Caitlynn Quinn

Fascist movements are seizing power in leading nations, and England waits nervously. 

Caitlynn Quinn, half Scottish and half British, lives in the heart of London, during a dark hour, on the verge of war. Squashed between the stock market crash and the rise of the Nazis, couples drink champagne, and women wear backless silk evening gowns, held up by only a yoke or spaghetti straps. Slinky and moving about, Caitlynn endures inequality with style.

Caitlyn works at a newspaper, but she has more leisure time than we do today and embraces social pursuits as a part of her routine life. She doesn't have the same technology we do, but she easily jumps on the Tube or catches the bus. She has a personal phone and her own automobile. She also likes to fly, working on her pilots-A license. She's educated and well-read and loves to see a film. Caitlynn lives in an era of uncertainty, and poverty,  juxtaposed against luxury, brocade, fringes, and ornamental brass. Just a part of the mystic of the 1930s.

But circling back to the mystery, what would she do when her neighbor is murdered and then wrapped up like a mummy - an Egyptologist? For one thing, Cailtynn wouldn't be satisfied with the police investigation, especially when she finds an important clue in the apartment, that's been overlooked. And not just any clue, one that indicates the Ahnernerbe may be involved.  Don't forget she lives in Dolphin Square, home to spies, royals, and criminals at the time. And just a stone’s throw from Westminster. 

When she discovers an old legend concerning a Benben stone or the capstone of the largest Egyptian pyramid things get even stranger. Could it be - her neighbor - the victim knew something about this primal stone, made from a meteor, which was housed in an ancient temple?

Lost in antiquity and surrounded by myths, some believe that this stone was taken out of ancient Egypt and placed in the Ark of the Covenant, which helped the Jewish people to destroy Jericho. According to legend Jeremiah took the Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Stone, and hid them in a cave on Mount Nebo. But from the times of Jeremiah, the whereabouts of the Stone are unclear.

One of the most prominent figures who may have searched for the stone was Adolf Hitler. Hitler sent Ahnenerbe expeditions worldwide to collect items he believed would enhance the strength of his domain and power during his rule. In search of supernatural advantages, the Benben Stone would have been a coveted object, much like the Holy Grail, or the Spear of Destiny.

If Caitlynn decides to launch her own investigation, she'll have to travel on Imperial Airlines, from London to Cairo, which would take over six days, with multiple stops.. Six and a half days - actually-  if you count the additional train ride from Alexandria to Cairo. 

Before that point in time,  she takes the Flying Scotsman to Dunn, to visit family during  Christmas. It's a famous steam train that once operated between Edinburgh and London. Who knows who she might meet on the way, or what she might discover about the Ahnernerbe. But then, what are the chances she meets someone who works for Sotherby on the train during dinner? And who knows that the Germans had taken a rather unhealthy interest in rare antiquities that support their cause —like the Benben stone and the Codex Aesinas. Just one of many tempting details of her perilous journey. 

#Benben Stone #Primal Stone #Sheaperds Hotel #1930s #61/2 Days To Cairo