by David Wood
“I’m sorry,” Kaylin finally said. “It’s difficult to talk about Dad’s work.” She turned to look at Maddock, her green eyes downcast. “Rienzi never names this treasure that was so precious to him. I’ve only had a few days to look over everything, but it seems that Dad was thorough in combing through everything the man ever wrote. He says all sorts of grandiose things about how important his discoveries were, but never reveals what, exactly he found.”
“I picked up on the grandiose part,” Maddock said. “He sounds like a character. Makes you wonder if it’s all just bluster, or if he really did accomplish anything of note.”
“He lived quite a life,” Kaylin said. “He took part in the battle of Waterloo. He also fought for Simon Bolivar in Colombia, then came back to Europe where he was wounded at Marathon. He traveled most of the known world and became a self-styled discoverer. Not exactly a colonial era Indiana Jones, but something close.” She grinned, and some of the strain melted away. She looked younger, more energetic. “He claimed to have been the first person to rediscover the ruins of Syre and Assab in Abyssinia. He also claimed that he was the first to excavate them, as well as Petra in Arabia.”
“Wasn’t Petra a crappy Christian band back in the eighties?” Bones called from the kitchen. He dropped a bag on the table and joined them on the balcony.
“It’s also a famous city in the Middle East,” Kaylin said. “It’s literally carved into the sides of cliffs.”
“You know, like in the third Indiana Jones movie.” Maddock nudged his friend with an elbow to the ribs.
“Oh yeah!” Bones said as if this were all a startling revelation. “You guys are so smart.”
The blonde rolled her eyes and continued. “Anyway, Rienzi was returning to France on the Dourado with all the treasures he had accumulated during his world travels. He lost everything when the ship sank.”
“Bummer,” Bones said. “Reminds me of the time I hooked up with this really cute sorority girl. We made it about halfway back to my dorm and then she hurled all over…” He took one look at Kaylin’s disapproving stare and cut the story short. “Never mind. Rewind to where I said ‘bummer’ and just leave it there.”
“Good idea.” Kaylin folded her arms across her chest and frowned, but there was a twinkle in her eye that had been absent moments before. “Rienzi certainly thought it was a ‘bummer’ as you put it. He went back to France and made a bit of a name for himself writing. He never did get over losing his life’s work, though.”
“What happened to him?” Maddock asked.
Kaylin hesitated. “He killed himself eighteen years later.”
“Ouch. Sounds like the guy had a flair for the dramatic,” Bones observed, shaking his head. “So, what do we know about the last voyage of the Dourado?”
“It’s a strange story,” she said. “Besides Rienzi’s belongings, the captain claimed to have been carrying more than half-a-million dollars on board when the ship went down. That was a great deal of money back then. When the survivors reached Singapore with word of the sinking, the British sent out a detachment of troops in three ships to guard the wreck against local pirates while divers tried to salvage the ship.”
“I can’t imagine trying to dive using nineteenth century technology,” Maddock observed. He shuddered at the thought of braving the depths with only the aid of primitive dive equipment. Modern diving was hazardous enough.
“They didn’t have to. The ships returned very quickly. They were unable to find the Dourado, and assumed that it had gone down in deep water. Less than a week later, though, the wreckage was found off the coast of the island of Bintan. Salvage efforts only turned up a few items: a silver statue, a box with some papers, and a couple of personal items. They found no sign of the money, nor of Rienzi’s treasure. After three months, Rienzi gave up on ever recovering his property and returned to France.”
The doorbell rang, bringing their conversation to an abrupt halt. Kaylin answered the door and returned a moment later with a tall, lean, ginger-haired man of middle years in a black suit and priest’s collar. His thin-lipped smile was the only sign of emotion in an otherwise bland face. His eyes, narrowed in either curiosity or suspicion, flitted from Maddock to Bones, then back to Maddock.
