There was no merchandise in the plate glass window. There was no sign over the door. The place looked dark and empty. He took off his hat and scratched his head then decided to cross the street for a closer look. He peered through the display windows like a kid in front of a candy store. There was nothing. Nothing at all inside. The place had been completely cleaned out.
Hunt shook his head, trying to clear both his vision and his thinking. What in the Sam Hill was going on here? He looked both ways down the sidewalk to see if any pedestrians were watching him. The street was empty. He walked around the building and cut down the alley until he came to the store’s loading dock. Nobody was around so he jimmied the lock and let himself in. The back storeroom was picked as clean as the front of the shop. Not a stick of furniture, not a scrap of paper, not so much as a rogue dust bunny in any of the corners. Somebody had done a proper job of vanishing Miz Rhonda and her establishment off the face of the earth. Hunt glanced up at the ceiling. His fake smoke alarm was still in place. No doubt if he looked close enough, he could see his own baffled face reflected in the camera lens.
He parted the storeroom curtains and moved into the front of the shop. Silent as the grave. He slid his hand under the display case and found his bug right where he’d left it. The other smoke detector over the front door was still in place too.
He leaned an elbow against the counter and pondered the situation. How in blazes had they managed it? Somebody who was a whiz with computers had substituted the live surveillance feed for fake activity. He didn’t know how and he didn’t know who but it was an elegant job. He’d give them that much.
He searched every corner of the shop, high and low, for any clue as to who might have arranged this little show for his benefit. Nothing to be found anywhere. There wasn’t even a For Sale or For Rent sign in the window. They’d slipped away without a trace.
Hunt felt as if he’d charged straight at a brick wall and been knocked silly. A wave of frustration surged through his system. He’d been all ready to pummel Miz Rhonda to get some info and now there was nobody to pummel. There wasn’t even any furniture to break. On impulse, he rammed his fist against the wall, denting it slightly. Then he did it again. And again. The only result was a bloody knuckle. He felt deeply cheated. Somebody was going to pay for this. In one final gesture of annoyance, he threw his hat on the floor. He raised his leg, preparing to stomp on the Stetson. That hat was his prized possession. It cost him five hundred bucks. He relented.
Retrieving the hat, he penitently brushed the dust off the brim. He wasn’t thinking straight. That was his problem. That had been his problem during this whole trip. Letting a little girl get the drop on him—twice. Letting his only lead slip through his fingers. Neither of those things would have happened if he’d been thinking straight. But his brain was addled and he knew the reason why. He hadn’t been drinking! The whole time he was gone, he couldn’t get properly drunk because there wasn’t a decent bottle of hooch to be had in all of North Africa.
He’d hardly touched a drop since he got back either given the way the old man had been breathing down his neck. He’d needed to stay sober so long as he was on Abe’s radar but all that was about to change. He remembered an old saying the Romans had—“in vino veritas.” In wine there is truth. That proverb was dead on the money. Leroy stuffed his hat back on his head and sauntered toward the rear exit. There was nothing to be gained from hanging around here. His next destination was the neighborhood bar right around the corner from his flat. He intended to go on a three-day bender to set his wits back in order. He knew that the best way to get Miss Hannah in his crosshairs again was by squinting through the bottom of an empty whiskey bottle. If he was still fuddled by the time his hangover wore off, he wouldn’t just stomp on his hat. He’d eat it too and swallow the hatband whole.
Chapter 54—Connecting Flights
Erik rooted through Maddie’s pantry and found enough canned chili to cobble together a meal. The sun had set by the time the Arkana team finished ladling out bowls and passing around boxes of crackers. Faye had already brewed another pot of coffee. They took a brief break to eat after which Faye placed a call to Hannah. She advised the girl that she would be returning very late. She made Hannah promise to eat a healthy dinner and lock all the doors before retiring. After those mundane issues were dealt with, the group turned its collective attention once more to the subject of the relic hunt.
