Raisins and almonds - Poisoned Pen Press (UK)

Raisins and Almonds 1
me how to conceal something in a book so that no casual search
will ever find it.’
Phryne walked to the bookcase which concealed the Great
Unread. ‘Now, I don’t know which of these it is. I remember Dot
saying that—now what was it? Unfortunately we can’t use the
dust as a guide, now they are all dusty. We’ll try the leather-bound
folios. What have we here?’ She laid them on the counter with a
thump. ‘The Letters of Sir Walter Scott. Volume 9 of Hansard for
1911. Sermons in Stones by the Rev. Walters. Now, which is the
most deadly?’
‘Probably Hansard,’ opined Detective Inspector Robinson,
who did not admire politicians.
‘We’ll try that first. The way this must have worked is that
Shimeon put his message in one book, and picked it up from
another. God knows why. Gimme the knife, Simon.’
Phryne put on the gloves and slit the binding of the folio
from one end to the other.
‘No, nothing in Hansard,’ she commented. ‘What about
Sir Walter?’
The leather and stiffening peeled away from the blade.
‘Miss Fisher, if you’ve dragged me here to watch you mutilate
books…’ began Jack Robinson, who had other things to do.
Phryne bit her lip. She turned the sermons so that light fell on
the spine, and slit the binding for the third time.
‘See?’ she said.
‘What am I looking at?’ asked Robinson.
‘A murder weapon,’ said Phryne. ‘No, don’t touch. Not unless
you want to join Shimeon. That’s what killed him.’
‘It’s just a bit of sharp metal, part of a razor blade, embedded
in the spine,’ objected Jack Robinson.
‘That’s exactly what it is,’ said Phryne. ‘Simon, demonstrate
how one would remove a message. Use another book,’ she added
hurriedly.
Simon hefted a large volume, opened it, and groped in the
interstice. Robinson felt suddenly very ill. To cover this, he took
out his pipe and made a great show of lighting it.