Brian Sadler Archaeological Mysteries BoxSet

by Bill Thompson

  It didn’t take long to finish. Alfredo said, “We’ve completely cleared the stairway sideways. It’s about eight meters wide.”

  Lynne’s head shot up. “Eight meters – twenty-four feet! Let’s measure.”

  Sam took one end of a tape and walked to the far end of the rock stairs.

  “Ready!”

  At the other end she pulled the tape taut and measured. A minute later they heard, “Bingo! It’s twenty-seven feet. Exactly ten varas wide.”

  The workers set up camp, showered and rested while Sam worked on dinner. This was the day for a call; Lynne passed over the phone at five.

  Sam and Odette spoke very briefly, then he told Brian, “Nicole wants you to call. She says there’s no emergency and it won’t take long but she’ll be standing by every day at this time until she hears from you.”

  “OK. I’ll call her now but I’ll make it quick.” The phone’s battery registered 64%, lower than Brian would have expected since two days ago it was nearly eighty. It must have drained from Lynne’s taking so many pictures of the ruins, he thought to himself.

  He walked away from the others and dialed her number. The ring tone was faint but she picked up right away.

  “Brian, are you OK? I know we have to be brief but just tell me nothing’s wrong. I’ve had a feeling something isn’t right and I just want to hear things are good.”

  Even though nothing really happened with Lynne, Brian felt like a liar as he assured Nicole things were just fine. He said they’d found a temple and maybe were in a city, but were still looking for Jack Borland’s staircase.

  They talked about Tomas. Brian told her how much the mustached man knew about her.

  “He was the one who kidnapped me!” she responded. “He took you and Sam too?”

  “Yes, but we’re all safe for now. We can’t spend any more time talking about him. We have to conserve this battery. Just be careful, baby.”

  “The firm’s providing security for me. I’m more worried about you – he’s probably still right there in Guatemala.”

  She changed the subject. “Brian, here’s why I called. Please be calm. Today Randall Carter introduced me to a new client I’m going to be representing – John Spedino.”

  Shock and revulsion coursed through him. “Spedino’s in Dallas? I thought he was in jail for life.”

  “He was granted a new trial. He claims Francois Rochefort committed perjury and Spedino himself wasn’t involved at all with Bellicose Holdings. Long story short, I have no way out of this unless I quit the firm. Being the newest and youngest partner ever elected partner, that’s something I’m willing to do. I talked to Mr. Carter – it was his decision to represent Spedino and I can’t question that. I told him I wasn’t comfortable representing a man with whom you’d had an involvement but he told me I’m the best and it would be a personal favor to him. What can I do, Brian? Tell him no, when the man just got me rescued? You know how this works. It doesn’t matter if our clients are guilty or not. Everybody’s entitled to a lawyer – we represent them regardless. You also know my success rate is the best in Texas. It makes sense why Mr. Carter assigned me to this case.”

  Brian was furious. “Bullshit! Do you know how dangerous he is? He’s Mafia, Nicole. He’s the godfather. Don’t you get that? They call him Teflon Two – he’s the same kind of guy John Gotti was. You know all this already. There’s nothing this guy won’t do or hasn’t done. Don’t be deceived by how he looks or how he talks. He’s as smooth as silk. What the hell do you think you’re doing…”

  She interrupted brusquely. “We don’t have time to go through this now. I appreciate your concern but I’m a big girl. I’m not marrying this guy – he’s my client. I think I can handle it and by now I’d hope you think so too. So you concentrate on your job and I’ll do mine.”

  Her curt attitude frustrated him. “This is different. You don’t have any idea what you’re getting yourself into. Or what you may be getting me into.”

  “Sorry, Brian. I hate to interrupt just when you’re getting into your ‘fatherly advice’ mode but I’ve had enough. I hope you find what you’re looking for out there in the jungle. If I need you I’ll call Odette and you do the same. I love you.” She disconnected.

