The Rings of Poseidon

by Mike Crowson

  Chapter 20

  Steve parked the Landrover on the hard and walked across to the post office. He glanced at his watch. He was easily half an hour early for the ferry. There were few people waiting yet, but it was a very pleasant morning. He opened the door of the post office, holding the door for an elderly lady just leaving.

  "Goodbye, Mrs. McCloud." the assistant called. She turned to Steve.

  "Can I help you?" she asked.

  "First I want a couple of packets of mints. Then I'll need a book of stamps - ten first class."

  He offered her a five pound note and she counted out the change.

  "Lastly I want some information, but I don't know who to ask," he said.

  "I might know. It depends what you want."

  "That farm of Doug MacDonald's that he rents out to holidaymakers. Do you know it?"

  "Aye."

  "I wanted to know the name of the couple who rented it this year."

  "Well, I think it was rented in connection with the archeological excavation you're working on yourself. I'd have thought you knew. I've seen the name on letters though, when I've sorted the post. Davies. A Mr and Mrs Ian Davies. The letters had a Warwick postmark, wherever Warwick is. England somewhere. Why don't you just drive up and ask your questions direct to them?"

  I might just do that too," said Steve. "Thank you for your trouble."

  "No trouble," she said, smiling.

  "Bye."

  "Goodbye just now."

  Steve was a little taken aback by what he had learned. When he had connected up the power line it was to a farmhouse, yes, but he had assumed the woman he spoke to was a local. She must have been the one they saw in the stone circle. The one, it would seem, from Warwick.

  The ferry was in sight and Steve watched it come alongside, doing each phase of the manoeuvre exactly as every other time. 'It's like an army drill,' he thought. 'I suppose that, if they do the same thing every time, it means they're practising for bad weather in the winter.'

  Steve collected the various items addressed to the dig, including the photographs Alicia wanted and a letter addressed to Manjy.

  As he climbed into the Landrover he thought he might as well go to the hotel while he was in Linksness.

  "It'll save another trip in later." he said to himself and started the vehicle.

  At the 'T' junction he turned right, away from the dig, and drove less than fifty yards to the hotel. He parked the vehicle and walked in. There was nobody at reception, but a man came straight away when he rang.

  "I wondered if Professor Harrington was around. I'm from the excavations down the road. He hasn't turned up and I wondered if he was having problems with the car."

  "No. He's not about and the car's gone."

  "Oh well, probably gone sightseeing on the way then. I don't blame him."

  The man hesitated. "We're just a little worried," he said, "Mr. Harrington must have gone out before daylight, since his bedside lamp was still on. Besides, he hasn't been to breakfast."

  "I don't know him well enough to know whether that's normal," said Steve, "but, if he doesn't show up by dinner time, could you ring the police and ask them to keep an eye out for him. He may have run out of petrol or broken down somewhere."

  "I will certainly do that," said the man. Steve turned to go. "Goodbye, sir."

  "Bye," said Steve, and went out.

  When Steve got back to the dig things looked to be going well. He could see figures working all over the site, though he couldn't see Alicia. He unloaded and then went into the cabin to fix dinner. At the computer Manjy was entering more data. Alicia looked up from the late professor's papers.

  "Hello Steve," she said, and went on reading.

  At dinner everyone was full of themselves. An archeological dig is very pleasant in nice surroundings on a sunny day.

  "Listen," said Alicia to the assembled team, "It's getting too warm to work hard for a couple of hours and we've made good progress with the excavation so far. Take a couple of hour's break, go swimming or sunbathing or whatever, relax. We'll have a sandwich about four and another session of work from about five to seven."

  She turned to Jamie and the paid workers. "You can go for today on full pay. I'll take responsibility for the early finish."

  "We'll have another short council of war outside," said Alicia to Frank. "Let's clear up first but you make sure neither Manjy nor Alan slip away. I'll catch Gill and Steve."

  Frank nodded.

