by Alex Lukeman
"Ugh."
"The Pope was weak and Philip threatened him. He convinced him the Templars were heretics. It was an excuse to grab the Templar lands and money. If this document is real, it means they knew they'd been betrayed and moved the gold before it was confiscated."
"Elizabeth, what do you think?" Steph said.
"If it's true, this document could set off one of the greatest treasure hunts in history."
My analysis of the language structure and code indicates that the document is authentic.
"This is exciting," Selena said. "We should look for it."
Elizabeth shook her head. "No thank you. I have a book to finish. Looking for a long lost treasure isn't my cup of tea."
"I'm only half serious. But you have to admit, it would be quite an adventure."
"I've had enough adventure for one life. A legendary treasure like this will bring out the worst in people. Once word gets out, everyone will want a piece of it. Some won't care how they get it."
"Where's Tomar?" Stephanie asked.
"In Portugal. What are you going to do, Selena?"
"I was given the document by an academic acquaintance. I'll tell him what it says. After that, it's out of my hands."
"You're right, when you say it would be an adventure to look for a treasure like that," Stephanie said.
"Yes. But I'm like Elizabeth. I've had enough adventure for one lifetime."
Even as she said it, Selena knew it wasn't true.
CHAPTER 6
It was a rare winter morning on the east coast of Ireland. The sky was a cloud-free dome of robin's egg blue. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows of Geoffrey Payne's private chapel, casting a rainbow of color over the stone floor, where he'd been kneeling for the past half hour.
His knees ached. As he rose painfully to his feet, his phone buzzed a call.
Payne suppressed his annoyance. Usually he turned the phone off when he went into the chapel, but this morning he'd forgotten. He took it out and looked at the display.
Dubois.
"Yes, Alan?"
Dubois's voice betrayed his excitement. "We have a translation."
"Go on."
Payne listened and felt his heart begin thumping in his chest.
At last.
"Tomar? That was the only location given?"
"Yes."
"At least we have confirmation the treasure was prevented from falling into the hands of Philip. I need to think of the best way to follow up."
"May I make a suggestion?"
"Of course, Alan. I welcome your ideas."
"The person I took the translation to is a woman named Selena Connor. I knew her from the academic world as an accomplished linguist. I've learned there's much more to her than that. She could be useful."
"Yes?"
"Until recently, Connor was a member of an elite anti-terrorism unit. Her husband led the team. The unit has been disbanded, but it was used by the White House for covert direct action response. In other words, they went after terrorists on the ground with permission to eliminate them."
"What's your point, Alan?"
"My point is that Connor and her husband might be a good choice to track down the treasure. The document only takes us as far as Portugal and states that Bouchard would receive further instructions when he got there. The Templar outposts were scattered all over the Mediterranean. Most of them were in the Middle East. What if it was taken somewhere that is currently unsafe? It's easy enough to hire mercenaries, but we need someone with intelligence and experience. Someone trustworthy."
"Go on."
"Connor is one of those people. Any clues that still exist are probably written in the same kind of code as the document, or at least in a medieval dialect. Connor can read the old languages. Why not use her expertise and the experience of her husband, if we can convince them to do it?"
"I thought you said their unit was disbanded."
"It was, but that works to our advantage. They're no longer affiliated with the government. They have no protection."
"On the surface, your idea has possible merit."
"We could offer generous compensation. If she doesn't want money, perhaps a large donation to her favorite charitable cause would persuade her. She's proven she has the resources we need. How else could she translate something that's baffled everyone for seven hundred years?"
"How will we know if they find it? They could choose not to tell us. We must be sure the gold is returned to the Order."
And the relic.
"That's another reason she'd be a good choice. The treasure won't tempt her. Connor inherited a lot of money a few years ago. She's quite wealthy and doesn't need more. It's easy enough to monitor their activity. We'll know if the treasure is found."
"All right, you've convinced me," Payne said. "Go ahead and talk with them. Tell them I will fund the expenses of the expedition, plus compensation of one million dollars. Make sure you know what they're doing at all times. Keep me informed."
"Of course. I'll call you after I've talked to them."
After he'd hung up, Dubois considered what to do next.
Payne made him nervous, but the man had opened the door to pleasures Dubois had only imagined in his darkest fantasies.
Dubois had a taste for bizarre sexual experiences. One day he was invited to a private gathering by an acquaintance with similar tastes, enticed by the promise of a night of perversion he'd long remember. That was the night he'd met Payne.
Other nights, other events followed. Some aspects of the evenings were disturbing, but Dubois had quickly become addicted. Six months later, he'd been initiated into the order.
Dubois sensed that Payne wasn't telling him something about this quest for the treasure. Whatever it was, there was time enough to deal with it if the treasure was found.
