alert someone of their whereabouts. She shrugged her coat off her shoulders, pulled her gloves off and rolled up her long sleeves. She then slowly stepped towards the chest and held the stone out in front of her. She pushed it into the indentation and it clicked into place.
“It clicked!” she said, almost surprised.
“Let’s try opening it.”
“Okay.”
“Can we dispense with the latex?”
“Just help me, will you?”
Tony grinned and got a grip in the chest seam.
“Okay, after three,” he said, “One, two, lift!”
Kali and Tony grunted as they tried to prise open the chest. It didn’t budge a millimetre.
“Bollocks!” Tony yelled, desperately trying to wedge it open with his fingers.
“Okay, calm down!”
Kali stepped back and took another look at the stone. Tony stood back, frustrated, and started scratching his head. Then Kali remembered something.
“It’s ridged!” she said. “The stone is ridged!”
“So?”
“It might turn as well?”
“Oh, cool. Let’s have a go at that then.”
Kali pushed onto the stone and tried to turn it but it wouldn’t budge. “Help me move this thing?”
“Pleasure.”
They both pushed and suddenly the stone moved and clicked again.