The night at the Livingston Mansion was especially quiet, with only the sounds of rain pounding on the windows disturbing the tranquility. Havelock, lost in thought, continued to study the evidence he had collected. Despite the efforts, many aspects of the investigation remained unclear. The correspondence discovered in the previous chapter was full of hints and riddles, but there was still a lot of work to solve.
Havelock decided to return to the diary he had previously found in the library. Flipping through its pages, he noticed that some of the entries were highlighted or underlined. One of these fragments caught his attention: a strange formula was written in the margins of the diary, combining numbers and letters that looked like a cipher.
These symbols on the pages of the diary resembled what he had seen earlier in the books he had studied about symbolism and rituals. Havelock realized that this could be a clue if he could decipher this recording.
After several hours of hard work, Havelock was finally able to decipher the formula. It turned out to be a simple cipher in which letters and numbers were replaced with certain characters. When the detective decrypted the code, he found the following message:
"On a black velvet background, under a zipper, you will find the truth."
Havelock began to ponder this mysterious message. The "black velvet background" and "lightning bolt" could indicate a specific place or object in the mansion. He knew it could be related to recent finds and new clues.
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Realizing that the clue required a physical search, Havelock decided to inspect the mansion again, focusing on the elements that could match the description. He drew attention to ancient paintings, statues and decorative items, as they could hide important details.
After a thorough inspection of the mansion, Havelock noticed that in one of the ancient paintings depicting lightning against a dark sky, there was a small hidden hiding place. Velvet may have been used to hide an important element. He carefully removed the painting and found a small secret compartment behind it, covered with a black velvet material.
After opening the cache, Havelock found several items that could be significant. Among them was an antique medallion with symbols that matched those he had seen in his diary, and a strange note mentioning a certain "plan" and "will" that had not been previously known.
In addition, an old map of the site was stacked in the cache, on which several marked points were marked. This could indicate potential locations where additional evidence or caches could be hidden.
The discovered objects and the note led to new suspicions. The medallion and the map may have been linked to various members of the Livingston family. For example, a note mentioning a will could indicate financial disputes and ulterior motives, as well as specific people who might be interested in changing the lord's will.
Havelock also discovered that the medallion has individual engravings that match the symbols found elsewhere. This may indicate that one of the family members or close acquaintances of the lord was associated with this symbol or was even interested in its content.
After examining the evidence found, Havelock realized that the case was becoming more complicated. He decided to conduct further investigation on the found map by examining the points marked on it. He also planned conversations with family members and servants to find out which of them could be connected with the found objects and the note.
Havelock also realized that each new element of the clue requires verification and analysis. He was determined to solve this intricate puzzle and figure out which of the suspects could have been involved in the murder of Lord Livingston.