  Brian glanced at the battery life remaining – 60%. He clicked off the phone and gave it back to Lynne. She reached inside the flap of her pup tent and stuck it on top of her pack.

  By dusk everyone had settled into tents for the night. The Belizean workers were exhausted and their snores added to the din of the jungle. Watchmen were assigned to shifts as usual.

  Around midnight the person on watch quietly took Lynne’s phone from her tent. A call was made – in whispered Spanish Tomas got a progress report and learned that they may have found Captain Jack’s stairway. Tomas barked instructions and hung up. The entire call took one minute; the phone was quietly placed back into Lynne’s tent as everyone slept soundly.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The man with the pencil mustache who called himself Tomas Rodriguez walked briskly through the lobby of the Westin Hotel in Guatemala City past a bar bustling with noisy tourists. He went directly to a bank of telephones in a quiet area behind the concierge desk.

  He spoke in rapid Spanish. “I’m calling to give you a report, boss. They’ve found a temple but it’s not the right one. They uncovered another stairway today but it’s too early to tell if they’re on to something. I’ll hear more as things develop although cell phone service is not good up where they are. In the meantime what else should I do?”

  Tomas listened for a moment. “I understand.”

  He used an international calling card for another call. This time he spoke in English.

  “This is taking far longer than you said. Are you in contact with the expedition?” The answer angered him.

  “That’s not acceptable. You have a major problem, and you’ve made it my problem. Time is running out, my friend. This had better work – if these people are on a fruitless mission and return empty-handed things will be very bad for you. Do you understand? My people want this matter wrapped up in ten days. Ten days. No more excuses, no more stalling for time.”

  Tomas laughed as he left the building. This fool couldn’t control the timing and Tomas knew more about what the expedition was doing than this guy did. Tomas merely wanted to keep him on his toes. A scared man is a submissive man. And this one was scared. That was certain.

  -----

  About fifteen hundred miles east of Guatemala City, Arthur Borland’s phone rang. Hands shaking, he reached in his pocket as the man across the table said, “I’m sorry Lord Borland, but you can’t use your phone here. Just step away from the table and I’ll hold your place.”

  When that call ended Arthur called Bijan Rarities in New York. Collette Conning answered.

  “This is Arthur Borland. I was wondering if I could get an update on Brian. Have you heard anything lately?”

  She told him what she knew and he said, “I’m glad to hear things are progressing there and I wish them well. I mentioned to Brian that my mother is ill and I’m afraid things have taken a turn for the worse. My wife and I are at her house, sitting with her day and night. I’ve just stepped out of her room to make this call. I fear her time is short. She’s asking every day for news about my father so if you talk to Brian please let him know time is of the essence. If we can get some answer as to what happened to Captain Jack it will ease my mother’s final days immensely.”

  Collette assured him she’d pass along the message.

  Far from his mother’s home in England, Arthur strode back across an expansive room, the sounds of bells clanging and coins dropping into metal pans all around him. He took his seat at the table. With a smile the dealer said, “Just in time, Lord Borland. I’ve finished shuffling and we’re starting a new hand.”

  A pit boss put a slip of paper in front of him and leaned close. In a whisper he said, “Just sign the marker, my Lord. We’ve worked every
thing out and increased your credit limit.” The dealer then moved ten thousand dollars in black chips to Arthur’s place at the table and said, “Better luck, sir.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Nicole arrived at the office the next morning Ryan was waiting. “Mr. Carter would like to have a word with you.”

  She closed the door and called her boss. He told her he was moving her caseload to other attorneys so she could concentrate on John Spedino’s defense. “This is a very important client and I want both your expertise and your full attention on his case.”

  “I can handle more than one case at a time,” she snapped curtly.

  “Of course you can, but for now I’m asking for full focus on this one. He’ll be in your office at ten to get started.”

