"Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "In exactly five days," "Archbishop Djelvas, the ecclesiastic patriarch of Povia, must name a regent to succeed the king, who died recently leaving no heir." "This man, General Envir Qaisette, has vowed that unless he is named regent, he will seize the throne in a bloody coup d'état." "If Qaisette succeeds," "Povia, a free constitutional monarchy, will become a military dictatorship." "Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to stop Qaisette." "As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions." "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." "Good luck, Jim." "One dot, step one." "Two dots, step two." "Three dots in a line, step three." "Three dots in a triangle, step four." "Shall I go on?" "No, no, you've got it perfectly, Cinnamon." "Now, the puzzle box is in a safe inside the royal vault in the old cathedral." "The only possible way to get in there, Barney, is through the catacombs." "Jim, can we be sure they're still open?" "Yes, from the solitary confinement cell in the jail." "You'll have to make sure that that's where they put you." "That part's easy." " Getting out?" " Right here." "All right." "Well, you two are set." "Provided I can solve the puzzle box in time." "Rollin, have you been over these with Cinnamon?" "Yes." "She's learned everything that's possible to know about Celine." "All right, that's it, then." "With rumours we've been spreading, everyone in Povia's starting to believe that the real Celine could actually still be alive." " Except Qaisette." " Yes." "But even he can't be positive that she's dead." "The prefect here is completely reliable, politically." "When he receives the signal, he will seal off the entire district." "But in this province here, the archbishop has many followers." "They could be a problem." "As chief of the secret police, it is your job to see that any such problems are eliminated." "The orders of arrest have already been arranged." "Yes?" "A moment." "It's concerning your call to the archbishop." "They say he's not receiving any calls." "Doddering old scarecrow's still trying to avoid me." "You may inform His Eminence that I will be in his office in exactly 15 minutes." "These recent rumours about Celine, could it be possible that the archbishop is creating them himself?" "It's just possible." "A last desperate attempt to keep me from taking power." "You will step this way, please." " No, the royal-vault room is in there." " Royal vault?" " No one is allowed in there except..." " Couldn't I take a look?" "Only the postulants for confession." "Beg your pardon, Sister." "Forgive us, Sister." "I said I was sorry." "Didn't she hear me?" "The postulants of the Order of St. Cassik are not allowed to speak." "Only in the confessional." "Now follow me, please." "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful than that, ladies and gentlemen?" "Children prattle on in the streets about their princess coming home." "Old ladies swear that they have seen Celine." "Suddenly, rumours, whispers, stories." ""The Princess Celine is finally returned home. "" "Perhaps His Eminence hasn't heard these rumours." "I have heard." "Then you know they are lies that are being spread by someone." "I know only that I pray with all my soul that these rumours are true." "Your prayers are wasted, also your rumours." "You must declare the throne vacant or name a regent." "I will never proclaim you as regent." "You actually believe that you can keep me from taking power?" "With what?" "Tales of a ghostly Celine suddenly materialising?" "Maybe you actually believe them." "I believe only in prayer." "We will now view the many sacred relics which have been placed on display." "Okay, if you would follow me, please." "Now, as you will note, most everything you see is a priceless work of art." "Hey, wait a minute." "Look, would you come right over here?" "Now, look back through there." "Can you see how pretty that is, all those candles burning?" "Well, look, would you do me a favour?" "Would you just take this?" "And I'll stand over here." "You take a picture of me against that." " Sir." " Ever work one of those?" "Look, all you have to do is look right through that little window right there." "Then you press the button." "That's all." "I used to have one of those complicated cameras." "But I got this and I take better pictures than anybody you ever saw." "One of the things I really pride myself on are the pictures I bring home." "Are you prepared, my child?" "Yes, Father." "Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God." "Make me a clean heart, oh, Lord, and renew a right spirit within me." "Fine." "That just couldn't be better." "Now, there's just one more thing I want." "If you'd step up beside this gentleman, by this guard." "I'll have the two of you right there." "This will make a marvellous picture." "All them brass buttons and that junk in the background is gonna be terrific." "You just hold it right