The Prophecy paj-5

by Chris Kuzneski

  For some reason, Payne grimaced when he heard the word ‘chosen’. Somehow it made him feel like a pawn in a game he didn’t want to play. Thinking back, he realized the word had also been used in the letter to Megan. According to the translation, she had been ‘chosen for her place in time’ — whatever that meant. Now Keller was using it to describe them. If the foursome had been picked, Payne wondered why, and by

  Keller continued, ‘As soon as I returned home, I took a few minutes to examine the box. Even though it had been in my possession for years, I’d never taken the time to study it. I know that probably sounds strange, but I thought the more I knew about it, the more fixated I would become. And I didn’t want to be tempted to open it. Hell, I didn’t even want to think about it.’

  His voice faded slightly. The last few years had been difficult for Keller. In some ways he had felt like an addict, always battling a demon he couldn’t kill but could only push away. No matter where he went or what he did, temptation was always lurking.

  ‘At first I thought I would have to pry the lid open, but then I noticed the corners of the box. Three numbers had been carved into each. One on the top, and one on each side. That’s when I realized the corners were tiny pyramids that could be turned like knobs. Over the years the wood must have warped slightly, which made the knobs seem like solid corners, but once I worked out what they were, I applied enough pressure and spun them like dials on a lock.’

  ‘Somehow I knew I would be asked.’ Keller reached into his vest pocket, pulled out a list, and handed it to Ulster. It contained four sets of three numbers. Each number had been placed in a column that had been labelled by the corner’s location on the box.

  Front Left

  Front Right

  Back Left

  Back Right

  03

  01

  15

  09

  07

  02

  19

  66

  12

  25

  20

  82

  Ulster studied the chart as Megan and Jones looked on. Meanwhile, Payne remained focused on his surroundings. Although he felt safe, it didn’t mean they were safe. Every once in a while he would get up from his chair and walk over to the window where he scanned the street. Eventually, he decided to remain standing near the front door. Close enough to listen to Keller, but in a much stronger tactical position.

  ‘Did you figure out the combination?’ Megan asked.

  A smile surfaced on Keller’s face. ‘As I mentioned earlier, numbers are a passion of mine. I have always loved the power that they possess.

  ‘Which four?’

  ‘Twelve, one, twenty, and nine.’

  The foursome pondered the numbers, trying to understand their significance. Eventually it was Ulster who expressed his confusion. ‘What do they represent?’

  Keller smiled even wider, temporarily forgetting all the anguish the box had brought him over the years. After all this time, he was proud his expertise was being put to good use. ‘They represent the date that I was supposed to open the box.’

  ‘The date?’ Ulster said, glancing back at the list.

  Keller explained his discovery. ‘Each of the knobs has a meaning. One knob represents the month. One represents the day. One represents the year’s prefix. The other represents the suffix.’

  Megan was confused by the terminology. ‘What do you mean by prefix and suffix?’

  ‘Fifteen represents the fifteen hundreds. Nineteen represents the nineteen hundreds.’

  this century.’

  Keller nodded. ‘As soon as I determined their meaning, I twisted the dials until the numbers on the top of the box read twelve, one, twenty, and nine representing December the first of this year — the date I was supposed to open the box.’

  ‘What happened next?’ Jones wondered.

  ‘I immediately heard a click on the inside, and the lid popped free.’

  Ulster grinned. ‘A puzzle box! How marvellous!’

  Megan furrowed her brow. ‘What’s a puzzle box?’

  ‘They are wonderful contraptions that can only be opened through a precise series of movements and manipulations,’ Ulster explained. ‘Sometimes the codes are rather simple, and other times they are unbelievably complex. I have seen some from Japan, known as himitsu-bako, that require more than two hundred movements to unlock the interior. Occasionally, it’s not even movement that is required. Some puzzle boxes require pressure on certain parts of the wood to activate other mechanisms on the inside. Thankfully, by comparison, it seems we have gotten off rather easy. Then again, I can’t remember any

  ‘Do you think it’s my treasure?’ she asked, and then instantly regretted it. Keller had spent most of his life protecting the box, only to give it to her. She imagined it would upset him to hear it might be worth a fortune.

  Ulster shrugged. ‘That depends on the contents of the box. What did you find inside?’

  Keller answered. ‘I found a letter written by Nostradamus.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said in understanding, ‘the letter you sent to me.’

  Keller grimaced as confusion filled his face. He had no idea what she was talking about. ‘To you? I didn’t send anything to you.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ she demanded.

  ‘The letter I found was written to me.’

  62

  Surprised by the comment, Payne stared at Keller from across the room. The bewilderment in his eyes told Payne everything he needed to know. The guy was telling the truth.

  ‘What about the text message?’ Payne demanded.

  Keller’s gaze shifted to Payne, who was standing near the door. ‘What text message? What are you people talking about?’

  Payne moved closer. ‘You didn’t send her a letter or a text message?’

  ‘I didn’t send anything to anyone! How could I? I don’t even know your names!’

  Jones straightened in his seat. ‘And we’re going to keep it that way.’

