The Riddle of Sphinx Island by R. T. Raichev Read Free Book Online Page B

you can be. Perhaps you will find this particular riddle not too hard to crack? Actually, there are two riddles. Who is going to kill whom and will you be in time to prevent the murder? I look forward to meeting you in two days’ time, 17th April, on Sphinx Island.
    Yours expectantly,
    N. Nygmer

    Payne said, ‘Anything about that name strike you as a trifle unusual?’
    ‘Of course it does … I don’t believe this. Someone is playing silly games with us. N. Nygmer indeed …  Enigma …’
    ‘That’s how the evil Riddler is also known.’ Payne helped himself to another piece of toast. ‘N. Nygma with an A.’
    ‘The evil riddler? Who’s he – she?’
    ‘N. Nygma is Batman’s enemy. It’s a he. One of Batman’s enemies according to DC Comics.’ Payne raised his cup and took a sip of coffee.
    ‘I wasn’t aware that you were such an aficionado of DC comics.’
    ‘I am not. I happen to know all sorts of curious, fascinating and occasionally pointless facts. The only genuine Liebfraumilch is really Liebfrauenmilch . Facts like that. I also know exactly what Werrity did and why he did it.’
    ‘So do I.’
    ‘Only because I told you. What’s the mark of true sophistication?’
    ‘Unflappability? Never to demonstrate erudition unless in response to earnest and persistent questioning?’
    ‘What’s the character limit on Twitter?’
    ‘You know I hate Twitter. 1666 ?’
    ‘ One hundred and forty . 1666 is the year in which the Great Fire of London took place. Has the Queen got a passport?’
    ‘She has. No, she hasn’t.’
    ‘She hasn’t. Sovereigns have no need for passports. They are identified by their face on the postage stamps … Which fictional policeman genially offers to fit a second pair of handcuffs on to an arrested man’s wrists in case the first pair feels uncomfortable?’
    ‘Victorian?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Sergeant Cuff?’
    ‘No. Inspector Buckett.’
    Antonia looked down at the letter. She took a thoughtful sip of coffee. ‘ Murder mysteries …  He doesn’t say “mysterious crimes” … Murder … He is quite specific … He’s promising us a murder …’
    ‘The Riddler’s crimes are flamboyant and ostentatious. He specialises in death traps. He likes to devise life-and-death intellectual challenges. The Riddler has a fatal weakness for elaborate gimmicks. He is invariably depicted wearing his trademark green bowler with a black or purple question mark. Like all of Batman’s enemies, the Riddler is a highly warped character. He is described as a “victim of an intense obsessive compulsion”.’
    Antonia said that perhaps they were dealing with someone who was dangerously stuck in their childhood. ‘Or with someone who wants us to think they are dangerously stuck in their childhood … Hugh, what if one of us is the intended victim and it is left to the other to investigate the murder?’
    Payne raised his hand in a fist and said he would kill N. Nygmer if he so much as laid a finger on Antonia. ‘I’ll give him a crack on the nut which will leave him brain-dead. I’ll smash his nygmatic nose. And I’ll expect you to do the same should it happen the other way round.’
    ‘He clearly knows Sybil has been to see us – but how could he? Sybil insisted no one knew about her suspicions. Apart from your aunt, that is.’
    Payne stroked his jawline with his forefinger. ‘Could N. Nygmer be Aunt Nellie? Or more precisely, is Aunt Nellie “N. Nygmer”? Would an octogenarian baroness play mind games with her favourite nephew and niece-by-marriage with whom she’s never had a cross word?’ He dabbed at his lips with the linen napkin and poured himself another cup of coffee. ‘My answer is, no, she wouldn’t.’
    ‘What if this is some variation on the Murder Weekend theme after all? They may be doing it exclusively in our honour, in celebration of our lasting union. This may be your aunt’s present to us, Hugh. Your aunt did ask you what we wanted for