there." "Now, here we go, right there." "That's good." "Local colour." "Yeah." "Thank you, fellas." "Guard, would you help me, please?" "The wax is melting." "I'm not allowed to leave this post." "Would you ask him, please?" " Here, workman." " Yes, sir." "Help the priest, please." "Let me wipe it with this, Father." "Thank you, my son." "Could you hold the cover, please?" "The latch is bent." "Hey, you know, I just gotta get one more picture of you." "Just hold it like that." "That's fine." "No, I can't do it if your hands are up." "Just hold them down there at your side." "Hold it right there." "You two are under arrest." "Come with me." "I told you, we don't know why." "All he said was to bring in the wax impression and he'd give us the rest of the money." "What is the name of this man?" "He never said." "What is his name?" "The old woman just kept calling him "professor. "" "Woman?" "What woman?" "I don't know." "She was just there, that's all." "She came in and right away this professor led her away." " Led her?" " Yeah." "What do you mean, led her?" "I don't know." "She was just sick or something." "Where did he take her?" "Into the other room in his suite." "In the hotel." "What hotel?" "I said, what hotel?" "Metropole." "Which room?" "I am near the end of my patience." "Which room?" "409." "No one?" "They gone?" "No, their clothes are still here." "And suitcases." "All right." "Search everything." "Post two men outside to watch for his return, then come back at once." "One more outburst from either of you, just one, and you'll end up in the hole." "Search them and take their belts." "Why?" "Why did he want the impression of that particular locket?" "We told you, we don't know why." "It's obvious why he wanted the impression of the locket." "It also explains the sudden rumours of Celine's reappearance." "Only Celine could have had the other half of this locket." "Very persuasive evidence, especially if he has someone who can pass for Celine." "Your bureau is certain that this is the man?" "Oh, yes, no question of it." "The descriptions of him, his fingerprints." "He's the man." "And of course, all the evidence of his plan." "Very clever, but completely contrived and fraudulent." "Except for this." "I've had it analysed." "It is the x-ray of a young girl's broken arm." "The x-ray is very old." "No name, no date." "No apparent connection." " E. H?" " Emil Holsein, the doctor." "Age 73, retired." "No evidence of political deviation." "Your men have him?" "Yes." "Then I think, perhaps, Dr. Holsein himself should explain this." "You were warned." "Put them in solitary." "Yes." "Yes, it is from my files." "You see?" "My certification number, my initials." "You gave the x-ray to someone?" "No, no, no." "It was stolen from my files." "Why?" "Who was the patient?" "Oh, it was a long time ago." " A child." " A little girl, perhaps?" "Yes." "Well, was she tall or very short?" "Thin?" "No." "I mean, yes, she was thin." "And blind." "What was her name?" "I don't remember." "Her name, doctor?" "She never told me her name." "I swear to you." "But you knew her name." "You knew who she was." "Yes." "It was Princess Celine." "You're lying." "No." "Dr. Holsein is telling the truth." "It was Celine he treated." "This ring, it could only have belonged to her." "Yes, yes." "But why would they take a royal princess to an ordinary country doctor?" "It was the time of the rebellion." "The priest was afraid to take her to the city." "I was a qualified surgeon." "It was not every doctor who could perform such an operation without proper facilities, without help." " Operation?" " In a manner of speaking, yes." "You see by the x-rays, there are little bone chips in the elbow." "I was going to remove them." "But you did not operate?" "No, the priest was afraid to wait." "He took her away." "I warned him." "I said, "If you take her away, if I do not perform the operation, her arm will become stiff and useless. "" "Now, any doctor in the world, if you show him that x-ray, will tell you that my diagnosis was correct." "I would put myself in front of any medical panel." "Yes, yes, yes." "No doubt, no doubt." "Have your men keep the doctor in custody." "He is to talk to no one, see no one." "But why, Your Excellency?" "Why?" "Merely for your own protection." "Are they still there?" "You finished?" "Everything but the eye drops." "My men have observed him." "There's a woman with him." "I'll have them taken into custody as soon as they reach the hotel." "No." "The fewer that know about this, the better." "We'll contact you." "I'll deal with them myself." "Who is it?" "Police." "Open up." "Am I glad you finally got here." "I was just about to call again." "Look at this place." "It's exactly the way the burglars left it." "They took the whole place apart." "What kind of a hotel is this, anyway?" "Hey, what's going on?" "I'm the one that got robbed." "I want to speak to her." "Who?" "I don't understand." "There must be some mistake." "I assure