Deliver us from Evil by Tom Holland Page B

cleared his throat. 'You have discovered something which may help us?' he asked.
    Mr Aubrey looked round, startled. ' I hope so,' he nodded, as he saw who it was. He jabbed a finger down at his map. ' I believe I know when and where the killer may be trapped.'
    'Then that is glad news indeed.' Captain Foxe crossed to join him, picking his way through the scattered piles of books. ' I see you have brought the materials of your research with you,' he observed.
    Mr Aubrey coughed modestl y. 'There was a great deal to be tracked down,' he agreed as he gazed round at his books. He reached for one of them, smoothed it out, then blew away the dust. 'You see, Captain,' he asked, 'why it is said of we antiquaries that we wipe off the mouldiness we dig, and remove the rubbish?' He reached for another book; he patted it; there was a second cloud of dust. 'These had lain undisturbed a long time on my shelves, with all my father's books, and my grandfather's and my great-grandfather's too, for we have always been a family of collectors. Sadly, however - and you may have observed this for yourself, Captain - ordering these possessions has never been my strength.' He gestured self-reproachfully at all his scattered books and papers. 'It took me time to find these - hence the delay.'
    ‘ No, no,' said Captain Foxe, shaking his head, 'you have been remarkably quick.'
    Mr Aubrey blushed a pleased shade of pink. 'It was the mention of Prague,' he said, 'which gave me the hint.'
    'Of Prague?' frowned Captain Foxe.
    Mr Aubrey nodded. He looked around. 'Now curse the thing, where is it?' He began to search through his books, creating a blizzard of papers before he finally found a small vellum-bound manuscript, which he brandished below Captain Foxe's nose. 'You remember?' he asked. ' I showed it to you before. It has the pictures of women bathing in blood.'
    'Yes,' said Captain Foxe, nodding slowly. 'It had belonged to a doctor ... Queen Elizabeth's astrologer?'
    'Yes, yes, Dr John Dee, who lived at Mortlake, not a mile distant from my great-grandfather at Kew, with whom he was a very intimate acquaintance, and had great discussions on magical topics; so that when Dr Dee was accused of sorcery, he gave many of his books to my great-grandfather, by which means I have them now.' Mr Aubrey paused for breath and shook his head sternly. ' I told you this before, Captain.'
    ' I am sorry. Clearly I mistook its significance.' Captain Foxe shrugged. 'Nor do I fully understand it even now.'
    'Why, sir,' said Mr Aubrey, flicking through the small vellum book, 'it is said that Dr Dee had penetrated the mysteries of the universe, and sought to discover the philosopher's stone. It was to that end that he travelled to Prague, which as I also told you before, Captain - I remember mentioning it quite specifically - is the world's university for the magical arts. In the Jewish Ghetto there was a book which had only just recently come to light, though in mysterious circumstances - for how and from where it had appeared no one could say - and it was rumoured to reveal how the dead might be raised. Yet no one could read it - and this greatly frustrated the learned men amongst the Jews, who longed to master the knowledge the manuscript contained, and penetrate the secrets of the very grave. Learning that Dr Dee was in Prague, and knowing of his reputation, the leader of the Jews invited him to inspect the manuscript, which the Doctor did, making a copy of the book, with great expense of effort, so that more than one man might study it at a time. But the Jew, when he discovered what Dr Dee had performed, mistook his intentions and complained to the Emperor, who greatly loved the Jew and so banished Dr Dee. The Doctor's revenge, however, was to take his copy of the manuscript with him -and here it is, in my library today.'
    Mr Aubrey had been speaking with increasing speed, and as he reached his triumphant conclusion he waved the book in the air again. Captain Foxe took