  She pushed for more information. “He’s a different sort of client than Carter and Wells typically represents, correct? Hasn’t he been compared time and again to John Gotti? Hasn’t he been called the country’s most notorious, high profile mobster? I know you personally made the decision to accept him as a client and that’s your prerogative, but I just want to be sure we know we’re representing a guy who’s been accused of everything in the book, including murder.”

  Carter’s voice was firm. “Accused, yes. Convicted only once and now that’s been overturned. Trust me, Nicole. I know what I’m doing. I don’t treat this firm’s reputation lightly. Every American is entitled to the best attorney he can afford, John Spedino included.”

  Afterwards she struggled to understand what was going on. Spedino must be paying the firm an incredible fee because he absolutely wasn’t their kind of client. She didn’t know why Randall Carter was pushing so hard but she owed him a huge debt of gratitude. She also was in no position to question the senior partner in the firm.

  Precisely at ten her assistant advised that Spedino was in the waiting area. Ryan ushered him in and she gestured to a couch. “Have a seat and let’s talk.”

  As she pulled a chair closer Spedino said, “Why don’t you sit on the couch by me? Sometimes I don’t hear as well as I should and I don’t want to miss anything.” He patted the cushion and she moved over, legal pad and pen in hand.

  He continued, “Before we get to business, tell me about your trip and the kidnapping. I think it’s amazing how you escaped and it’s fortunate you were rescued. Randall is a very resourceful man, I understand. It’s good to have friends in high places.”

  “It sounds as though you already know my story.”

  “Not really. Randall told me bits and pieces but I asked him to leave the details to you. I’d rather hear the story first-hand.”

  She spent nearly an hour telling John Spedino what happened, beginning with her kidnapping at the cave entrance. She explained how she was held prisoner in a remote camp in the Maya Mountains of Guatemala and gave a vague description of her escape, omitting the detail about her killing the guard. She told him that Randall Carter had arranged her pickup in Melchor de Mencos just in time to avoid her being taken hostage again by the same man, who apparently had also kidnapped Brian and two others.

  “Brian says he calls himself Tomas Rodriguez. Who knows if that’s his real name?”

  “I may be able to assist Brian in his problems with this ‘Tomas.’ I too have friends in high places. Please write down every detail you can recall about this man, his mannerisms, dress, appearance, inflection of voice – everything, and I will make an inquiry.”

  “I don’t know if that’s what Brian would want me to do. But I do appreciate the offer.”

  “Nicole, you are going to be of immense help to me. I can feel it already. I can only hope to repay you in some way other than the enormous fees Randall has prepared me for. Let me do this small favor to help both you and Brian, two people whom I have come to admire.”

  She promised to think about it and then shifted the conversation to his earlier conviction for fraud. She took notes and studied his body language to see what kind of witness he would make on the stand in a courtroom. She caught herself wandering. He’s charming, polished, erudite – slim and trim, obviously exercises – but if you believe the stories, I’m sitting next to one of the most dangerous men on earth.

  At 12:30 she suggested they take a break. “May I buy your lunch?” he asked.

  She declined, saying she needed the hour to catch up on calls. “I’ll see you back here at 1:30.”

  Spedino spent the afternoon answering hundreds of questions as quickly as she tossed them out. He explained why the government might think he had an involvement with Bellicose Holdings but assured her that the evidence against him was purely circumstantial. He told her it was Francois Rochefort’s testimony that had convicted him but that Rochefort was himself a convicted felon. As her boss had done, Spedino reminded her that he had often been charged with crimes but until now he had never been convicted of so much as a traffic ticket.

  “So if there were another trial do you think the government would use Francois Rochefort as their star witness again?”

  “I have no idea,” Spedino replied evenly. “I hear the man has disappeared. Maybe he’s in the Witness Protection Program – I wouldn’t know about that – but if he has chosen to drop out of sight then perhaps he would not be a thorn in my side the next time.” He forced a smile. “Sometimes things work out for the best.”

  His answer gave Nicole goosebumps.