Clearing a space on the coffee table, Cassie presented the alabaster box and its contents. “I give you artifact number three,” she said with a flourish. Removing the lid, she reached in to grasp a shiny object that stood several inches high and slid it toward the middle of the table so Faye and Maddie could get a closer look.
The two women sat transfixed.
“Gracious me,” Faye finally said.
“I saw the pictures you sent but looking at it up close. Well, it’s...” Maddie trailed off.
“Really something,” Erik filled in helpfully.
The object in question was a statue of a cow or bull. The gender would have been impossible to tell since the statue only depicted the animal’s head and neck. It stood half a foot high and appeared to be cast out of solid gold. The horns were encased in row upon row of diamonds. A spangle of blue stones covered the neck.
“Do you think those are sapphires?” Cassie asked, referring to the blue stones.
“That’s what I commissioned for the replica,” Maddie replied.
“Is it my imagination or is each succeeding relic more costly than its predecessor?” Griffin turned the statue to study its profile.
“It sure seems that way,” Erik agreed.
“I haven’t seen the bill yet for the duplicate,” the Chatelaine said. “Considering my recent meltdown, maybe that’s a good thing.”
“Just to be safe, you might not want to open your mail for a couple more days,” Erik advised.
Faye turned the statue so that she could view the back of the animal’s head and neck. The space was filled with coded glyphs. “Have you deciphered these yet, dear?’ She glanced up at Griffin.
He reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew a small notebook. “As usual, I’ve deciphered the words but not the meaning.”
“Well, let’s have it,” Maddie prompted.
The Scrivener nodded. “Right then. It reads: ‘The sands behind, on an island tower she alights to drink, biding til her kindred fill the jaws of the lion’.”
They all stared at one another in perplexity.
“And I thought the last clue was cryptic.” Cassie sighed.
“And short,” Erik added. “Don’t forget short. The shorter the riddle, the more twisted it gets.”
“Can you make anything out of it at all?” Faye asked.
Griffin sighed. “Little enough at this stage. It will require further study. I’m only sure of one thing. I know where we’re to search next.”
“Why, that’s good news,” Faye said encouragingly.
“Way to go, Griff!” Erik patted him on the back.
The Scrivener shrugged off the compliment. “It wasn’t difficult now that we understand a bit about the way the Minoans think.”
The others waited expectantly for him to continue.
“Yes, well, the ‘she’ in the first line obviously refers to the dove.”
“You mean our little blue dove from Africa?” Cassie registered surprise.
“The very same,” Griffin concurred. “And using her in this context is really quite clever.”
“Yes, I see,” Faye agreed. “If by some miracle thieves were to stumble on this artifact and decipher its text without any reference to what came before, they wouldn’t know what to make of the riddle.”
“I’m not sure I know what to make of the riddle and I was there from the start,” Cassie demurred.
“It’s very simple,” Griffin continued. “The Minoans used our lapis dove as a navigational device to steer us to Napata. Now they’re doing the same to stee
r us to our next destination.”
“Which is where?” Erik urged, sounding slightly impatient.
Griffin wasn’t about to be rushed. He smiled serenely. “We have been given no course correction, have we?”
Erik paused to consider. “You mean like four bees, one dove, yaddy, yaddy to figure out latitude?”
“Precisely. There is no indicator in this riddle of a change in latitude.”
Cassie sat forward, studying the glyphs as if she could read the text. “So that means the Minoans want us to follow the same latitude as our last destination.” She reached out and picked up the artifact. She shook it and then set it down on the table. “This little bull isn’t very talkative. Even when I touched it the first time, I didn’t get any hits off of it about what to do next. And I’m not getting anything now either.”
“No matter,” Griffin said. “I think we can muddle along for the time being without any supernatural help. As I was saying, the first line of the riddle tells us to continue on the course last set. I take that to mean we continue to travel eastward at a latitude of approximately nineteen degrees north.”
