217 Babel Street | The Labyrinth of Gold
Donna Townes studied the labyrinth carved into the floor of the church. At the centre of the twisting circles was a group of letters, each line spelling out the same phrase, no matter in which direction the eye travelled: Sancta Ecclesia. The usual translation was "Holy Church", but Donna also knew that Ecclesia originally referred to the Gathering of People into a city-state. From the beginning of this case she had felt that more than one person was behind the murder. Could a whole community be involved?
The nave of the empty church echoed with her footsteps as she walked on. In the vestry she found a chessboard laid out in the middle of a game. The position of the pieces was vaguely familiar. Next to the board lay a bound, typewritten manuscript and a brass paperweight in the shape of a decorated cube. It was heavy in her hand and speckled with red in one corner. It was certainly a useful blunt instrument with which to smash in the skull of a visiting Bishop.
She turned back to the chessboard. Now she recognised the game: it was the same position illustrated at the beginning of Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There". How Curious. Just then a door banged shut in the main body of the church. Voices sounded. Quickly, Donna picked up the manuscript and slipped out through the back door. Crows called to her from the bare trees in the cemetery.