you, professor, there is no mistake." "We know who you are, what you are doing and why you are here." "Now, if you recognise me, then perhaps you'll understand." "I'm not accustomed to waiting." "Someone to see you." "Your Highness, this is..." "No, no, no, wait, wait." "All right, my dear, tell me now." "Who am I?" "It's all right." "Who am I?" "The voice, I know I have heard it before when I was young." "Something terrible was happening." "Please, let me have your hand." "It is Major Qaisette." "That woman is an impostor." "Have them both arrested." "Wait a minute." "She can answer any question you wanna ask." "She is Celine." "Then why did she call me Qaisette?" "That's your name." "You are General Qaisette." "What else is she gonna call you?" "Quisi." "Quisi." "Quisi, huh?" "Yes, I remember now." "I always made up names for everyone." "I called you "Major Quisi. " Don't you remember?" "I remember." "Tell me about Trondka." ""Little claps of thunder. "" "Yes, I called her that because she wore wooden shoes." " And when she brought my breakfast..." " Who exactly?" "A maid, a governess?" " No, no, no, a pastry cook." " Where?" " Where?" " At Sejkien." "You lived there, at the Palace of Sejkien?" " Only for one year, when I was 9." " Why?" "Why did you?" " I was sick and the doctor said..." " Sick?" "A doctor?" "What was his name?" "Tell me the doctor's name." "Dr. Puff." "Puff?" " No, no." "Doctor..." " His name?" "Doctor..." "Doctor..." "Dr. Vachtel." "But I called him "Dr. Puff"" "because he always wheezed when he talked." "And I called the second maid "Tintin. "" "And I called you "Major Quisi. "" "You are Major Quisi." "I am a general now." "Where did you get that scar?" "My arm was broken." "They had to operate." "Doctor Vachtel?" "No, no, it was another doctor." "What was his name?" "I don't remember." "Could his name have been a Dr. Holsein?" "I don't know his name." "I only saw him that once." "Clever." "You remember just enough but not too much." "Still, he did an excellent job of surgery." "Without it, your arm might have been left stiff, useless." "You still think this is the real Princess Celine?" "Absolutely." "Without a doubt." "Where did you find her?" "I found her in an asylum." "She was suffering from amnesia." "However, with the extensive use of electroshock..." "All right." "That's enough." "Now, we already know who you are." "We have your two associates in prison." "Perhaps you'd like to join them." "Then answer me." "Who is she?" "Don't know." "I really don't know." "She believes that she is Celine." "I tell you, she almost made me believe it once or twice." "I thought I had every conceivable slip anticipated." "You did." "No, no, she couldn't fool you." "With help, she could fool anyone but me." "With your help?" "It would take the form of opposition." "I would challenge you at every opportunity." "But if we're going to convince the archbishop?" "If I were to support her, then the archbishop would be suspicious." "But if I would appear to be against her..." "He wouldn't have any reason to suspect anything." "In fact, he would pray that she was real." "Do you understand me now, professor?" "Well, now, that depends on what sort of financial arrangements we can make." "There would be no money problem." "I have reason to believe that the new queen would be most generous." "I'd like to settle that now." "You're hardly in a position to do that." "I could turn you over to the Sûreté and keep her." "That's true." "But I am the only one that she trusts." "Without me, you don't have Celine." "However, I'm not a greedy man, general." "Shall we say a hundred thousand and an exit visa?" "Agreed." "Good." "And you'll order the release of my two men." "I'll order their release tomorrow." "I have investigated." "There is no need for you to concern yourself." "I will decide that." "Or are you afraid to let her be examined?" "It is a matter for the police." "No." "By law, it is a matter for the Holy Office." "Of course." "But I assure Your Eminence that there is no need to convene a royal court of enquiry." "This woman is not Celine." "She is a complete fraud." "Only the court of enquiry can decide that." "And I will not allow you to stand in the way of its judgement." "You have no right to insist on that." "In the name of the people, I have every right." "He took the bait, just as you predicted." "Before I'm done, he'll swallow the whole story and choke on it." "General, this man, this professor, can he be counted on to control the woman after the archbishop has put her on the throne?" "There is no need to trust anyone, Zageb." "Once the archbishop says that she is the real Celine, we'll expose her as a fraud." "The people will be terribly disappointed." "The archbishop will be discredited as a gullible old fool and we'll be rid of him once and for all." "As for the professor and his associates, once having served their purpose, they will simply disappear." "She has memorized everything you gave them." "And the