The Heart of the Sphinx

Chapter 1

“Will you please state your name and your professional achievements for the benefit of the court?” asked the assistant district court attorney as she looked at the man sitting in the witness stand.

“My name is Dr. Hugh Frost Linglithgow. I am historic forensic archaeologist and is currently employed by the British museum of London. I have been working there for the last seven years,” said the handsome man in his thirties.

“Will you please tell us more about the education you have received and your background Dr. Linglithgow?” asked thee attractive district attorney who was still looking at him with an impassive face.

Hugh felt more comfortable looking at her while speaking that to look at anyone else. Focusing on one single thing has always been very helpful for him when he was in high stress situations like this. That was what had made him so different from anyone else. That he could see things which others could not. He could feel the glares coming towards him from all sides of the audience in the court from the Bennetti and his Mafia tribe. He knew that they could easily start a mini-war inside the court and he would have no way to save himself or the others but despite knowing that fact he knew he had to speak the truth.

“I have studied at St. James Boys School under the Headmastership of Father Black. After that I studied History and Archaeology at Oxford and then I specialized in Mythology at the Cambridge University. I have been the part of sixteen archaeological digs to Egypt and to the subcontinent of India as a part of my doctoral programme and I have done my research paper on the lost cultures and civilizations of the world which were far older than our own. That is the Mesopotamian and the Indus Civilization which is now proven to be the oldest. I have been teaching at the Oxford since I have received my doctorate degree as a guest lecturer. And as I told you earlier that I am employed and have been employed by the British Museum of London since the last seven years,” said Hugh as he sighed deeply. He wanted to get over with this nonsense as soon as possible.

“It is so good to be in the presence of such an accomplished historian and archaeologist Dr. Linglithgow. Now, I would like to ask you the reason for your visit to the country and specifically to this state,” said the attorney. Her name was Janet Lancaster and she was a shark when it came to defend her clients. Thankfully this time he was her client rather than Bennetti and Hugh was thankful for the fact.

“My purpose of this visit was absolutely academic in nature. I had been called rather invited to give a series of lectures on the mythology and their connection of them to the civilizations at Yale to the students. I have been coming for these classes and lectures almost every quarter as you can see in my passport,” said Hugh sincerely.

The judge at the bench was nodding his head at him and it all seemed very plausible to him. It was only natural that a man of his academic records would be brought to Yale in order to give the students lecture.

“Fair enough. How about you tell me how you came in contact with that man sitting over there?” asked Janet as she gestured towards Bennetti. He was a feared name in the Mafia world, and he had the ferocity of killing anyone with his bare hands without any weapon if something came in his way. And at this moment from the look on his face Hugh could very well understand the murderous rage in the face of the Mob Boss.

“To be honest I have never been introduced to the person you are gesturing to. Although I have the knowledge that he had ordered a hit on me since the last month which is the reason I have not been able to go back to my country. I have been attacked thrice and every time I have escaped by sheer luck except the last time he was present when I was climbing down from the window of my hotel room. I had no idea that a teacher could be such a wanted man,” said Hugh and the jury laughed at his humorous attitude. The judge also sported a smile.

“YOU BLOODYYYY f*****g SON OF A PUTAAAAA…” screamed Tomas Bennetti leaping up from his seat. His attorney was shocked at his outburst and tried pulling him back to his seat. He feared that in this outburst his client would say something absolutely incriminating which would cause another ruckus which would be out of his control. But Tomas Bennetti was not a man to be controlled by his attorney.

“GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF ME YOU f*****g USELESS SWINE!!!! I AM GOING TO GET YOU YOU BASTARD…YOU THINK YOU CAN COME HERE AND THEN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT AND RUIN MY REPUTATION….RUIN MY CREDIBILITY IN THE MARKET….YOU BLOODY SON OF A b***h…YOU COST ME MILLIONS…FUCKING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS…DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW TOUGH IT IS TO EARN THAT MONEEY????” screamed the Italian. He was red in his face and it seemed that a little more could lead his shirt to burst at their seams.

“I suggest you to take back your seat Mr. Bennetti, or else I am going to hold you to the contempt of the court,” said the judge as he tapped the gavel slowly.

Hugh could do nothing but smile. Janet had told him that there were high chances that something like this might happen because he had never been incriminated or had been even brought to the court. Every single time before the trial this man had bought off the judge with money or death threats but not this one. This one was made of a different clay.

“SHUT THE f**k UP BLOODY PUTA….DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW YOUR PRICE???MOTHERFUCKING CUNT…” said Bennetti and the entire court gasped out at his choice of language. The judge looked at the man and then spoke in a cold voice.

“Mr. Tomas Bennetti, you are sentenced to a week of imprisonment for the contempt of court and the bail is set at ten million dollars. Mr. Linglithgow…you may go back to your country,” said the judge and he banged his gavel. The police forces came and put on the cuffs on Bennetti who was stunned at the words of the judge. In fact he was so shell shocked that he could not even reply or scream. The attorney whom he had employed scrambled after his employer whom Bennetti kicked square in the chest making the man fall down on the floor hitting his head.

The court watched the entire drama unfold and Hugh was nothing more than a silent spectator. He was much more than that and he knew that and Janet knew that as well but they did not need that to be shown in the court of law.

Once they were outside the courtroom Janet said,” You are going to owe me for this one Hugh. A big one.”

Hugh smiled at his American friend and said,” Anything at all Janet.”

“Marry my sister,” said Janet with a smile as she handed him a cup of coffee from the stand outside the court.

“You know Janet, I am never going to settle down…I am the one…” started Hugh but he was not allowed to finish.

“Yeah Yeah I know the drill…you are not the man who can see himself settling down with kids and with family..you are the one who has dedicated in unlocking the mysteries of the universe and the history through your skills and knowledge. I know, you are like a real life version of Indiana Jones, but what is the harm in meeting her once? She is smart, successful and educated. I am sure you both are going to hit it off like that,” said Janet as she snapped her fingers to enhance the impact.

“Might be…but I am not going to take the chance,” said Hugh, as he remembered the last time he had made this mistake. He had almost lost his life.

“One bad apple does not actually make the entire category of apples to be rotten you know!!!It feels like you have stopped living at all just because you have been cheated upon by one woman,” said Janet,” and what is the hurry anyway…the university is paying you the time that you are spending here, are they not?”

“It is not about paying me for the time. It is that something has come up in London. There have been murders…a few old men have been murdered in the museum and the museum wants me back as soon as possible. The Scotland Yard is saying that this has been done by a beast and they have got no logical clue or explanation for this at all,” said Hugh as he finished his coffee and dropped the paper cup in a dustbin nearby.

“Wow!!! So you are again back to this wild goose chase?” asked Janet with an incredulous expression.

“You cannot blame a man for trying to serve his country any way he can, can you now?” said Hugh with a smile as Janet nodded her head at him with a resigned expression.

This was a man who had locked his heart in the cage of ice and probably nothing would ever let him change his way of thinking again. After all it was almost impossible to get over the fact that you were going to be killed at the hands of the woman you loved most in the world.