“So I called Norton yesterday. He was pleased to hear from me. It was late afternoon, so he had a few pints in him, but he could still talk. Sometimes he can’t, he gets drunk and his accent is so thick I can’t make out a word. I asked him if he knew if the guy he worked for at Oxford was still there teaching. He said, 'No, he is here drinking.' He then went on to tell me a lengthy story of how the professor got kicked out for a transgression with a grad student. He said it was rather unseemly and rather funny. I could tell you the story, but I am sure you want me to get to the point.”
“I think that boat has sailed.”
“Boat? Oh, you mean ship. Yes, you are right, the ship sailed a few weeks ago.”
Bobby didn’t catch the joke, which made it all the funnier to Henry, but he controlled his smile. “I fear you have lost me. Could you back up to the professor?”
“Oh yes, well, the professor got on the phone and he remembered me, called me a good American chap. He is really quite nice. I feel bad that he lost his job. I asked him if he knew anything about secret societies and ancient artifacts. Could I have some coffee?”
Henry stood up. “Please keep going, I’ll get you a cup.” Henry poured a cup while Bobby talked at a blistering pace.
“He said he knew everything about secret societies and ancient artifacts. I think this was a bit of a boast, and it was obvious he had a few pints in him as well, but I believe he knows a lot. I had written down the name of the device. I don’t remember it now, weird name, but he knew it. As soon as I asked about the anti-thingy, he said he knew of it, but also knew something else. He said it was something nobody knew. Then he ordered another beer. I didn’t think it would help, but what could I do?”
Henry handed Bobby the cup of coffee. Bobby took a breath and a sip. “You got any sugar?” Henry handed him the sugar and a spoon. “Okay, where was I? Oh yes...so I asked him what the thing was that nobody knew, and he said there was a secret society, which had almost disappeared during the war, but there were rumors they had survived. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but he kept going. They are called the 'Thorstians,' and they are from Greece. I remembered their name, because I knew it was important.”
Henry was surprised that Bobby could get so far, and though he already knew about the Thorstians, he flipped open his notebook and wrote it down. Bobby spelled it for him. “Good find, Bobby.”
“Oh, that isn’t all. The professor went on to tell me that they had their own anti-thingy, but it was much better, and had strange powers.”
“What sort of powers?”
“The members of the Thorstians had used it to bring good fortune to their friends and great tragedy to their enemies. He said it didn’t always work, and there were times it backfired, but eventually they figured out how to read the dials. Once they understood when it could be used, they were able to find answers to questions, and from there profit greatly. One member had a maritime insurance business, and he would ask if a ship he was considering insuring was doomed. In the first year, he turned away five contracts, and all five ships sank. All of the ships he wrote that year sailed without incident. He told another story of a member who used it to find the woman he was to marry. He had lots of other crazy stories, but at the end, he told me it had been stolen during the war. Not by the Nazis or something, but by a handful of the members, who had taken it and seemingly disappeared. He said the item is priceless, even if the stories about its powers aren’t real. He also said it could become invisible. I didn’t believe that last part. This is really good coffee.”
Henry was now writing furiously. This might explain why some would kill for it. People have killed for less, he thought.
“The weird part was this: he knew that the Thorstians had recently discovered that the artifact was heading to New York, to be sold in some secret auction. He also said that the Thorstians almost had the culprits, but that they slipped through their fingers. Now they are in NY, trying to find out about the auction. I asked how he found out this last bit, but a song broke out in the pub, and he was gone. Norton got back on the phone, and we talked a little bit more, but I never got to speak with the professor again.”
Henry was writing intently and didn’t even notice that Bobby had left. He was in the waiting room telling Celine the same story. Henry thought he heard him jumping with excitement. Celine could be heard encouraging him to "go on."
Henry took a sip of his own coffee and started to reach for the phone, though it wasn’t ringing yet. Just then, it did, and he grabbed it before Celine could. “I got it. Hello.”