Events of the week went their own way. Last news issues didn’t show any more the debris of WTC; they were replaced by the reports about American bombings in Afghanistan; CNN and NBC started to mention about the acts of bio-terrorism in New York, Washington and Florida. Holmes called twice: once from Cairo, and then – from some Indian town with a hard-spelling name.

Part III. Holmes’s Investigation

September 22 – 27. Switzerland – Liechtenstein

(Zurich – Vaduz – Geneva)

The plane from London has arrived just in time. Holmes stood in queue to the passport control when an announcer informed of arrival of another plane from Frankfurt am Main. Soon a German speech sounded from an appeared second queue. Holmes automatically noted a stout person dressed in light-coloured coat and grey hat.

And what is interesting in that man? – Holmes thought, and caught that it was the newspaper clasped to fatty’s case that had roused his interest.

The paper was Russian and called “Izvestiya” (“Proceedings”), but Holmes really couldn’t understand why it had attracted him. While he reflected upon this, fatty in light-coloured coat entered the passport control cabin and Holmes lost him from his sight. Having received his luggage Holmes came out to the departure hall. He was trying to find his firm representative, when he saw that newspaper again. It was on a chair where stout man had left it instead of throwing it away to the rubbish bin. Stimulated by strange feeling of interest Holmes went to the chair, when someone called him.

Good afternoon, Mr. Holmes, my name is Louis Renier. Let me take your luggage.

Holmes stopped and shook hands with a tall slender man with a little silver lock in his raven-coloured hair.

I’m ready to drive you to your hotel, – thoroughly choosing English words he told to Holmes with a noticeable French accent, – And if you like, we can walk down the Old Zurich in the evening.

Holmes was nearly ready to follow Renier to the car, when he suddenly stopped.

Excuse me, Mr. Renier, one minute please.

He left his companion in perplexity, moved to that chair, took the Russian paper and put it into a pocket of his coat. He could hardly explain to astonished Renier why he had taken the paper written on a language not familiar to him. But his partner was a tactful person and didn’t ask any question but drove his London’s guest to the hotel, where the “Ernst & Young” firm had reserved a room for Holmes. Saturday’s evening and the whole Sunday Holmes spent in “Zurich dwarfs’” citadel. He walked down narrow streets and thought of the power that without an army and weapon had got world bankers. And why such luxury as neutrality is permitted to Switzerland? And why isn’t that country a member of the UN? Too much of questions…

At Monday a conversation in Zurich took place and it continued for the next day in Davos. Holmes thought of that not bad place, found by world money sharks. That small resort town has become the real Mecca of world largest financiers or, precisely, of those who thought that they were taking part in possessing the goals of world politics. On the back way to Zurich, Lois Renier suddenly suggested to visit Liechtenstein where, as he told, lived his last years a famous Russian arts patron and emigrant – count Pfanfaltz. He lived in the bounds of Vaduz – a centre of a tiny state; to which money from the whole world are injected only because it has proclaimed its territory free of fees. Nearly ten minutes they wandered the narrow streets full of tourists. Than the same time they drove down the serpentine-road and soon reached the gates of “Askania-Nova” – that was the name of count’s villa. A master was at home, that was a quite rare thing. Despite of his age he travelled much – he bought rarities of Old Russia and returned them to his motherland.

Over tea served by the count they told of last doings in America. Everyone was sure that the world had changed after it, and that there was not a country that hadn’t been inflected by this event in this or in that way. Holmes asked the count of Russia and it’s perspectives from the point of American tragedy. He kept silence for a minute looking over a landscape beyond a window and than got up and after an excuse went to his library. He returned with a thick yellow envelope. Imagine Holmes’s surprise when the count revealed the “picnics” that he had discussed with Watson two days before! By the Renier reaction Holmes found that he had seen this papers before too. Besides the familiar “picnics” there were some more documents in the envelope.

The count showed to Holmes copies of the first page of the paper “Trud” (“Labour”) #107 (19554) by May 9, 1985; the ninth page of the weekly “Argumenty i Fakty” (“Arguments and Facts”) #43 (836) by October of 1996 and the first page of “Chas Pick” #151 (880) by October 14, 1997.

Look, Mr. Holmes, don’t you find anything strange at these photos of superior leaders of Soviet Union?

Frankly speaking, if there weren’t that white arrow, marking the half-head of Gorbachev in “Arguments and Facts”, I wouldn’t notice it in “Trud”. But how do this pictures connected to the “picnics” and moreover to the tragedy of “black Tuesday”?

And here is the full photography of the first page of “Trud” by May 9, 1985:

The count settled back in his redwood armchair with an elegant carving and, refreshing in his memory pictures of the past, started his story, which made a grate noise in arts patrons’ society.

* * *

I found this package with “picnics” and copies of some other papers inside my letterbox at 17 of August in year 1998. I remember this date well because of the financial crisis in Russia reported by every television channel. Looking through the “picnics” I firstly thought that someone was trying to play a trick on me, since I never considered myself a specialist in solving riddles. But those, who had sent the package, obviously knew of my enthusiasm on paints and the first item I read was evidently the article about the restoration of Rembrandt’s “Danaë”. That pearl from the Hermitage collection had been nearly completely destroyed by one maniac on 15 of June 1985, only 37 days after the appearance of the sinister picture of General Secretary’s half-head in holiday’s essay of “Trud”. Many foreign specialists told that the paint couldn’t be restored. That maniac made two knife strikes and than threw a concentrated sulphuric acid grout to it. I remember, that when I had got know of that act of terrorism act against Rembrandt’s masterpiece I at first even fell ill because of high pressure. And that day I saw the Petersburg’s paper “Chas Pick” #151(880) by October 14 from which I got know that on the day festival of the Protection of the Virgin[34] the noticeable exhibition, called “‘Danaë’ – Rembrandt’s masterpiece’s destiny” was going to open. The paint had been restored, and I considered that event to have a mystical sense.

Mr. Holmes, you have asked if it is connected with “Trud’s” picture and with the “picnics” and moreover with the terrorism of 9.11 – that’s how does the day is written in Europe and America? I think that it is, but to explain this mystical relationship I need to remind the legend of Danaë and her son Perseus.

Danaë was a daughter of king of Argos – Acrisius, to whom the Delphi’s Oracle had predicted to be killed by his own grandson. Acrisius imprisoned his maiden daughter to an underground bronze tower to avoid such a destiny. But the Zeus, the Olympus’s Lord, became enamoured to her. He had reached her in a form of a golden rain, after what the futures hero of the ancient Greek mythology Perseus was born. Acrisius put his daughter and her son into a barrel and threw them to the sea. Great Pushkin has originally described the development of this myth in his “Tale of Tsar Sultan, his son Guidon and fair Princess Lebed’”, removing the tragic final from it. I consider that Pushkin tried to correct the catastrophes repeating scenario, which is peculiar to the whole so-called Christian culture. As you can remember the Danaë’s myth finishes too tragically for Acrisius. After a long journey and many great deeds Perseus had arrived to Argos to take part in the Olympic Games. There on a disk throwers competition he… снёс полбашни (these words the count said on Russian, though he generally told the story in English, so he retold quickly), sorry, pulled down a half of his grandfather’s head.