  Keller stood from his chair. ‘That’s fine with me. In fact, I’d prefer it. Now that I’ve completed my task I want to wash my hands of this nonsense and get on with my life. For the first time in thirty-two years, I can finally move on.’

  ‘Wait!’ Megan blurted. ‘How can you be done?

  Noticing the emotion in her voice, Keller felt pangs of empathy. He was familiar with the confusion and the hopelessness she was displaying. He had suffered the same maladies over the years. ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to tell you. The instructions from Nostradamus were short but explicit. The letter said four strangers would show up at my door, precisely two weeks after I opened the box. It asked me to describe the events of December the first, starting with my vault at the bank, and then I should explain how the puzzle box worked. After that, I was to give you the box and bid you adieu.’

  ‘Nothing else?’ Jones asked.

  ‘Actually, there was one more thing, but it doesn’t pertain to you. I was told to sell the letter for a tidy profit. The money would be my reward for faithful service.’

  ‘Have you done that already?’ Ulster asked, hoping to see the letter.

  Keller shook his head. ‘Not yet. But I gave it to a friend of mine at the university. He is currently getting it appraised. Once we have confirmed its worth, I will hold an auction at Sotheby’s.’

  might want to rethink your plan. I heard Sotheby’s was a wreck.’

  ‘Really? I’ve heard nothing but good things.’

  ‘Trust me on this one. The hotel needs some major work.’

  ‘Anyway,’ Payne said, trying to cut things short, ‘just give us the box, and we’ll leave you alone. We’ve got a flight to London later tonight, so we need to get going.’

  ‘Just give me a moment,’ Keller said, hustling towards his steps. ‘I hid the box upstairs.’

  Megan waited until he was gone before she spoke. ‘We’re going to London?’

  Payne shook his head and whispered. ‘Nah, I
’m just throwing him off the scent in case someone comes looking for us. Better safe than sorry.’

  ‘Then what are we going to do?’

  He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. We’ll figure it out on the road.’

  Zürich, the largest city in Switzerland, was less than a three-hour drive from Lausanne and had everything that Payne and Jones were looking for: a major airport, dozens of hotels, and a diverse populace to hide among. Ulster recommended the Baur au Lac Hotel, located in its own

  Using false identification and cash, Payne booked the River Suite at the hotel. With a living room, kitchen, and multiple bathrooms, it allowed the foursome to spend the night comfortably together. While Ulster ordered room service for the group, Payne hopped in the shower, desperate to wash off the bloody water that had dried on him in Geneva. Afterwards, he felt like a new man: wide awake and ready to plot their next step.

  Wearing a plush hotel robe and shorts, he strolled into the living room where Jones, Megan, and Ulster had gathered round a mahogany coffee table. Sitting in its centre was the puzzle box. Measuring just under a foot in height, width, and depth, the exquisitely carved box had been crafted out of light-brown linden wood. Its lid, decorated with astrological patterns that helped to conceal the corner knobs, was currently locked in place.

  Megan shook her head. ‘We were just about to.’

  ‘You didn’t have to wait for me.’

  ‘Don’t worry, we didn’t,’ Jones assured him. ‘Keller stored this thing in so much bubble wrap it took us an hour to break through. In addition, a certain historian who shall remain nameless refused to use a blade of any kind for fear of damaging the box.’

  Ulster defended his caution. ‘If this artefact was actually built by Nostradamus, I can’t begin to fathom how valuable it might be. In the world of antiquities, there are very few names that create a bigger buzz than his. It seems everyone wants a glimpse of the future.’

  Payne plopped down in a nearby chair. Now that he was clean, his stomach was growling for attention. ‘Do you think the box is Megan’s fortune?’

  ‘Possibly,’ Ulster said, ‘especially when you consider how long it’s been hidden. According to Louis Keller, his family had this box in their possession for a hundred years. That leaves more than three hundred years unaccounted for. How many people guarded the box before them? And how many people were asked to contact Megan?’

  Jones counted them off. ‘The text message was sent from a French cell phone, so that’s one. The letter was mailed from Asia, so that’s two — unless the same person did both.’

  ‘Or,’ Payne suggested, ‘the letter could have bounced from country to country beforehand, offering layers of insulation along the way. If that’s the case, there’s no way of knowing who leaked word of Megan’s letter to François.’

  ‘Guys,’ she said anxiously, ‘I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but if it’s okay with you, can we play with the box now? I want to see how this thing works.’

  Payne laughed. ‘It’s your box. Play away.’

  ‘But gently!’ Ulster urged. ‘We don’t want to break it.’

  Megan smiled and slid the box towards her. As she did, her heart rate quickened. She still didn’t understand how she fitted into everything, but she realized she was part of something special. Even if their search had ended in Lausanne, she had been given a puzzle box that might be worth a small fortune, certainly more than a hostess

  Ulster patted her knee. ‘Don’t be, my dear. I’m sure the box will hold up fine. I doubt Nostradamus would have left it to you if he foresaw you breaking it.’

  ‘You know, that’s a very good point.’

