The Continuation of The Adventures of Sigegard Ainsworth, a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.
Chapter Four: In which the thief is revealed as a friend of Tsar Ivan, and the ruby reveals its power to heal.
An Excerpt
“With my eyes, I swear it,” said Fyodor. “Andrey Shemyaka appeared in the marketplace, and after making himself known, he made his way to the entrance to the convent, where sat an elderly widow with a hunched back. He produced a leather pouch. Before he unrolled its cover, he made the sign of the cross and kissed it three times, genuflecting before the image of the Blessed Virgin Mother. He began to weep. Indeed, Great Tsar, I saw him weep, as a man might who is grieving the loss of a son.”
“This I have seen,” Ivan said.
“He unrolled the leather pouch and pulled forth from it the ruby pendant. It was unmistakable. Its silver did shine. When he snapped it open, a flash of light burst forth. ‘Make haste!’ he cried. ‘Make haste to touch the pendant of Sofia!’ He held it out to the old widow, whose face did take an aura of wondrous light, and she did reach out, and she no longer stooped, but she stood, upright, her youth returning to her. A great shout went up from those who saw—including from my own mouth, O Tsar—and they hastened to bring their lame and their sick.
“Indeed, the widow uttered forth a prophecy. She said, ‘She is like our Blessed Virgin Mother! Saint Sofia, pray for us!’
“Before the light from the pendant faded—”
“It faded?” Simon the Metropolitan asked. He was out of breath, having been hurried by Ivan’s attendant.
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John David Duke Jr 