Chapter Four - Meeting Mrs Manners

Kali found a seat in Michael’s and ordered a mug of tea. A man in a bright green jumper walked by her, staring at her, and then sat himself at the back. He dipped his head into a broadsheet and then peered up at her again over the top. Kali notched her eyebrows at him. He disappeared again. She glanced over at his table as a waitress approached him and he didn’t even re-emerge to place his order. Strange, Kali thought.
The same waitress walked back to the counter and stabbed the order onto a spike. She then picked up a mug of tea and placed it in front of Kali. As she walked away, a middle-aged lady came up to the table. “Kali Trodat?” she said. “I recognise your picture from the Classical Chronicle.”
“Mrs Manners,” Kali said, getting up and extending a hand.
“Please, Lesley,” she said, seating herself opposite Kali.

Lesley was at least in her late forties if not older. Her mint green dress and jacket were a little on the tight side, clasped around her bulges as if it were trying to hold her in one piece, and did nothing for her colouring. Her waist length titan hair did everything for her bright blue eyes.
“Can I get your order?” the waitress asked, rubbing the piercing in her left eyebrow.
“Mineral water and a large prawn salad,” Lesley asked.
“Salmon fishcakes please,” Kali followed.
The waitress scribbled down the orders and shuffled away to the back.
“Now, my dear,” Lesley began, “I am so glad someone of your reputation would like to be involved. Of course I did want a small company only up the road to deal with it. All nice and quiet and no-one would know except Tony and myself and, of course, dear George. After all, I wanted to keep my own little mystery box to myself and didn’t want my little find splashed in the papers for someone’s advertising. Of course I did have to go to the papers in the end. I haven’t a clue how it went missing. Tony was quite miffed as well. I think he was hoping to get a share of the spoils, whatever they were. A bit clueless, our Tony. Doesn’t have a clue about the Classical periods of course, just a temp helping me out with some filing. But he clapped eyes on it and I could almost see the pound signs floating out of his eyes. I was only telling dear George the other day that I though Tony was a bit of a wastrel. You know, someone who thought that a job was just about money. I just don’t understand it dear...”
Kali was just mesmerised by Lesley’s ability to just keep talking and apparently not need any breath. She watched Lesley the entire time, just stirring her tea and sipping it occasionally.

Lesley stopped talking and took a good look at Kali. “How long do you think it’ll be before other restorers come looking for a share of the prize?”
“I’m not looking for a share of any prize,” Kali said, putting down her tea. “I merely want to find out what it is. Like yourself, I’m intrigued by this mystery box. Just finding out what it is would be reward enough for me.”
Lesley studied her for a minute, weighing up whether she could trust Kali. Kali saw it.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Kali reassured. “I’ve done a whole list of things for the Classical Chronicle but I’ve never asked for money in return for the publication.”
“Oh?” Lesley raised an eyebrow.
“Sure,” Kali said. “Just ring up the Chronicle. They’ll tell you I’m not in this business for the money.”
Lesley didn’t look too sure.
“I have to admit, though,” Kali continued, “I sometimes half-wish I was in it for the money. My wage barely covers the rent and bills!”
“None of us get paid much in this profession,” Lesley agreed and smiled at Kali.

Lunch arrived and both women tucked in.
“So,” Kali ventured. “Are you going to tell me what this box was like?”
“Well, Tony and I had a lot of trouble getting it back to the University without anyone seeing us. Tony is a strong young man and carried it all the way to the vault. It was strange really, dear. The texturing obviously had some decoration on it previously but there wasn’t even the tiniest flake of paint on it. Of course we did try to prise it open but it wouldn’t budge for the life of me. Of course Tony wanted to get a lever but it could have damaged it. I think he was a bit annoyed actually that I wouldn’t let him wreck the thing. It was bad enough that as soon as he put it down he cut off the rope.”
“Rope?” Kali queried.
“Yes dear, there was a length of rope wrapped around it. Had the most complicated looking knot you ever did see. Of course I wanted to keep it intact but Tony went and snipped it off. I still have the rope, funnily enough. It must have fallen on the floor when the chest disappeared.”
“What do you mean by a complicated knot?” Kali asked. “A knot is a knot. It can be easily untied. Shame Tony felt he needed to cut it off.”
“I know, dear, but you wouldn’t have been able to untie it in a month of Mondays. It really is most intriguing. As I said before, I still have the rope and I’ve been trying all morning to see if I can undo it and I’m nowhere nearer than when I started.”
Kali finished her fishcakes in silence, mulling over this new information.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Lesley said. “And I would so love it to be true.”
“What?”
“The chest.”
“What?”
“It’s Odysseus’.”
Kali looked dead at Lesley and stopped mid-chew. She then finished chewing and swallowed.
“Odysseus’ chest?” Kali asked. “You mean the one given to him by the Phaeacians in The Odyssey?”
“The very one dear,” Lesley said excitedly. “Wouldn’t that be a find and a half?!”
“How many people have you told this theory to?”
“Only Tony and dear George,” Lesley said. “Oh, but then I went and told Paul Rodgers, the head of the archiving dept, and he was quite excited by it too, and then of course Paul Winters got wind of it, but he’s a preservist so that makes sense…”
Lesley continued to ramble off a list of names and Kali was slowly filled with horror. There was now a whole mass of people involved in this sorry affair. A chest that was theoretically owned by one of the biggest names in Classical mythology was a stolen object and in Kali’s office.

Lesley had stopped talking and was finishing off her salad.
“Are you sure it’s Odysseus’?” Kali asked. “I mean, he might not have even been real. It’s well known that his description of his home in Ithaca does not match any Grecian island and of all the chests owned by people at that time, its gonna be the most famous?”
“But dear, who else’s is it going to be?”
“It could be anyone’s! Remember when they found a gold death mask and thought it was Agamemnon’s? It just ended up being some random king’s but because Agamemnon was famous, it was first thought to be his. Just because there’s a famous character somewhere doesn’t suddenly attribute every find to them.”
“But that’s how you get funding!”
“And how you get publicity,” Kali retorted. “You now have pretty much the entire country’s Classical history experts clamouring after a chest that’s missing and theoretically famous. It’s no longer your little mystery now. It’s everyone’s and if it is valuable, they’ll all want a piece of the pie. They’re not all like me.”
Lesley didn’t speak. Kali had put her in her place. And she felt bad about it.
“Look, Lesley, I’m sorry… But it’s true. Everyone will want that chest now.”
“You’re right dear,” Lesley said after a long pause. “Maybe I should just tell everyone it’s been found and is nothing but an empty wooden case.”
“What about it being so heavy?”
“It’s lined with lead. It was quite common back then.”
“What if people want to see it?”
“It’s easy enough for timber to become badly damaged from salt water. I’ll say it was in pieces and I just threw it away.”
“And you swear that we will be the only ones who know that the chest is still missing?”
“Can I not even tell dear George?” Lesley asked. “Or Tony?”
“Only if they can keep their mouths shut.”
“Deal.”
Lesley smiled again and paid the bill.
“Thank you so much for coming down dear. You really have helped me out of a pickle there.”
“Glad to be of help,” Kali said, smiling back, not sure what had just happened.