‘I wasn’t referring to your work in this bookshop,’ said Raphael. ‘I meant your extra-curricular activities. Specifically, sending your cronies to spy on Jemma here, booby-trapping her bookshop, and last but not least, putting your poor ex-assistant under a hypnotic enchantment. What do you have to say for yourself?’
‘The Keepers’ Guild always upholds the rights of the individual,’ said Brian, drawing himself up as tall as he could. ‘The right of the individual member to challenge whomever he likes; the right of an individual member to maintain his bookshop as he sees fit. How I arrange the books in my shop is my concern. How I manage my staff is my concern. And if people who may know me choose to visit a bookshop, that’s hardly unusual. If that’s all you’ve come for, I suggest you browse in the shop, see if there’s anything you wish to buy, then return to London. I have nothing to say to you.’ He shuffled towards the curtain.
‘Wait a moment,’ said Raphael. He pulled out his pencil, and pointed it at Brian’s back.
Brian stopped dead.
Raphael drew a slow circle in the air, and Brian began to turn. He resisted every movement, but despite his struggles, in a few seconds he was facing Raphael again.
Raphael advanced to the counter and rested the point of his pencil on it. ‘It isn’t very nice to feel as if you’re out of your own control, is it, Brian?’ he said.
Brian glared at him but did not move, and Jemma realised that he couldn’t.
‘Jemma, take out your pencil,’ said Raphael.
She looked at him doubtfully, but obeyed.
‘Brian, if I were cruel, I would instruct Jemma to make you dance to her tune,’ said Raphael. ‘However, luckily for you, I am not a cruel man, and I have no wish to wear out your old bones any more than necessary.’ He pointed with the pencil to a chair. ‘Sit.’
Brian shambled over to the chair and sat, glowering. ‘You’ll get nothing out of me,’ he said.
‘You have already told me that, Brian,’ said Raphael. ‘There is no point in repeating it. Jemma, would you mind doing something for me? There is a notepad by the cash register. I would like you to write, as concisely as you can, what Brian has done to hamper your management of the Friendly Bookshop.’
Brian winced. ‘I tell you I’ve done nothing—’
Jemma pointed her pencil at Brian and he was immediately silent. She glanced at Raphael. ‘Please, write,’ he said.
And Jemma wrote.
Brian, former Assistant Keeper for Westminster, hypnotised Maddy Shenton, assistant at the Friendly Bookshop. He did this with the intention of controlling her, and forcing her to perform actions which would impede the bookshop’s business. After the initial hypnosis, he controlled her by means of regular letters. We know this both from Maddy’s testimony and our own observations.
Brian also arranged books in the stockroom to thwart the business and block communications: specifically, texts and calls. I removed these arrangements, and communications were restored immediately.
It is also likely that Brian instructed friends of his to visit the bookshop, report back, and acquire books from it. The same friends are known sympathisers of Brian, and they have stirred up trouble and disrupted Raphael’s work. I cannot say more on this matter without further investigation.
She showed Raphael. ‘Will that do?’
Raphael scanned the page. ‘That seems fair-minded and well-evidenced,’ he said. ‘Your penmanship needs improvement, but you can’t have everything.’ He pushed the notepad back to her. ‘Please sign it and add the date and your title, and then I have a little to add.’
Jemma signed her name, with the little flourish that she always added, and printed it underneath. She added the date, then wrote Assistant Keeper. After it she drew a bracket, then began to write the A of Acting, but a tiny piece of the pencil lead broke off. ‘Darn,’ she said.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Raphael, ‘just rub out the bracket. It will do as it is.’
‘But—’
‘Trust me.’ Raphael took the notepad and wrote rapidly beneath Jemma’s script. I certify that this is a true account, evidenced, and written moreover with a Pencil of Truth, as is this statement. Raphael Burns, Keeper of England. He held the notepad up for Brian to see. ‘Can you deny any of this?’
‘No,’ said Brian, ‘and I don’t wish to.’
‘Oh dear,’ said Raphael. ‘Never mind, eh?’
Brian grinned, showing crooked teeth with one missing from the bottom row. ‘Is that all you’ve got? Some scribbles with a so-called magic pencil?’
‘I also have this.’ Raphael held up his mobile phone. ‘Nifty, isn’t it?’
Brian’s grin broadened. ‘What will you do, dial 999?’
‘Oh, I can do better than that,’ said Raphael. He pressed a button and took a picture first of the notepad, then of Brian. His fingers moved over the screen, and they heard a whoosh.
‘Aren’t you supposed to ask permission before you take pictures of people?’ said Brian, frowning.
‘Usually, yes,’ said Raphael. ‘But I’m pretty sure there’s an exception when you’re either investigating or preventing crime. Isn’t there?’ he asked the phone.
‘Indeed there is,’ the phone replied, and Jemma jumped. There, filling the screen, was the face of a man who seemed middle-aged, but for a shock of white hair. His expression appeared neutral, but every so often a ripple of anger disturbed it.
‘Jemma, may I introduce Armand Dupont, Head of European Operations for the Keepers’ Guild,’ said Raphael. ‘Armand, this is Jemma James, Assistant Keeper for Westminster until the vacancy is filled.’
‘Delighted,’ said Armand Dupont. He spoke in perfect, unaccented English. ‘Thank you for dialling me in earlier, Raphael. It has been a most interesting conversation. Could you turn me to face Brian, please.’
Brian’s lower lip trembled and he edged backwards, seeming to shrink into his chair. ‘Please… I did nothing wrong.’
‘Oh, but you did,’ said Armand Dupont. ‘You are correct in that you may arrange your bookshop as you like, and manage your assistant as you see fit. However, those rights end from the moment the bookshop ceases to be yours. By deliberately putting those precautions in place, you were violating the rights which you spoke of so self-righteously earlier. And by hypnotising your assistant, who is also an associate of the Guild, you violated her rights. Impeding the operations of a bookshop under the auspices of the Guild is absolutely forbidden, and carries a heavy punishment.’
‘I’m sorry!’ cried Brian. ‘I didn’t know!’
‘In your heart, you knew,’ the remorseless voice continued. ‘But you chose to misinterpret the rules; to observe the letter and ignore the spirit. You chose to remain wilfully ignorant. In doing so, you disrupted the work of one of the highest-ranking officials of the Guild, and you also caused me inconvenience. I can’t decide which of these things displeases me more. But I digress. Raphael, could you turn me back to your Assistant Keeper, please?’
As Raphael did so, they heard a low mutter, ‘Why couldn’t the man use a laptop, for heaven’s sake? Or even a tablet.’ Jemma straightened her face hastily as the phone found her. ‘As a member of the Guild, you of all of us have suffered the most severe injury from Brian’s actions. What do you think would be an appropriate punishment?’