The Adventure - Prologue

Some years ago, my great aunt Clara died. No. “Died” is not the right word. “Vanished” is what I mean. She was an aunt on my father’s side and lived in an odd little village in what was then the distant outskirts of London. It was so long ago, and yet our family never received a satisfactory resolution to the mystery of her disappearance. Perhaps we never shall. For London, being the booming world capital that it is, and progress being unstoppable, we decided that the time had come to sell my great aunt’s cottage, to make way for the great city.

 Had my great aunt lived, she would be 127 years old, and the chance of her reemerging in public life to dispute the sale seemed remote. While we were clearing out her cottage and making ready for the estate agents, I came across a manuscript, tucked into the pigeon-hole of my great aunt’s secret walnut writing desk. I decided to keep the desk, as a totem of remembrance, and the manuscript …. Well, I present it here for you. Perhaps it will shed light on an age-old puzzle.

                                                                                    --K.T. Lemon

                                                                                    New Haven, CT  2018