  "Right," said Alicia when they were all comfortably settled on the grass. "First, the professor. Steve. Did you go to the hotel?"

  Steve explained his conversation with the man at the hotel reception. "I doubt if they'll discover the body today," he said. "Somebody might find it by accident but I doubt it. Personally I think they'll start looking tomorrow and find the body about noon."

  "OK. Second thing. Did you find out anything about those other two?"

  "A Mr. and Mrs. Ian Davies from Warwick. The Post Office thought the professor arranged for them to rent the farm we have our power line from. I'll wander over later today on some pretext and see the lie of the land."

  "Right. Third thing. The briefcase. For the moment I'll look after it. There's nothing to identify it as belonging to the professor. Next thing is the ring."

  "Let's say it was stolen," said Frank " We can report the theft and get rid of it safely at leisure. If it goes to the university anyone so minded could get hold of it."

  "We'll have the 'busies' all over the dig if we report it stolen. The briefcase won't be safe and neither will I," said Steve.

  "You have a point," said Alicia.

  Frank suggested an alternative. "Okay," he said, "Tell them Professor Harrington took it and ask for it back."

  "That sounds better."

  "Right," said Alicia again. "Now the professor's papers. There's a couple of rituals there. I'm no occultist, but I think one of them relates to sending the objects into the future. Sounds fantastic and I can't believe it works."

  "He did it, didn't he?" asked Manjy.

  "So he claimed."

  "Can I see them?" asked Alan. "I'd like to read through them later."

  "I didn't know you were into that sort of thing," said Alicia.

  "And the big question?" asked Frank.

  "Yes," said Alicia, "Where did he hide the other rings? The photographs are of Roman remains at a place called Boloña in southern Spain. They the remains of a roman town called Bella Claudia. No great difficulty in identifying them - it's written on the back of some of the photographs themselves. What's more they are taken over a number of years. The years are on the back of the ones he wrote on. They were probably in the briefcase because there's a magazine article about the excavations. Unfortunately it's in French. My French isn't very good but I recognize a few names and there's a photograph."

  "Are you suggesting that's where he hid the other rings?" asked Frank.

  "No. Not yet anyway. There was one letter addressed to him among his papers. I've put that on top of the filing cabinet with the airline tickets because I don't want anything in the briefcase which would relate to the Professor."

  "The letter is from an 'abogado' - a sort of Spanish solicitor. It's in English and confirms purchase of a house in southern Spain at..." Alicia glanced at her notebook, "Vejer de la Frontera, wherever that is. I know it's southern Spain because the post code is Cadiz and that's the south."

  "We need a map of Spain," said Frank. "You've a load of maps Steve."

  "Can't help you there, I'm afraid," said Steve, There's dozens of maps in my room. But not of Spain. I could tell the woman from the Post Office where Warwick is though, if that's any help!" He ducked as Alicia threw the notepad at him.

  "I think we'll leave it for the moment," said Alicia. "It's too hot to think it all out now and anyway there's other lines of enquiry to follow up." She got to her feet. "Let's enjoy the afternoon like the rest of them."

  The others got up from the g
rass, dusting themselves off. Steve said he would wander over to the farm they had the power line from and Gill wanted to go with him. Manjy went to reread her letter and write home yet again. Alicia and Frank both fancied a swim and Alan went off to join the volunteers.

  "Do you think the rings are in Spain?" Gill asked Steve, as he led the way to the edge of the field following the cable. It was suspended from the Portacabin roof to a tree at the edge of the field, where it went over the hedge.

  "It's a long way round by the road," he explained, and then thought about Gill's question. "Manjy's story must have been somewhere that way but he's turned up in France and southern England as well. And according to what he said, he's turned up in Egypt as well. Why not somewhere like the pyramids. Through here." he led the way through a gap in the hedge.

  "But he'd want somewhere reasonably accessible in medieval times."

  "That part of Spain wouldn't be very accessible. Wasn't there a longish period of Arab control?"

  "I think so, but he said he was a Moor in one of his incarnations."