He picked up his phone and began making preparations for Portugal.
CHAPTER 7
Selena wasn't surprised when Dubois called. It was the day after she'd passed on the translation of the document.
"Good morning, Doctor Connor."
"Good morning, Alan."
"I'm calling to thank you for the work you did. The owner of the document is thrilled. I'm sure the university will be pleased when they receive his gift."
"He must be a generous man," Selena said.
"Oh, yes, he is. He's quite wealthy and gives freely to charity. Which brings me to another reason I called. My employer wondered if you and your husband would be interested in going to Tomar."
"To Portugal? Why?"
"Quite frankly, we feel you are the perfect choice for pursuing further research into the ultimate fate of the Templar expedition. Any possible clue that may exist in Tomar would likely be written in the same code as the document, or at the very least in one of the medieval dialects popular at the time."
"I'm flattered, Alan, but I have obligations here."
"My employer will pay for all expenses incurred. First-class, of course. In addition he's prepared to offer additional compensation of one million dollars if you find any further information about the final destination of the treasure."
Nick came into the room, holding a twin in each arm.
"That's rather generous, professor. There might not be anything there to find."
Nick raised his eyebrows.
Dubois continued. "My employer is aware that nothing further may be discovered. In confidence, I can tell you he's a bit eccentric. He has no family to leave his money to, and he's in the latter stage of his life. He sees this as an opportunity to leave his mark upon the world."
"I'd have to talk this over with Nick."
"Of course, I would expect nothing less. Please think about it, won't you?"
"All right."
"Wonderful, that's all I ask. You have my number. Call if you have any questions or concerns. I'll do my best to answer them."
After she'd hung up, Nick said, "What was that all about?"
He
jiggled the twins and was rewarded with broad smiles.
"That was Dubois. He just offered us a million dollars to go to Portugal and look for clues to the location of the treasure."
"It's a joke, right? A million dollars?"
"No, I'm serious."
She gave him the details of the conversation. Nick set Jason and Katrina down in their stroller. Katrina smiled at him and waved her arms. Jason looked confused.
"It's okay big fella," Nick said. "We'll get you bundled up and go for a walk in a few minutes. Just as soon as I talk with mommy."
"Mommy? I don't think I've heard you say that before."
"Would you prefer that I call you Selena when I talk with them?"
"Don't be silly."
"Well, mommy, what do you think about going to Portugal?"
"God, is this what happens when you have children?"
"Think of it as an adjustment to a new reality. What about Portugal?"
"It would be nice to get a break."
"Not to mention a million bucks. That would take care of their college fund."
Selena brushed a hand across her forehead. "It would take care of it now. I don't know about when they're old enough. By then it will probably cost three times that. More."
"What do you think the chances are of finding anything?"
"I think if there's anything to be found, someone would have done it a long time ago. It's probably a wild goose chase."
"But a first class goose chase. I wonder what it's like to go somewhere where nobody's shooting at us?"
"It could be fun," Selena said. "I'll bet Stephanie would be happy to look after the twins. Elizabeth too, for that matter."
"They still have their pistols," Nick said. "I don't think it could get much safer than that. The two of them would make perfect babysitters."
"Then you think I should call Dubois back and tell him we'll go?"
"Just make sure there aren't any hidden conditions."
CHAPTER 8
Travel agencies spoke of sunny Portugal, but someone had forgotten to tell them about the weather in January. The temperature was in the fifties, but it felt colder. The sky was dark with menacing clouds that dropped sudden showers of rain and promised more. Nick wore a brown leather jacket and a wool cap. A brisk wind ruffled Selena's hair under the hood of her parka.
They stood in the wide forecourt of the Convent of Christ in Tomar, looking up at the imposing fortress the Templars had erected in the twelfth century. The keep was round and high, made of fitted blocks of stone, buttressed and formidable.
"That's really something," Nick said. "I wouldn't want to attack that with the weapons they had back then."
Selena looked at her guidebook.
"According to this, Grand Master Gualdim Pais successfully held off a siege here by the Moorish Caliph in 1190. The fortress was the seat of the Templars until they were disbanded in the fourteenth century. Then it was taken over by the Order of Christ."
"Mmm."
"Apparently the tower was modeled after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem."
"I don't see any Dome."
"I don't think that's the point," Selena said.
"So this place was a big deal for the Templars."
"A very big deal."
She kept reading. "Tomar was also where Henry the Navigator set out on his explorations. He was the Grand Master of the Order of Christ."
"These organizations are big on the Grand Master thing, aren't they?"
"What's the matter, jealous?"
"Grand Master Nick has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"Grand Mistress sounds better."
"I don't think the Knights would have gone for that."
