Well, I managed to get Reggie out of his lodgings and down to the pub so we could set up for the party without any real difficulty. Like all students he didn't need much of an excuse to head off for a drink. Naturally he tried to pretend he was going to the library to do some research - trying to impress his DPhil supervisor as always - but for once I didn't care as long as he made himself scarce for a few hours.
While Reggie was gone, Luke and Alfred hauled bricks up to Reggie's room. Madame Serpent gave them directions on how to pile them up, receiving inspiration from whatever fount of eccentricity that convinced her to dress like some Pharaonic gypsy. I must say that I am quite concerned about Reggie's choice of acquaintances; I am surprised he knows his fortune teller well enough that she feels she can attend his birthday party. Albert Cleveland was also present. He didn't help with the bricks, but instead watched intently and made notes in a little notepad. Apparently he is a writer of novels. I have never heard of him or of any of his books however, but I am not fan of fiction.
When Reggie returned he was most surprised to find a brick pyramid built in his living room. We had a very fine time until, in consideration of Miss Peterson's nerves, we adjourned to the Eagle and Child. Before we left however, Miss Peterson passed on a gift to Reggie from his uncle, Frederick Waters, a collegue of mine who was last believed to be in India. The gift was in a box, which another lodger of Miss Peterson's, a turbaned gentleman, took some interest in. Reggie didn't open the box until we got to the pub however, finding a diary inside. We were then surprised to see that the turbaned man had followed us and looking into the box was disappointed to see that it contained nothing else. We challanged him to explain himself, which he said he would do, but he disappeared when he went to buy us a drink.
At this point, we were interrupted by a police constable, who took Reggie aside to tell him that Freddie had turned up dead in Oxford! Reggie and I went to the hospital to identify the body, where we learnt that Freddie had died from a blow on the head, suffered while he was tied and gagged, being tortured by his murderers.
On the way back to the pub, we found Madame Serpent outside Reggie's lodgings, who claimed that a man who looked identical to Reggie was just then upstairs in Reggie's rooms. It seems that while we were absent, this doppelganger had come to the pub looking for the diary, but aroused the suspicions of the rest of our party. We tried to sneak upstairs, but finding this strategy unworkable we ran up the stairs and locked the intruder in.
The sound of breaking glass told us he had escaped through the front window. We dashed outside and gave chase, Reggie on bike and me on foot. Using my knowledge of the campus, I was able to cut him off by taking a shortcut. A tussle ensued, ending with the doppelganger with a broken nose and me with his pistol pressed against my head while Reggie, Luke and Alfred looked on helpless. Under the circumstances, I was lucky to escape with my life, while Reggie's mysterious double simply escaped.