"About Noses and Castles" by Vladimir Torin, summary Automatic translate

This fantastic detective story is set in 2025. The gloomy city of Gaben is governed by harsh laws. Steam-powered mechanisms coexist with mystical secrets. Eccentric characters engage in complex criminal games. The author skillfully blends detective fiction with elements of dark fairy tales.

The book is part of the popular "Mysterious Stories from Gaben" series. This text is the third work in the series.

The Mysterious Patient and the Crime of the Century

Madame Leroux works as a patch-maker in the Tremple Tall district. She brings a strange discovery to the local doctor. Nathaniel Francis Doe has a severe misanthropic nature. The doctor examines a tiny dead creature with his nephew, Jasper. The doctor determines the creature’s origin. Before them lies a genuine Tremple Tall gremlin. The rodent was poisoned. Porcelain shards in its stomach indicate the pest’s route. The creature entered town inside a new children’s doll. A junk dealer, Mr. Beau, sold several of these dolls to residents of the district. The doctor autopsies the corpse and records the cause of death.

The city’s newspapers are full of headlines. Seasoned reporter Benny Trilby is whetting the public’s appetite for the incident. Unknown assailants have robbed the Rigsberg family’s impenetrable bank. The criminals stole one million and carried off the vault’s giant steel door. Police are baffled. The bankers are searching for the culprits.

Dr. Doe begins his investigation. Gear dealer Arthur Clockwork gives crucial testimony. He saw a talking gremlin and a long-nosed stranger in a striped coat. The suspect identified himself as Frederick Fish. The stranger was actively buying mercury from Mr. Ferro and rare Llothman parts from Cogwill’s shop. The shopkeeper is behaving rudely. Dr. Doe subdues the dealer with blackmail.

Police intrigue and the mystery of the dolls

Two train station constables are also trying to solve a high-profile case. Banks and Hopper want new steam scooters. The police are investigating the theft of a porcelain doll from an old cat lady. Their trail leads them to a local private investigator, Griml. The police resort to threats. Griml reveals his employer. The bank’s hired guns take over. Chief Agent Ratz captures the detective. Ratz tortures Griml and forces him to reveal the thief’s whereabouts.

The investigators’ paths cross. Mrs. Frunkel, the owner of the toy store, confesses to Dr. Doe about smuggling. Fish smuggled gremlins across the border inside porcelain Mirandas. The police, Dr. Doe, and the bank’s hired guns lead Fish into a trap. The robber stands on the roof of the Dobble Apartments. The adventurer recites a series of numbers. He mentions Raymond Reed and the mysterious Happiness Machine. Fish dons mechanical wings. The criminal disappears into the storm clouds. The doctor realizes the cunning plan. The robber deliberately left clues.

The Pastry Chef’s Legacy

Jasper breaks into the office of bank manager Cornelius Porter. The boy uses Fish’s numerical code to unlock the secret compartment. Inside lies Raymond Reed’s death certificate. Jasper narrowly escapes Ms. Carridy and is forced to flee up a sheer wall. He struggles to crawl over the abyss. He clings to a drainpipe. A powerful gust of wind nearly blows the teenager away from the enormous airship. The boy reaches the roof and escapes in an aircab.

Dr. Doe and Jasper examine the documents. Reed was Fish’s grandfather’s partner, Howard. The brilliant Llotomnian confectioner invented an unprecedented device. The machine produced absolute happiness. Reed stole the plans and the Machine. The fugitive founded his own confectionery shop in Gaben. Later, the powerful banker Cecil Rigsberg bought the establishment, along with the machine. Frederick Fish arrived to reclaim the family property. Out of revenge, he planned the theft. The adventurer hid gremlins in dolls. The little pests broke into the Rigsbergs’ safe room and ate the steel door.

Cornelius Porter also dreams of possessing the miraculous device. He plans to overthrow the bank’s insane owner, Vivienne Rigsberg. The manager actively uses the bank’s "misery powder." The chemical causes aggression and melancholy among the townspeople. Porter poisons hopeless debtors. The manager is ready to make any sacrifice for complete power. Jasper tells Dr. Doe the truth about the misery powder. The doctor understands the reasons for his excessive anger. The relationship between the characters warms. The doctor acknowledges his nephew’s correctness.

Clash of ambitions

Polly Trick comes to visit her Aunt Euphalia. Dr. Dawe’s housekeeper puts her niece up in the outbuilding. The young girl wears light-colored clothes and rides steam roller skates. Polly has a flighty personality and follows Dr. Dawe. Bank agents kidnap Polly. The mercenary Fearnell tortures the girl in a damp basement. Jasper rescues Polly. Banks and Hopper accidentally break into the premises. The police are searching for the stolen million. Jasper and Polly take advantage of the confusion and escape.

Fish appears on the doorstep of Dr. Doe’s house. He is seriously wounded. The doctor removes the bullets. The thief, Bickney, reports the situation. Reporter Trilby is playing a double game. The journalist sells secrets to both sides. Fish explains his motives for the robbery and asks to stop Porter. The doctor agrees. Ratz’s mercenaries burst into the doctor’s house to search. Fish hides in an underground passage. Clara the Bee drives the agents away from the hiding place. The doctor escorts the intruders out.

Porter attempts to buy back a stolen machine from the mysterious Mr. Ripley. The transaction takes place in an abandoned attic. The manager hands over valuable secrets. Ripley demands information about the mysterious Mr. Tick-Tock. Porter provides the address for the money transfer. Ripley takes the necessary documents. Porter’s mercenaries open fire. Ripley easily kills several armed men. The stranger literally vanishes into thin air. Porter brings his purchase home.

A clever move and a fake car

Rat-catchers infiltrate a banker’s mansion under the guise of pest control. Butler Busters tries to command. The rat-catchers intimidate a servant. They release a swarm of aggressive rodents. Panic ensues. Bank guards battle the mercenaries. Ratz battles Senior Rat-catcher Small. Small uses his protective coat. The coat is made of rat skin. Bullets cannot penetrate the material. Fish and the gremlins steal the Happiness Machine right from Porter’s safe. The gremlins maul the metal servant. They fly away in a compact hot air balloon. Porter enters the office. The manager realizes his mistake. The machine left to him turns out to be a chocolate fake. The mechanism breaks right in the banker’s hands.

Dr. Doe uncovers Fish’s plan. He rushes to Mr. Lemony’s pharmacy. Fish has bribed the pharmacist. The robber scores a concentrated hit. The adventurer flies out of Gaben on an aircraft.

True puppeteers

Porter’s assistant, Miss Carridy, betrays her boss. She frames the manager in front of Vivienne Rigsberg. The manager is fired in disgrace. Miss Carridy takes over. Constables Banks and Hopper descend into the sewers. They find a secret passage and burst into a meeting of elderly women. The officers go uncompensated.

Returning home, Carridy removes her mask. Hidden within the woman was the puppeteer Goodwin. The criminal is also known as the crime boss Bloch. Goodwin orchestrated the entire chain of events, manipulating Fish, Porter, and Doe. Ripley’s appearance came as an unpleasant surprise to Bloch. Ripley outdid even the genius puppeteer.

Fish leaves a mocking message. The stolen million had been in ballast boxes above Nemi-Dreux’s central square the entire time. The money hung right under the police’s noses.

Inkwell arrives to Goodwin. A vile creature composed of slimy tentacles, the creature dons empty human skin. The alien takes the form of a Gaben gentleman. Inkwell announces the imminent arrival of the forces of the enigmatic Vorburg. A terrifying city is invading Gaben. The inhabitants face an unknown and terrible danger.