  She wrapped it up at six. She handed her assistant the pages of notes she’d taken, asking him to log everything into the computer for cross-referencing.

  Spedino stood and stretched. “I know your boyfriend is deep in the jungle somewhere. To avoid having both of us spend dinner alone, would you join me? I’d enjoy very much getting to know you better.”

  Somewhere in her head alarms went off but she attributed her feelings to Brian’s caution about Spedino. She was just stubborn enough to prove she knew how to handle herself, so she accepted.

  “Where are you staying?”

  “I’m at the Ritz-Carlton just down the street.”

  “What a coincidence. I live in the residences just around the corner.”

  He smiled. “I have found in life that there are few coincidences, Nicole. Do you have a car here in the building?”

  Few coincidences? Did he stay at the Ritz so he could be near her? Surely that wasn’t what he meant?

  Let it go, she told herself. Don’t overanalyze.

  She said she was walking and he asked to join her. She agreed with the admonition, “I have to warn you that I’ll have a security guard with me. That’s Mr. Carter’s way of ensuring I don’t get snatched right off McKinney Avenue and whisked back to the jungle!”

  She stopped at the hotel entrance and they agreed to meet in the bar an hour from now. Nicole and her escort walked around the corner to the Residences where he dropped her off.

  As she walked into the Ritz-Carlton she saw John Spedino sitting on a couch sipping a martini. “Sorry I’m a little ahead of you,” he said as she approached. “I made a couple of calls then decided to come on down. I was excited at the prospect of an evening with a lovely southern lady!”

  She grinned self-consciously. My God, I’m acting like a schoolgirl!

  “Come sit next to me.” He scooted over and made room.

  “I’ll sit over here, Mr. Spedino. I think you can hear conversations just fine. I think you use that line to get close to women.”

  He laughed heartily and said, “I’m afraid you’re right. It’s one of my biggest weaknesses, beautiful women!”

  When her Cosmopolitan was delivered they toasted, then he said, “I’ve been thinking about our discussion this afternoon. Not about me but about you and Brian. I’m certain I can help convince this ‘Tomas Rodriguez to back off, and perhaps I can also find out for whom he is working. I can make Brian’s problem – and yours – go away.”

  “How can you be certain? He’s in Central America.”

  “I’ve developed a wide network of associates around th
e world in many years of business dealings. I’d like to make a few calls tomorrow to see what we can turn up but I want your OK first. I hope you don’t think I’m interfering nor is this is a quid pro quo. It’s enough for me that you will be representing me should the government foolishly decide to press on with this case. To be frank, money means nothing to me – I have been blessed with plenty. So I prefer to return favors by helping than by spending money.

  “I would do anything to help a friend. I have always thought highly of Brian and now I think very highly of you as well. How good a friend would I be if I refused to help when I knew I could? And how good a friend would you be not to help Brian? You would do anything to protect him and I certainly understand that. I’m glad that I am able to assist you both.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she said at last. “You’re very convincing, Mr. Spedino…”

  “Since we’re friends please call me John.”

  “John, I’m not sure Brian would want anyone else involved in this. I’ll ask him next time we speak.”

  They finished a drink and she excused herself to use the restroom. Spedino ordered another round, moved her drink close to him for a few seconds and passed his hand over it. Then he replaced it on her side of the table.

  Returning to the table, she saw the second round. “I’m not much of a drinker, especially two Cosmos. Usually I switch to wine, especially if I skipped lunch like today.” She sipped the drink slowly.

  “I’m happy to order you something else if you want but remember that your condo is just around the corner. If worst comes to worst I’ll make sure you get home safely.”

  Assuring him she was fine, she lifted her Cosmopolitan and took another drink. “I have a question, John. A couple of years ago when you first went to prison, a man approached Brian and me one day when we were at lunch in London and said you wanted a million dollars for a cheap imitation of the Declaration of Independence. The document was a cheap imitation but the man said David Cardone had sent him on your behalf. What was that all about?”