Day at the Museum

Throckmorton met Cordelia in the foyer of the Royal Museum. The previous day's rain had given way to glorious sunshine and, typically, they now expected to be stuck inside for the rest of the day. The museum was a spacious, imposing building with a totem pole running up the centre of the foyer and stairs winding up around it. Near the entrance was a desk where the doorman stood guard over the country's greatest treasures. The doorman directed the intrepid pair through a door into the back rooms of the museum, where they were met by the curator's secretary.

“Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus to see the curator of Aegyptology, please.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“I wrote to him to book an appointment for today.”
“Very well,” said the curator’s secretary, “I shall check the diary." She leafed through a large, leather-bound desk diary. "Oh, I’m sorry sir, but you are not in it. Are you sure you wrote here?”
“Of course I am, my good woman. I would not be here otherwise.”

Throckmorton quickly realised that the people that the little man worked for must have intercepted his letter. Perhaps the man had done so himself and had been monitoring Throckmorton's movements for some time now. Better be careful from now on. This thing clearly went deeper than Wiggy's letter had suggested.

Throckmorton decided to press the issue anyway, “I don’t suppose the curator could make a bit of time to see me, even though I do not have an appointment?”
"Weeeell," the secretary sounded doubtful, " I'm really not sure."
"If you would please, our business is rather urgent," Throckmorton tried his most winning smile."
"Very well, sir. Wait here one moment."

The secretary went through a large oak door. She soon returned and told the Colonel to go in.

“Well, what is it?” said the curator abruptly. He was clearly in a bit of a bad mood and was sporting a black eye. He also obviously had a hangover. It would appear that the curator was a bit of a one, as Throckmorton's mother might have said. Throckmorton soon mollified the curator and Cordelia was able to question him in detail about lower Aegyptus and the tribes of that area. The man he had encountered last night seemed to match descriptions of people from that area, which answered another question. The background detail was useful, but he would still have to head out there to find out what was really going on.

Scene: find a person
The Colonel found his quarry but with complications. He questioned him (DF2) and succeeded at getting the clue.
2 Clues