“Excellent!” Faye exclaimed. “How clever of you, my dear.”
The Scrivener ducked his head, embarrassed by her praise. “The first land mass east of Africa would be the Arabian Peninsula but, of course, that isn’t our destination.”
Erik and Cassie exchanged suspicious glances. “It’s not?” they both asked in unison.
“No,” Griffin replied. “The riddle clearly states, ‘the sands behind’.”
“And?” Cassie nudged, waiting for more information.
“The riddle is implying we are to leave the desert behind us. The Arabian Peninsula is nothing but desert.”
“Even back in the day when the Minoans were traveling through there?” the Pythia challenged.
“Even then,” Griffin answered. “Desiccation was already firmly in place by 1000 BCE.”
“OK, so where does that leave us?” Erik asked.
“In India, I should think. A latitude of nineteen degrees north would place us somewhere in the vicinity of Mumbai.”
“Wow, India!” Cassie exclaimed. “That’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit.”
“And soon you shall.” Griffin frowned in concentration as he regarded the gem-studded bull.
Apparently sensing his concern, Faye turned toward him and asked, “What is it, dear?”
“What?” he peered up at her distractedly still lost in thought. “Oh, very sorry. I just had a thought.”
“Yes?”
“There’s one other fact which I can glean from this riddle. Some sort of time delay will be related to the retrieval of the next artifact.”
“How do you figure that?” the Paladin asked.
“It’s in the second line. The words ‘biding til’ concern me. Our dove, apparently thirsty from her long sojourn in the desert, has landed at a mysterious tower seeking water. However, it appears she must wait there until some other condition is met. Her kindred must fill the jaws of the lion. Let me just say I haven’t the foggiest idea what those words mean but our dove can fly no further until that event happens.”
“That’s a pretty gruesome condition,’ Cassie observed. “I mean, think about a flock of doves flying into the jaws of a lion to get chomped on. Yuck!”
“One can only hope they’re metaphorical doves,” Griffin retorted. “I don’t savor the idea of sacrificing a flock of innocent birds.”
“Metaphor or not, we’ve gotten around tricky clues before,” Cassie objected. “If there’s some astronomical thing going on, you can just calculate around it, right?”
Griffin shook his head. “We’ve never seen explicit instructions to wait before. It may not be an astronomical event that drives this next leg of the artifact quest.”
“So you’re saying this is going to take some time to figure out?”
“Quite,” was the Scrivener’s succinct reply.
“Are we talking days or weeks?”
“In all probability, we’re talking months.”
“If that’s the case, might I offer a proposal?” Faye’s quiet interjection startled them all.
Everyone’s focus shifted from the bull to the Memory Guardian.
“I believe you three will stand the best chance of solving the clue if you can distance yourselves from the problem for a while.”
“How do we do that?” Cassie asked doubtfully.
The old woman smiled. “By taking some time off. Spend the next few weeks engaging in whatever activity you enjoy most.”
“But we’re operating under a serious deadline here,” Erik objected. “The sooner we solve the riddle, the better our chances of getting miles ahead of the Nephilim.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Faye replied.
Erik registered puzzlement.
She continued. “‘Sooner’ is the operative word. I believe you’ll work far more efficiently toward a solution if you aren’t simultaneously battling exhaustion. Don’t you agree?”
“I suppose,” the Paladin relented.
“Maddie’s unfortunate incident should be a warning to you of the dangers of overextending yourselves. The fatigue I see etched on all your faces tells me you’ve already reached the point of diminishing returns.”
“Oh,” Cassie said in a small voice. She hadn’t even realized that she was wound up as tight as a coiled spring. They all were. “But what about Daniel?” she protested feebly. “He’s bound to get the jump on us.”
The Memory Guardian raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I suspect, given the stresses of his home environment, that he may be even less able to achieve clarity than the three of you currently are. I think we can afford to take that risk.” Faye turned to her second-in-command. “What do you say, Maddie? Have they earned a short leave of absence?”