  "Well ... ," Steve sounded doubtful. "... Spain wasn't very friendly to the English for several centuries. And then there was the civil war. A bit dodgy, I would have thought. Apart from that it would have been decidedly dangerous to carry out an occult ritual during the Spanish Inquisition. Over here."

  They had crossed a small second field and Steve now climbed over a gate.

  "Anyway," he said, "the rings could be in five different places or have been moved five times to places which were suitable at the time."

  Gill followed him over the gate. They were in a small farmyard. The cable came over the roof of a barn and down to the woodwork of a door which was closed but not locked, where it went inside. The wire was plugged into a socket just behind the door. The barn was dim and dusty but empty. Steve shut the door again.

  "The house looks shut up," said Gill.

  "They're obviously out," Steve responded. "It was a woman who was here when I set up the cable. I just thought she was local. Still, the house does look a bit shut up."

  "It feels as if they've gone altogether. Look, all the windows are closed on a day like today."

  "Well, you were right about the amulet. Perhaps you're right about this. There's nothing for them to stay for, I suppose. If they came by car perhaps they took the vehicle ferry from Lowness. I wouldn't have seen them leave this morning."

  "There's no sign of the Professor's car. They probably took it back like Frank suggested."

  "Well," said Steve, "I don't think there's anything for us here." He tried the door. It was locked. They walked all round the house and tried the front door too, but that was locked. Nobody answered their knocking and there was no one about.

  "Let's wander down to the beach and enjoy the rest of the afternoon," he said at length.

  Gill objected. "I'm enjoying the afternoon anyway. Not that I mind going down to the beach or anywhere you want go."

  "We can get down to the beach over this field," said Steve, and took her by the hand.

  "I think I must be a very dependant person," said Gill. "I seem to need somebody loving me all the time."

  "I'm not sure that's true. You need to love a lot and of course you want someone to respond to you, but that's not the same thing really."

  The field petered out in sand dunes. Standing there they could see Alicia and Frank and some of the others splashing about, but once they sat down they were not only out sight but they couldn't hear them either.

  "Do you need to love, Steve?" asked Gill.

  "Not in general, I think I'm probably quite self contained." He paused. "But I do need to love you," he whispered. "I want to make you happy."

  "Well," she said slowly. "You've managed to make me feel a woman again. But I missed your attentions last night. I want you right now instead." and she started unfastening her jeans.

  "That," whispered Steve, "is good enough for me".

  Manjy took her letter and her notepad to the dunes overlooking the beach and she too could hear the faint sounds of the swimmers. She sat down with the letter open in front of her, but she was not even looking at it. She was miles away and deep in thought.

  Her father was unreasonable only in twentieth century European terms. He wouldn't have been considered so in nineteenth century England or twentieth century India. She had been born and brought up in Britain. So had he for that matter, but she was more 'British' than he was, whatever that meant.

  One thing was clear, however. Unless she was prepared to cut herself off totally from her family she would have to compromise. The right husband would satisfy her father's cultural ties while letting her follow her career and bring up any children to fit in with the society they would live in. The 'right' husband would have to be a well educated professional who was also born and educated in Britain. Were she to demand such a partner in the right way she might get the man she wanted. What's more, she would have the unexpected support of her grandmother.

  Manjy lay back in the sunshine and wrote the letter carefully in her head. She decided that two letters were called for. One to her father, the other to her grandmother. Things looked a lot better than they had at the start of the dig and she fell asleep smiling.

  Steve was just putting away the last plates and thinking about an egg and cheese salad for supper when he saw the police constable cycle across the field. The others were all across at the excavations and there was no way for him to avoid the man. Steve was still very uneasy around the police and they were not planning to tell the whole truth. He would have rather had someone else tell the lies.

  There was no help for it. He went out to meet the policeman. "Hello," he said.

  "Evening sir. Constable Breck. Are you in charge?"

  "No, I'm just the maintenance man cum cook. You want Ms. Graham. I'll go get her if you like."

