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The paper bore the elaborate letterhead of someone called the Marquis de Villard. Amanda translated from handwritten French scrawl.

‘To Monsieur Gilot, c/o Hotel Belleclaire, New York

Dear Sir,

Well done on your success in locating the clock. The item I require is contained within it. Once you have this object in your possession, kindly contact my secretary. He will arrange for collection, and payment of EUR50.000.

The clock must be opened as follows: hour hand is to be turned back and forth between the symbols below, according to the same sequence. Please act with discretion. After retrieving the item, please restore clock to its original state.

Sincerely, JB’

At the bottom of the letter, were inscribed four Egyptian hieroglyphs, which Amanda recognised as Reta (to give), Noob (gold), Nefer (beautiful) and Sat (daughter).

She looked up at the clock. It was made principally from black marble, but had a bronze sphinx looking down enigmatically from the top. Twelve hieroglyphs occupied the dial, where normally there would be Roman numerals.

A plaque below read, simply: Antique French Egyptian Revival clock - circa 1880.

This clock was a puzzle all of its own. Its face plate was still open: Amanda reached up instinctively then caught herself, just in time, before she set off the alarm.

What was inside this clock, she wondered, that was worth 50,000 Euros? And to whom? Why had Lafarge, or ‘Gilot’ as he was now known, been unable to open it?

Amanda pondered her options. Of course, the right thing to do was to hand the letter to the museum authorities, alert the police to the whereabouts of Lafarge, then go home and curl up in front of the TV.

There was just one problem: her insatiable curiosity.

A mystery was here to be solved: one involving an old adversary, where Amanda now had the upper hand. Furthermore, Lafarge was not accused of any crime in the US: without an extradition order, the police would have no cause to arrest him. He must therefore be apprehended in his native France.

Perhaps Amanda could use this 'item’ to bait a trap? Her agile young mind raced away with possibilities and implications. The item itself – whatever it may be – was not really the property of the museum; it was merely stored inside an exhibit, and they had no knowledge of its existence. Indeed, maybe ‘JB’ was the legal owner anyway?

The first step, in any case, was for Amanda to open the clock and retrieve the item - assuming it was actually inside. She could then decide what to do next.

Loud footsteps and voices from behind broke Amanda's concentration. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the high school party had caught up with her. Behind them, the curator had returned and was about to give a guided tour of the collection.

Amanda now found herself, ironically, in the same position as Lafarge just five minutes ago. She self-consciously sidled a few paces away from the clock, feigning disinterest.

If she could just get a few moments alone here - with no alarms, school parties or curators! But such an opportunity was unlikely to present itself, especially with the museum closing in under an hour.

She racked her brains. It was possible, probable even, that the desperate Lafarge would return the next day, perhaps in disguise, and make a second attempt. Amanda needed to act quickly.

A plan began to form. She would find somewhere to hide until the museum closed. With luck, it would be deserted with no-one to hear the alarm, or at least an easy way to turn it off. She would only need a couple of minutes, and then could escape via a window or fire exit.

The whole idea felt somewhat naughty - but necessary, at least, if she was going to bring Lafarge to justice. In any case, it was not the first time her detective work had involved some minor mischief.

Without further thought, Amanda had left the clocks behind and was soon on her way to the third floor landing - her intelligent eyes searching furtively for a hiding place.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

The paper bore the elaborate letterhead of someone called the Marquis de Villard. Amanda translated from handwritten French scrawl.

‘To Monsieur Gilot, c/o Hotel Belleclaire, New York

Dear Sir,

Well done on your success in locating the clock. The item I require is contained within it. Once you have this object in your possession, kindly contact my secretary. He will arrange for collection, and payment of EUR50.000.

The clock must be opened as follows: hour hand is to be turned back and forth between the symbols below, according to the same sequence. Please act with discretion. After retrieving the item, please restore clock to its original state.

Sincerely, JB’

At the bottom of the letter, were inscribed four Egyptian hieroglyphs, which Amanda recognised as Reta (to give), Noob (gold), Nefer (beautiful) and Sat (daughter).

She looked up at the clock. It was made principally from black marble, but had a bronze sphinx looking down enigmatically from the top. Twelve hieroglyphs occupied the dial, where normally there would be Roman numerals.

A plaque below read, simply: Antique French Egyptian Revival clock - circa 1880.

This clock was a puzzle all of its own. Its face plate was still open: Amanda reached up instinctively then caught herself, just in time, before she set off the alarm.

What was inside this clock, she wondered, that was worth 50,000 Euros? And to whom? Why had Lafarge, or ‘Gilot’ as he was now known, been unable to open it?

Amanda pondered her options. Of course, the right thing to do was to hand the letter to the museum authorities, alert the police to the whereabouts of Lafarge, then go home and curl up in front of the TV.

There was just one problem: her insatiable curiosity.

A mystery was here to be solved: one involving an old adversary, where Amanda now had the upper hand. Furthermore, Lafarge was not accused of any crime in the US: without an extradition order, the police would have no cause to arrest him. He must therefore be apprehended in his native France.

Perhaps Amanda could use this 'item’ to bait a trap? Her agile young mind raced away with possibilities and implications. The item itself – whatever it may be – was not really the property of the museum; it was merely stored inside an exhibit, and they had no knowledge of its existence. Indeed, maybe ‘JB’ was the legal owner anyway?

The first step, in any case, was for Amanda to open the clock and retrieve the item - assuming it was actually inside. She could then decide what to do next.

Loud footsteps and voices from behind broke Amanda's concentration. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the high school party had caught up with her. Behind them, the curator had returned and was about to give a guided tour of the collection.

Amanda now found herself, ironically, in the same position as Lafarge just five minutes ago. She self-consciously sidled a few paces away from the clock, feigning disinterest.

If she could just get a few moments alone here - with no alarms, school parties or curators! But such an opportunity was unlikely to present itself, especially with the museum closing in under an hour.

She racked her brains. It was possible, probable even, that the desperate Lafarge would return the next day, perhaps in disguise, and make a second attempt. Amanda needed to act quickly.

A plan began to form. She would find somewhere to hide until the museum closed. With luck, it would be deserted with no-one to hear the alarm, or at least an easy way to turn it off. She would only need a couple of minutes, and then could escape via a window or fire exit.

The whole idea felt somewhat naughty - but necessary, at least, if she was going to bring Lafarge to justice. In any case, it was not the first time her detective work had involved some minor mischief.

Without further thought, Amanda had left the clocks behind and was soon on her way to the third floor landing - her intelligent eyes searching furtively for a hiding place.