all i np l ace
It was now merely a matter of separating the words in that string of letters.
All- in- place
Something was “in place!”
I looked over at Lily. It did seem that she had in fact deciphered the message so far. Clever girl.
Her brow wrinkled. “And then, there is the numbers. If ye apply the same number of places…”
The sequence of four numbers then the next one revealed is a one, then an eight, followed by another one and then a two, using that same sequence.
1-8 and then 1-2
And the final letters that emerged:
P—A—R—L—S
Was it some sort of shorthand writing that the person it had been intended for would understand from previous messages?
P-A-R-L-S? Could it possibly mean Parliament? But then the additional letter— S, made no sense.
Brodie had once referred to my notes written in shorthand as “that gibberish that no one was able to understand.”
He had, however, later admitted that it did appear to be quite useful when I was able to quote a comment a suspect had made. One that I had quickly written down that had proven useful in our inquiry case at the time.
He had been sufficiently impressed, contrary to the saying “one couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks.” He hadn’t been particularly amused by that reference.
I heard the sound of steps at the landing. Brodie entered the office, covered with a dusting of snow upon his coat and hair.
“Mr. Cavendish said ye returned some time ago,” he commented as he immediately went to the stove to warm his hands.
“Were ye able to learn anythin’ at the museum?”
“We deciphered the code in the message!” Lily excitedly replied. “That is the right word, miss?”
“That is the word,” I replied.
Brodie looked over, obviously somewhat surprised to find her there.
“I thought a visit to the museum might be interesting for her,” I explained. “And Sir Reginald may be able to assist with the notes Dr. Bennett had. As for the code…”
“Wot are ye talking about?”
“It seems that Lily has been able to decipher the message the Agency intercepted; the one I had a copy of, thinking that I might be able to assist with it,” I reminded him.
“It appears that Lily has figured it out.”
“Wot do ye believe ye have discovered?”
By his tone it was obvious that he was skeptical, and quite possibly merely indulging the both of us.
“Actually, it was Lily who discovered the code sequence and then deciphered the message.”
“I didna mean to interfere,” she started to explain. “I happened to see it, and it was just there— the way the letters stood out. It happens that way sometimes.”
“Ye didna interfere,” Brodie assured her, then with a look over at me. “That had already taken place. Now, Miss Lily,” he told her, “show me what ye have found.”
