Harte and Merlini are soon swept up into a complex and bizarre plot involving the death of Linda Skelton, an agoraphobic heiress, at her home on Skelton Island, a tiny island in the East River of New York City.
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The plot soon expands to involve a psychic researcher and his favourite medium, a group of treasure hunters seeking a sunken treasure, counterfeit golden guinea coins, a man with blue skin (argyria), a gangster named Charles Lamb, a second murder by "the bends", and a murder scene with a set of neat footprints marching across the ceiling.
ceiling fan | United States debt ceiling | Rama and Lakshmana seated on Kabandha's arms, about to sever them. Kabandha is depicted with a big mouth on his stomach and no head or neck; though depicted with two eyes, the ''Ramayana'' describes him as one-eyed. (Painting on ceiling of temple in Ayodhyapattinam near Salem, Tamil Nadu | Fowl roasting on a spit. Smoke from the fire rises to the smoke canopy, and is vented through the wall or ceiling; ''Decameron | Footprints Recruiting | Footprints on the Moon (1975 film) | dinosaur footprints |