other arrangements?" "Grand duke?" "Dr. Vachtel?" "Their dossiers have been shown to them." "They have agreed to cooperate fully." "What is it, Zageb?" "The woman." "What if she should be able to pass all of the archbishop's tests?" "Not the last one." "Only Celine could open the puzzle box in the royal vault." "This woman is not Celine." "But if somehow, by some chance, some mistake..." "You're forgetting our insurance policy:" "Dr. Holsein." "I can hear them talking." "Soft." "It was soft and small." "It was..." "A pet?" "Perhaps a kitten." "Why else would you call it "Pasha"?" "No, it was not a pet." "Mama would never allow me to be near animals." "It was an animal." "It was a stuffed animal." "I remember holding it." "It was a stuffed animal." "It was a bear." "Anyone might have known that Celine had a favourite stuffed bear." "When did she get it?" "Who gave it to her?" "What happened to it?" "Madame Pollon brought it to me from Paris." "But then I lost it." "How?" "When?" "On a tutoring holiday at Linka." "Madame Pollon was there with me." "You remember, don't you, madame?" "Yes, but how did you?" "How could you know that I am here?" "Your fingers." "You were always tapping them against your bracelets like that." "It is you." "It is the Princess Celine." "The enquiry will proceed." "Can't you get it, Barney?" "I've gotta figure out the sequence." "It is a puzzle." "Yes, it is the Princess Celine." "It's been years." "He can't remember." "Is the grand duke certain?" "Yes." "It is Celine." "This is some conspiracy of yours to place her on the throne." "Or else why hasn't Dr. Vachtel been called?" "He will be called." "You better hurry up." "I know it, Will." "Yes, yes, there can be no doubt about it." "No doubt of what?" "That she's a complete fraud, an impostor?" "No, general." "There can be no further doubt that she is Celine." "Two dots in the upper right-hand corner." "Dot in a square in the lower right-hand corner." "As first prelate of Povia," "I hereby proclaim..." "Wait." "There is one final test that she hasn't passed." "I demand that she be forced to choose from the royal vault what was Celine's alone." "Let the vault be opened." "Hurry." "There are many veils to the past, many small things might be forgotten, but the true Celine would never forget this one thing." "Do you remember?" "Yes, it is my puzzle box." "I used to keep my treasures and my secrets in it." "Is that not proof enough for the general?" "No." "Let her open it." "Let that be the test." "In the cathedral in front of everyone." "Very well." "How?" "Chance." "Luck." "It's a trick." "She couldn't have done it without help." "Let me look at that box." "Please." "Inside the box is Papa's diary." "He gave it to me to hide before he was killed." "Inside the box?" "It is the prince regent's handwriting." "But how could it be?" "Read the last page." "Let the grand duke read it." ""The insurrectionists have surrounded us." "We await our last moments of life, knowing now the bitter truth that we have been betrayed by a traitor in our very midst." "That traitor is Major Qaisette. "" "Major Qaisette?" "It's a trick." "A mistake." "There's no proof, only her word." "And everything she says is a lie." "This woman is a complete fraud, I tell you." "Don't you understand?" "All right." "I'll prove it to you." "The last man to see the Princess Celine alive is there in that pew, Dr. Emil Holsein." "He has documents." "An x-ray which will show conclusively that this woman is a complete fraud." "The real Princess Celine's left arm would have been stiff, useless." "Dr. Holsein." "Where is he?" "Where is Dr. Holsein?" "I don't know any Dr. Holsein." "Who are you?" "What are you doing here?" "Where is he?" "Where is Dr. Holsein?" " What are you talking about?" " You're lying." "You're part of the conspiracy." "Don't you see?" "This whole thing has been staged to deceive you." "It's all a lie." "This woman is an impostor." "He found her in an asylum and taught her every word." "Tell them the truth." " Stop him." " Guards." "You fools." "This is not the real Celine." "The real Celine is dead." "I burned the palace myself." "No one could have escaped." "No one." "Apparently, someone did." "Take him away." "Come on." "Your time is up." "I am holding the royal and ancient seal of state." "By placing your hand upon the face of the seal, you will proclaim your holy right to the throne of Povia." "If there is no challenge..." "And if there is a challenge?" "There will not be." "I do not know who you are." "I only know that divine providence has brought you to save my country." "I cannot accept the throne." "I am old and frail with years and blind." "The future of our country lies not with me, but with someone young who can cast a light of vision into the future." "I ask only that Archbishop Djelvas choose a ruler for Povia and that his choice is accepted by the people." "That is my one wish." "My only command." "Where are they going?" "She's really a monarch, isn't she?"