  "If you would please. A couple of sightseers at the stone circle found a body and there's reason to believe it was Professor Harrington. He was connected with this excavation, or so I believe."

  "A body!" Steve was surprised that it had been discovered so quickly and he accidentally struck the right note.

  "That's right. And a car that belonged to these excavations. We think the man was Professor Harrington. Do you know him?"

  "Yes. He was the man who organised the University end of the operations. He was here yesterday. I'll go across and get Ms. Graham for you, unless you'd like to come across with me."

  "I believe I will. I'll leave my bike here and walk across with you." He leaned his cycle against the Portacabin and strolled with Steve, unhurriedly with a big even stride. "Did you know Professor Harrington?"

  "Not very well," said Steve. "I'd met him a couple of times so I knew who he was but I can't pretend to have known him well."

  "I see. What was he doing on Hoy?"

  "Just a routine visit to make sure all was well. He was overall supervisor of three projects. I think it was three. Several anyway."

  "I see." The manner suggested small talk and the constable was taking no notes, but Steve suspected he was mentally storing away the information for future reference.

  " Here we are," said Steve. "That's Alicia Graham over there." He pointed. "I'll get her for you.

  Ali!" he called as he approached. She was inside the second house, but looked up when he called. "The police constable would like a word with you." Alicia climbed out of the house and walked over, dusting herself off.

  "Excuse me, but I've got to start supper," said Steve. Although interested, he was more concerned to extricate himself and left them to talk.

  "How can I help you?" Alicia asked the policeman.

  "Well ma'am. Two tourists at the stone circle over to Rackwick came across a parked car belonging to this excavation and a body. We think the body may be that of Professor Harrington."

  "A body!" Alicia's words were exactly the same as Steve's, but her surprise was more pretended. Afro-Caribbeans generally treat the law with
caution because it tends to treat them with suspicion, but Alicia was better educated than most and this was Hoy not Hackney.

  She had certainly come across rude and suspicious policemen in the backstreets of Birmingham, where the police went about in twos or drove by in 'panda' cars. This, on the other hand, was a large, friendly man with the slow Islands accent and trousers still in cycle clips.

  "The professor did drive off in the car last night and when he didn't turn up this morning I had Mr. Benderman call at the hotel. Mr. Benderman was told that the Professor had gone out somewhere in the car. I thought he was just sightseeing. Was the body in the car?"

  "No ma'am. If it had been we would have been more certain of the identity. Could you identify the body for us?"

  "I suppose so. Oh dear. What did he die of?"

  "We don't know for certain until after an autopsy, but it looks like natural causes."

  "Do you want me to come now?"

  "The body is in the church hall in Linksness. If you were to come along right away, we could send the body for autopsy in Kirkwall this evening. A helicopter will fly over and pick it up."

  "I see. Well we haven't the car, of course, and I've never driven the Landrover. It's a lot bigger than a car but on these quiet roads I should be all right. All right, I'll come along now."

  Alicia left Frank in charge and walked over to the cabin to get the keys from Steve.

  "I'm just going in to give some information to the police. I'll be back shortly and I'll fill you all in then," she said.

  "Right you are," said Steve. "Why don't you stick your bike in the back and hitch a lift with Ms. Graham?" He suggested to the constable.

  "Do you know I think I will," he said, and opened up the rear door to fit the bike inside.

  The church was at the far end of the village and the hall was next to it. The body lay on a table with a sheet over it. Alicia parked the Landrover and both she and the policeman walked into the hall and over to the body. The constable turned back the sheet, revealing the face and head of the Professor. The hooded robe had gone, leaving the wool sweater. Had the police taken the robe? Alicia thought not, but decided against any remark about his dress.

  "That's Professor Harrington," said Alicia. "Where did you say you found him?"

  "The stone circle at Rackwick."

  "He must have gone there out of interest. He spoke of it yesterday,"

  "He seems to have gone there very early today."

