Contents
CHAPTER 12: JAMESON
Overview
Jameson obsesses over the Royal Suite mural until Xander arrives and forces his way into the search. Together they decode mythic imagery, revealing a hidden mechanism that plays Tobias Hawthorne’s message to Alice. A chemical reveal dissolves the pearl necklace into lettered silver beads, which anagram to “Tuscany,” directing the hunt onward.
Summary
Exhausted and fixated, Jameson scrutinizes the Royal Suite’s swirling mural, finally discerning eight figures and symbolic objects. Before he can parse them, Xander bursts in with pastries, physically confronting Jameson and demanding to be included in the search for Avery. Jameson relents, recognizing Xander’s resolve and value.
Together, they identify the mural’s mythic vignettes: Pyramus and Thisbe (wall and lion), Helen of Troy (ship and horse), and Orpheus and Eurydice (lyre, snake, underworld). The themes of tragic love and faith resonate with Jameson as he connects the imagery to Tobias Hawthorne’s penchant for layered games and to Alice.
Remembering the old man’s misdirection, Xander treats the mural as a system, locates the arrow, and reconfigures its lines into a triangle. A hidden panel rises, and Tobias’s recorded voice addresses “Alice,” promising secrets only if she plays. Behind the panel, a shelf holds a wine bottle and a gold offering plate.
Assuming a puzzle, Jameson opens the bottle with Xander’s pocketknife; the liquid isn’t wine. He pours it into the plate, then adds the pearl necklace, triggering a reaction that dissolves the pearls and reveals a silver-beaded necklace engraved with letters.
Reading the letters—A, C, Y, S, U, T, N—Jameson anagrams them to “Tuscany,” concluding the old man’s clue redirects their search to Italy, and advancing the hunt for Avery through Alice’s bespoke game.
Who Appears
- Jameson HawthorneIn Prague, fixates on the mural, partners with Xander, solves clues leading to “Tuscany.”
- Xander HawthorneArrives uninvited with pastries, insists on helping, reconfigures the arrow, enables the wall reveal.
- Tobias HawthorneHeard via recording addressing Alice; sets a puzzle with wine, pearls, and hidden letters.
- AliceThe intended recipient of Tobias’s game; central to the mural’s love-story framing.
- Avery GrambsAbsent but motivating Jameson; her disappearance drives the search and puzzle-solving.