The Strangers On The Trains ( Part 17)

Emily and James shook hands and made their introductions. Five minutes later Tony was back with the wine. And three glasses. James shook his head.

“Not for me Tony, not after last night. Besides I’ve got to drive home later.”

“No worry James. I’ve ordered you a coffee. The barman will bring it over when it’s done.”

James breathed a sigh of relief. He looked across at Emily.

“Okay, let’s get on.  Emily, Tony tells me that you are researching some train crashes and for some reason the Seal of Solomon has come up and you’d like to know as much as possible about it?

“I do. But now I’m worried. Tony only knows half the story. He didn’t want to know everything so I kept him in the dark. But after what happened in the pub at Hungerford yesterday, I think it’s best if I tell you both everything I know so far.”

James was confused.

“Why, what happened in the pub?”

Tony interrupted.

“Let Emily do her bit first James then we’ll get to what happened in the pub a bit later.”

Emily began by telling them both about the men in black jackets that appeared at all the train crashes. She went on to tell them about her two predecessors and how they’d died in mysterious circumstances. Then about the letters SOS appearing in her kitchen and on the wall of Stephen Palmers hospital room and finally about the file she’d found in his archives marked Seal Of Solomon.

After twenty minutes she stopped talking and waited for a reaction. There was none. Both Fat Tony and James were deep in thought. James spoke first.

“What about the pub? What happened in the pub?”

Tony picked up his phone from the table and pressed some buttons.

“Yesterday in The Bear at Hungerford, I noticed that there was a guy staring at us. I managed to take his picture.”

 He showed the picture to James.

Before he could comment. Emma spoke.

“It’s the same man James. The same man that’s in all the train crash photos.”

Tony quickly added.

“But that’s impossible right James? It can’t be. “

James took a deep breath and without thinking poured himself a glass of red.

“Over the past few years I’ve come to accept things that previously I would have thought impossible. The Ray Samuels case being just one of them. Let me tell you everything I know about the Seal and then you can make up your own minds.”

Emily interrupted.

“I’ve read everything I can about it on the internet. I was surprised just how much information there was on there. Especially as I’d never heard of it before.”

“The Seal is well known in most religions. It is said to be a magical signet ring worn by King Solomon with a six point star engraved on it, commonly known as The Star of David. Christian, Jewish, Islamic faiths all mention it in their Holy Scriptures. So the mere fact that so it is highlighted in most religions around the world gives its authenticity some credence. It is said to be a ring of great power and, as I was telling Tony yesterday, some say that Tolkien was inspired to write Lord of the Rings based on his fascination with the legend of the Seal Of Solomon. “

Emily butted in.

“So are you saying that Tolkien was convinced that the seal exists?”

“Not at all Emily. All I’m saying is that there are a lot of similarities between the legend of the Seal and the story of Lord of the rings. Solomon is pronounced Saruman in some countries. Saruman is a main character in Lord of the Rings. He is a powerful wizard who becomes corrupted by the powers of darkness and his obsession with a magical ring of power. Sound familiar? Even the image of him is similar. Every painting of Solomon shows him as having long hair and a long flowing beard, exactly as Tolkien describes Saruman in his book. Not much is known or written about the Seal after Solomon’s death, it had become “lost”. Just as the ring in Tolkien’s story had.”

There was a pause as everyone took a few moments to think. James continued.

“I only mentioned about Tolkien to emphasise that we ALL know the story of a magical ring that corrupts people and gets lost for centuries yet not many people realise that the same story has been around for thousands of years and started with Solomon.”

Emily finished her glass of wine and went to pour herself another. There was none left. She looked over at Fat Tony and shook her head in disgust.

“Sorry love, got a bit of a thirst going on today. Let me get some more.”

Tony scampered away to the bar and returned with another bottle. He re- filled Emily and James glass. Emily took a sip and continued.

“This is all well and good James and a big thank you for coming all this way and giving me the facts about the seal. But it doesn’t help me figure out what’s going on. I’ve got at least three train crashes where there appears to be the same man rescuing people each time. He doesn’t age. He looks exactly the same, yet there are fifty odd years between the crashes. I’ve got two people dead possibly because they were looking into these crashes, one of them becomes obsessed with something called the Seal of Solomon before he dies. Now it looks like I’m being warned off because I’m getting close. And suddenly the guy from the train crashes turns up in a pub staring at you and Fat Tony over there. I just don’t get it!”

James couldn’t wait to talk. His eyes lit up like a little kid who wanted to put his hand up in class because he knew the answer to a question.

“Look, look, this is just a theory. I could be completely wrong. But it’s a theory so bear with me, okay?”

Emily and Fat Tony nodded.

“I didn’t fully understand either until you told me the whole story today Emily. King Solomon dies at the good old age of around eighty and the ring or seal is lost. There’s a very strange thing about Solomon that not many people have picked up on. He is said to have had 700 wives and 300 lovers and yet only one son. Strange isn’t it how he could have so many partners and yet only one son, Rehoboam, is mentioned in the Bible.”

Emily looked confused.

“Still don’t get it.”

“Stay with me. The Bible is made up of many stories and manuscripts. Originally there was just too much information to be included, so the ancient elders had to choose what went in and what was discarded. One book that made it but was severely shortened, was the last book of the Old Testament. The Book of Malachi. Some of the left out pages mention The Sons of Solomon. They say that he had many sons, all bore his likeness and because of his Seal would become immortal.”

Fat Tony was getting confused.

“For fucks sake James, please tell me what this means in plain English!”

“It means my fat friend that Solomon’s sons would reach maturity and then never age. They would all look the same and they may well have the Seal.”

Emily became excited.

“Yes, yes, they could be the strangers on the trains, all looking identical because they are all brothers and never aging because they’re immortal. It could also account for the crashes. Someone thinks they have the ring and is trying to get it.”

James Conroy sat back in his chair looking smug. But quickly added.

“But, remember, it’s just a theory.”

Fat Tony finished his sixth glass of wine.

“And what a crazy fucked up one it is as well. Emily, it’s your round!”