  "Perhaps he was watching the sunrise or something. You know, like druids," said Alicia.

  "Was he involved in things like that, ma'am?"

  "I'm afraid I don't know, but I've never heard any stories to that effect. An archaeologist would be interested in solstice sunrises and such things, though, and it is still June. The solstice is not long gone."

  The policeman had not mentioned the robes or the other equipment, like the thurible or dagger. Perhaps the other two had taken them to avoid further questions. Alicia knew that any hint she knew of them would imply that she had seen the Professor after he left the site the previous night, so she carefully said nothing.

  "By the way," she added as the constable covered the body and they turned to go, "He took a ring from the excavations last night for safekeeping and further study. I don't think it had much cash value but it was very interesting in terms of the site. It was something we dug up and I wouldn't want to lose it. Can I get it from his things?"

  "We'll go to his hotel room and see if it's there," said constable Breck, without saying whether he'd return it or not.

  At the hotel they were let into the professor's room. His toilet bag was out on the bedside table and a suit and raincoat were hanging up on coat hangers on a hook behind the door, but there was nothing much else to be seen. The small suitcase contained nothing unexpected. She would have liked to search properly but she was supposed to be looking for a ring, so there was little excuse to look for papers or letters.

  "I wonder if the ring is in his suit. He was wearing that last night." She tried the jacket pockets and felt a small book, like a diary or an address book. As the policeman looked behind the bedside table to see if the ring had fallen there, Alicia transferred the book to her own back pocket.

  "Nope. Not there," she said and patted the raincoat pockets noisily.

  "I don't think it's in this room, ma'am. You're quite certain he took it?"

  "Several people were there at the time. I'll ask them and make sure I'm not mistaken," she said. "I'd better get back to the excavations."

  "And I'd better get along too. I have to phone and arrange the autopsy."

  They locked the door behind them and returned the key. Alicia contained her curiosity about the book while the constable took his bike from the back of Landrover. Then she said, "Goodbye," clambered in and drove back to the camp.

  By the time Alicia got back to the camp, supper was in progress, with most of the diggers sitting outside with it. The air was still mild and though the sun had sunk behind the higher side of the island it had not properly set and it was still day.

  It wasn't until after the meal that Alicia had chance to look at the book she had sneaked out of the Professor's suit. Frank took the gang off to the pub over the fields leaving Alicia, Steve, Gill, Manjy, Alan and Carol sitting in the grass outside the cabin.

  "How did it go?" Steve asked.

  "I think it went all right." She continued, "I mentioned the professor taking the ring and we had a look for it in his room. While the policeman wasn't looking I found this." and she produced a pocket diary.

  "What is it?" asked Alan.

  "This is the first look I've had myself," said Alicia. "It's a small diary ... with a lot of addresses in the back ... He's written in the phases of the moon ... and some other astrological references I don't understand. I just recognise the symbols."

  She flipped through the diary. "A lodge he belonged to meets every other Monday ... He's made three trips to Spain already this year."

  "Perhaps he went to gloat," Steve remarked.

  Alicia ignored him. She muttered, "Let's look at the addresses." Then she said more loudly, "The address section includes Ian and Juliana Davies with a Warwick address ... and a lodge phone number - The Order of the Morning Light ... the address of the solicitor in Spain ... another address in Vejer de la Frontera ... the phone number of a hotel in Vejer ...This needs a lot of thinking about."

  "I wonder if the rings were hidden somewhere in southern Spain. He seems very interested in it," said Manjy

  "I've thought of something else to worry everybody," said Alan.

  "What's that?" asked Steve.

  "He was going to carry out a ritual in front of the bird watcher and the woman. Right?" Several heads nodded. "That means he didn't mind them seeing the ritual. Right?"

  "So far," Steve agreed and the others nodded again.

  "That was either because they already knew it or they couldn't do it. If it was the last, no problem. If it was the first and they know where the other rings are, we could still be in trouble."

  "Oh dear," said Gill.