  She took a deep breath and then turned the knobs to twelve, one, twenty, and nine. When the final knob clicked into place, the lid popped open as Keller had described. The sides of the box housed a complicated series of pins and latches that held the ten-inch square in place. With the latches released, the inner lid simply popped up from the centre of the box top. Pushing the lid flush against the surface and turning any of the knobs to an incorrect number would once again seal the device. Viewed from the side, the box appeared solid. Viewed from the top, the intricately carved designs concealed the seam between the lid and the outer edge.

  Megan pulled the lid off and handed it to Ulster for safekeeping.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said as he examined the underbelly of the lid. Unlike its outer surface, it had no carvings or patterns of any kind. It was unadorned linden wood with four slots for the latches.

  Much to everyone’s disappointment, the interior of the box was just as plain. It consisted of a small storage compartment that was cramped because of the locking mechanism in the box’s walls. The space was large enough to hold a few trinkets — or a folded letter — but it certainly couldn’t hold anything larger than a Rubik’s Cube.

  Jones peeked inside. He was less than impressed. ‘Wow, nice box. I hope you kept the receipt. Maybe you can return it for something useful, like, a box filled with… stuff.’

  Payne rolled his eyes. ‘On that note, I think all of us should take a break. It’s been a very long day, and we have a lot to work out — including our next move. Once we get some food and rest, I’m sure the big picture will make a lot more sense.’

  63

  A few hours later, after dining on a gourmet meal in their suite, Ulster and Jones had fallen asleep in opposite corners of the room while Payne and Megan stayed awake, talking on the couch. Their conversation had covered a wide range of topics but had slowly shifted back to the events of that day, particularly the time they had spent in Lausanne.

  Megan said, ‘The thing I don’t fully understand is Keller’s role in this.’

  Payne shrugged, still not sure about several things. ‘The guy was good with numbers. I guess he was picked to work out the combination, so he could show us how the puzzle box worked.’

  She shook her head. ‘That’s not the part that bothers me. I want to know why Nostradamus asked him to do everything else. Remember what Keller said? Nostradamus was explicit with his instructions. Before giving us the box, Keller was supposed to tell us about his bank vault and

  ‘You know what? That’s a good point. I think I overlooked the first part of Keller’s instructions because I was focused on the box and getting us to safety. But now that you mention it, there has to be a reason he explained everything to us.’

  Megan leaned forward and touched the puzzle box. ‘If I had to guess, it has something to do with this. I’m not sure what, but something.’

  Payne rubbed his eyes, trying to remember everything Keller had told them. Replaying the conversation in his mind, he focused on something Ulster had said while describing the history of puzzle boxes. Some of them were so complex they required over 200 moves to open. He even mentioned they had got off easily, opening the box in only four. ‘What are your thoughts on Keller?’

  ‘In what sense?’

  ‘How he acted today. His overall state of mind.’

  ‘I don’t know. He seemed kind of burdened, as if all of this was weighing him down. He definitely has some father issues. That much is certain.’

  ‘Did his mood change during the course of our conversation?’

  much happier at the end. He couldn’t wait to give us the box and get us the heck out of there.’

  ‘Yeah, I noticed that, too.’

  She glanced at Payne. ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. It might be nothing.’

  ‘Jon,’ she said sharply, ‘what are you thinking?’

  He smiled at her. There was something about her feistiness that he really liked. ‘In my opinion, there are three likely scenarios in play. We just need to decide which one makes the most sense.’

  ‘Okay. What’s the first one?’

  ‘Keller did everything he was supposed to do, and the box is actually your treasure.’

  ‘I guess that’s possible. What’s number two?’

  ‘Keller cou
ldn’t wait to get the box out of his life, so he stopped studying the numbers after he figured out the first combination. Remember what Petr said? Some puzzle boxes utilize hundreds of moves. What if there’s more than meets the eye to this contraption? What if there are several hidden compartments?’

  She pondered his comment. ‘Maybe that’s why Nostradamus asked Keller to tell us everything he did, so we could figure out what still needs to be done with the box.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘Call me cynical, but I’m still not sold on the whole Nostradamus thing and I probably won’t be until Petr verifies the age of your letter and the origins of the box. Actually, I take that back. Even then, I’ll still have my doubts about Nostradamus.’

  She laughed. ‘O ye of little faith. I can’t believe you’re doubting my grandfather!’

  ‘Your grandfather? I think you better take a closer look at your family tree. You missed a few dozen generations.’

  ‘Maybe so, but you have to admit this stuff is pretty mysterious.’

  ‘Mysterious, yes. But we’re still a long way from factual.’

  ‘Anyway,’ she said, not wanting to argue about it, ‘what’s scenario number three? Or have you forgotten it already?’

  He shook his head. ‘Nope, I haven’t forgotten. In fact, of the three choices, this is the one that worries me the most.’

  ‘It worries you? What is it?’

  ‘What if Keller conned us?’

  ‘In what way?’

  Payne explained. ‘What if he figured out we were out of his life.’

  ‘But he willingly gave us the box.’

  ‘True, but it’s a small price to pay if he removed the description of the actual treasure and its location. Remember, the best con jobs are the ones where the victim doesn’t even know he’s been conned. What if he sacrificed the box to remove us from the equation?’