Much to everyone’s surprise, the Chatelaine didn’t explode into outraged protests. She gave a bark of a laugh. “You’re asking me? I’m the new poster child for the hazards of all work and no play. Do you really think I’m gonna say no? I vote to let them each take two weeks on the Arkana’s nickel to go wherever they want.” She paused and fixed the trio with a fierce stare. “Just in case you think I’m going soft on you, be warned. I expect all of you back here in fourteen days ready to hit the ground running.”
“Aye, aye, chief.” Erik gave a mock salute.
“I’m eager to delve into the mystery of that last missing artifact transfer,” Griffin murmured half to himself. “It’s unlikely the problem resolved itself in Maddie’s absence.”
His two teammates stared at him in disbelief.
“The Powers That Be just gave you a blank check to do whatever you want and that’s how you plan to spend your downtime?” Erik asked.
The Scrivener chuckled. “Intellectual puzzles are my favorite way, as you would say, to decompress.”
“I’ve got an urge to visit some beaches in Tahiti.” Cassie darted a swift glance toward Erik. He seemed to understand and grinned back at her. Nobody else noticed.
For Griffin’s benefit, Faye and Maddie launched into a recap of the state of the Catalog since he’d been gone. In no time, the three of them immersed themselves in an animated discussion of the hapless tyro and his missing artifact transfers.
Erik leaned over and murmured to Cassie, “I thought we were supposed to be on vacation as of now. They’ll be talking shop for at least another hour and Griffin is supposed to ride home with us. Do you think I should tell him to wrap it up?”
The Pythia laughed softly. “Dude, look at his face. I haven’t seen him this happy since before we left for Africa. I think he’s already started his vacation and the last thing I want to do is rain on his parade.”
The Paladin paused to consider. “What if Faye dropped him back at the Vault to pick up his car? It’s right on her way.”
“I suppose that would be OK,” Cassie agreed.
Erik leaned in a little closer. “So you want
to go to Tahiti, huh? I know a guy who’ll show you around for dirt cheap. In fact, he’ll give you the friends with benefits discount and show you around for free. When do you want to leave?”
“How about right after I throw a bikini and a toothbrush into a duffel bag?” she whispered back.
He nodded. “I like a woman who knows what she wants.”
“Or who,” she corrected pointedly.
“Or who,” he agreed, his eyes twinkling. “C’mon. Let’s get outta here.”
THE END
NAMES YOU SHOULD KNOW
(Through The End Of Volume 3 In The Series)
Key to books in the series:
GK – The Granite Key
MM – The Mountain Mother Cipher
DW – The Dragon’s Wing Enigma
Abraham Metcalf – Prophet and autocratic leader of the Blessed Nephilim. In his seventies.
Annabeth – Third wife of Daniel. Nervous and high-strung. Wants to improve her position in the Nephilim hierarchy by birthing more children.
Archwarden – Leader of a Nephilim satellite compound.
Arkana – Secret organization whose mission is to retrieve and protect the artifacts of lost pre-patriarchal civilizations around the globe.
Blessed Nephilim – Fundamentalist religious cult which traces its lineage to the Nephilim of the Bible. They practice polygamy, live in isolated compounds, and maintain a strict separation from the rest of the world.
Bones Of The Mother – Collection of Minoan artifacts which have been hidden among the ruins of forgotten civilizations on every continent. Each artifact provides clues to the location of the next relic. Collectively, they will lead to the location of the Sage Stone.
Cassie Forsythe – Psychic with the ability to touch an artifact and relive scenes from its past. She succeeds to the title of Pythia within the Arkana after the murder of her sister. Nineteen-year-old college freshman at the beginning of the story.
Riddle Of The Diamond Dove (The Arkana Archaeology Mystery Series Book 4) Page 27