  "'Oh dear' is right if he's right," said Steve, frowning.

  Alicia was half listening as she turned the pages of the diary. "The lodge seems to have met on the first Monday of most months," she said. "He was off to Spain again the week after the next lodge meeting."

  "Did he have a dig going on there?" asked Manjy.

  "No, but he had a house," answered Alicia. "And he went to Boloña three times this year."

  "He'd have stayed away from where the rings were hidden, surely," said Frank. "So as not to draw attention to the place."

  "He didn't feel threatened," objected Gill. "He was arrogant and absolutely sure of himself. Steve may be right about gloating or he might have wanted to keep tabs on developments there, just to protect his interests. Anyway, I'm beginning to get a feeling."

  "Can I have a look at those photographs of the Roman ruins again?" asked Manjy.

&nbs
p; "They're lying on my bunk in my room," said Alicia. "Go and help yourself."

  Manjy got up and went into the caravan. She emerged a moment later with the wallet of photographs. She flopped down again and Gill moved closer so that she could see as well.

  "We've all looked at those and they don't really tell us anything we want to know," said Alicia.

  "Well," said Manjy, "These are photographs of the ruins of Bella Claudia and we all agree they might signify nothing more than a mere professional interest in archaeological excavations. Several photographs have writing on the back of them, but one has an arrow and a circle on the front as well. Does this photograph," and she held it up, "mean anything more than a coincidence?"

  "Of course it does," said Gill. "What you mean is 'Does it mean that's where he hid the rings'?"

  Alicia was thoughtful. "We ought to go to Bella Claudia and investigate properly," she said. "I can't really leave the dig until September. I've too much at stake."

  "Steve said, "I could afford it. I'm not short of funds since my mother died, but I don't think the busies would let me go out of the country. I'm here on parole for this job. I can't leave until September either."

  "I could go, I suppose," said Gill, "but the money might be a problem."

  Manjy remarked that she had enough money, though she wasn't at all sure her family would approve of spending it in that way.

  Alan said slowly, "I'm not sure how much it would involve, but I've got some cash. Besides," he pointed out, "Both Manjy and I are free to leave the dig any time. We're both volunteers."

  "Gill really needs to go if I can't," said Alicia. "She was the one with training and power. She might be able to do the ritual."

  "Tell you what," said Steve, "I'll give Gill the money to go with Manjy and Alan. How about that? And if Manjy and Alan are short I'll make it up." Gill stared at him open mouthed.

  "You're talking about five hundred pounds or so from here," she said.

  "I know," said Steve. "I'm a big softy."

  "God, I'll make it up to you," she told him.

  "You can think of it as the first instalment of sharing everything."

  "Is that a proposal?"

  "Yes," said Steve.

  "Then the answer's 'Yes'."

  She kissed Steve and Alicia said, "It rather sounds as if congratulations are in order."

  "I think so," said Steve, "but I did say I would make up the shortfall if Alan and Manjy went too. How about it."

  "I do speak reasonable Spanish," said Alan, "I did it to 'A' Level."

  Manjy was thinking about arranged marriages. Even though the arrangements looked a lot more acceptable now, this trip to Spain might be her only chance to spread her wings alone. Her family wouldn't approve of her going with Alan as well as Gill, but she wasn't about to mention it.

  "Okay." she said.

  "I imagine there will be a bank in Stromness where I can sort out the money and a travel agent's where we can book," Steve remarked

  "Sure to be," said Frank.

  "Then if the boss thinks it's okay, we can all four of us go over on the ferry tomorrow."

  "I suppose so," said Alicia. "But I think we should all sleep on it. There is a coincidence which suggests that the needle might be somewhere in those remains. That's still a pretty big haystack and there's more than just a chance we're wrong. It could all turn out to be a very expensive mistake."

  Some of the enthusiasm of the group ebbed away, but Gill said, "I'm convinced that's where the rings are hidden. I feel it."

  For the second time that day Steve said, "That's good enough for me."