"Medieval attitudes toward women don't interest me much. What's interesting is that we're in the middle of Portugal, yet this is where some of the greatest sea voyages in history got started."
Nick gestured at the massive stone structure of the keep. "It makes sense that those ships would come here from France with the treasure. Back then, you couldn't get much safer than this."
"I'm surprised they didn't just hide it here."
"Maybe they did. Just because that document said they were going to continue the journey doesn't mean they went somewhere else."
"You could be right, but I'd be surprised if they unloaded here. They knew they'd been betrayed, or they wouldn't have needed to hide it in the first place."
"So?"
"So, if you knew the fix was in with the King, would you put the treasure in one of the most obvious places in the Templar system?"
"Probably not. I'd want to stash it where no one would think to look for it."
"I rest my case."
Nick looked at the sprawling complex that was the Convent of Christ.
"This place is huge. How are we going to find what we're looking for, assuming there's anything to find in the first place?"
"We couldn't possibly search it all. Besides they wouldn't let us. Most of what's here came after the order was dissolved. If there's anything, it will be in the original Templar keep. It's no problem going inside and looking around. We just pay the fee."
Fifteen minutes later they were inside.
The interior of the keep was one of the most elaborately decorated churches Nick had ever seen. Everywhere he looked, complicated carvings in stone and colorful paintings from the life of Christ challenged the eyes. Of the simplicity of the Templars, there was no sign.
"This is amazing," Selena said. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"
"Nope."
Selena consulted the guidebook.
"Most of this decoration is late Gothic. A lot of it was added during the fifteenth century by Prince Henry and then enhanced by King Manuel I."
"I don't see anything that looks like it belongs with the Templars. If there was something here to indicate where those ships went, it's been buried under all of this."
"It would take months to look at everything that's on these walls."
"I've got an idea," Nick said.
"What's that?"
"Let's get out of here and find a café, sit down, and think about it. Besides, I could use a cup of coffee."
Outside, the rain had stopped. A sudden break in the clouds lit everything with golden light. They left the church and walked down into town. It was a beautiful place, with whitewashed buildings and red tiled roofs that made you think things were still all right on the European continent. There wasn't a modern building in sight. It was like walking in a postcard. After the rain, everything was clean and fresh.
The Nabão River flowed thought the center of town. They walked along the river until they found a café. Selena ordered in Portuguese.
"I didn't know you spoke Portuguese."
"I don't, at least not well. It's not an easy language to speak fluently. I just never had the desire."
"The waiter understood you well enough."
"You don't need a big vocabulary to order coffee."
The coffee came, thick and black. Nick sipped.
"Good. Lots of caffeine."
A large man wearing a black watch cap and a pea coat came in and sat down on the other side of the room. His face was scarred by acne. He ordered coffee.
Nick watched him for a moment, then turned back to Selena.
"I thought we'd find something in the keep," Selena said. "A clue. Something."
"If there was anything there, it's been hidden under all that decoration."
"Why would there be a clue in the first place? We haven't asked ourselves that."
"I thought of that," Nick said. "The only reason would be to give future Templars a way of finding where the treasure was hidden. When they fled France with the gold they probably planned to come back when Philip was dead and the dust had settled."
"Why do you say that?"
"They thought the Pope was on their side. Of course it didn't turn out that way."
"He was part of the plot," Selena said.
"I see where you're going with this," Selena said. "You'd leave a secret trail another Templar would understand, in case it took longer than you thought."
"Right. You said something earlier, about putting the treasure in the most obvious place. Wouldn't the same thing apply to any sign you left for those who came after you?"
Selena nodded. "That makes sense."
"This whole town began with the Templars, didn't it?"
"That's right."
"Are there any other Templar structures here?"
Selena pulled out the guidebook.
"I'm sure there are. Let me look."
She scanned several pages and stopped.
"There's a church called Santa Maria do Olival that was built by the Templars. Some of the Grand Masters are buried there, including the one who built the fortress and founded the town."
Nick finished his coffee and tossed some bills on the table.
"Let's go visit it."
They got up and left the café.
The dark-haired man with the pocked face watched them go.
CHAPTER 9
Compared to the massive fortress where the Templars turned back the Moors in Portugal, the church of Santa Maria do Olival was a simple structure, the kind of church one might find almost anywhere in Europe. A large, rose-shaped window dominated the façade of the entrance. Across from the church entrance stood a high, rectangular bell tower.
Selena had her guide book out.
"It says there were twenty-two Templar masters originally buried in the church, but most of them have been moved. It was built in the twelfth century by Gualdim Pais. He was the fourth Grand Master of the order, the one who built the fortress and founded the town."
"Let's check it out."
To enter the church, they had to descend eight steps. A small table near the entrance had a donation box and tourist brochures about the building. Nick put some money in the box.