“Father Wright,” Kaylin said, “I would like to introduce two friends of my father. This is Dane Maddock.” She gestured to Maddock with a wave of her hand. “And this is Uriah Bonebrake. They were in the Navy together with Dad.”
The priest shook Maddock’s hand first, then turned to Bones. “Uriah,” he said, clasping Bones’ hand. “A strong, biblical name.”
“Let’s hope I don’t share his fate,” Bones said with a mischievous smile. “Getting killed over a woman hits way too close to home.” Maddock’s surprise must have registered on his face because Bones frowned at him. “Think I don’t know my Bible? I was raised on the reservation. Pentecostal preachers everywhere you look.”
“I suppose we can forgive you for that,” Father Wright said. He actually cracked a smile, but only a small one. “Kaylin,” he continued, turning to their hostess, “I won’t stay but a moment. I just came by to check in on you.”
“Thank you, Father. I’m doing fine, all things considered.”
“Glad to hear it.” Father Wright paused, rubbing a pale, slender hand absently across his chest. He seemed nervous or uncertain. “I hope you’ll forgive me, but I have a bit of an unusual question. Your father had in his collection a very old French Bible. I must not have hidden my admiration for it very well because he offered to donate it to the rectory library.”
“Oh,” Kaylin said, a frown creasing her brow. “I haven’t gone through his things yet. I’ll keep an eye out for it, though, and let you know if I come across it.”
“Perhaps it is in his library?” the Priest asked. Maddock thought it a trifle rude for the man to persist, but he held his tongue. “I could drop by his house sometime when you are going to be there.”
“Actually, that’s the one place I have inventoried,” Kaylin said. “After the burglary and the police investigation it seemed like it needed doing. As I said, I will look for it.” Her voice had taken on a tone of impatience, and she stood with hands on hips.
“Thank you,” Father Wright replied, touching her shoulder gently. “I just wanted to mention it. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”
“I will, Father. Thank you for dropping by.” Kaylin showed the priest out and returned to the living room where Maddock and Bones had wandered in from the balcony. She had a puzzled look on her face.
“That was an odd conversation,” Maddock said, dropping down onto Kaylin’s black leather sofa.
“It was very odd,” she said, taking a seat next to him. “Father Wright is a good man. It just feels so inappropriate for him to be asking for something of Dad’s so soon after…” Her voice trailed away. “You know what I mean.”
“You’d think a priest would have better bedside manner,” Bones observed. He fished beer and a package of beef jerky out of the bag he had laid on the kitchen table. “Anybody else?” He held up his drink and snack.
“It’s a little early for that much gas,” Maddock said. “Thanks anyway, though.”
“Breakfast of champions,” Bones said. He joined them in the living room, dropping down into a Papa San chair beneath one of Kaylin’s seascapes. The rattan chair creaked under his weight, and he overflowed it like a gorilla in an inner tube. Maddock chuckled at the mental image. Bones raised an eyebrow but did not ask what was funny.
“Cool artwork, Kaylin,” Bones said, looking around at the paintings that adorned the living room walls. “You painted them all, huh? Anyway, I want to talk about this wreck we’re supposed to find,” he said. “If it was salvaged back when it first went down, and they didn’t find much, it either means that Rienzi was full of it, or this alleged incredible discovery was lost somewhere between the point where the ship sank, and the point where the wreck was finally discov
ered. At best, we’ll have to scour the ocean bed looking for some item which, by the way, we don’t know what it is. I’d say it’s impossible.”
“It can’t be impossible,” Maddock argued. “Maxie wouldn’t have wasted his time if it couldn’t be done.” Maddock had the utmost confidence in their former commander. He had no doubt that Maxie had been on to something. “There’s something he knew that we don’t. When we figure it out, we’ll know how to proceed.”
“Do you have anything other than the papers you showed us?” Bones asked Kaylin.
The girl shook her head. “We’re missing something. I’ve been through Dad’s journal and Rienzi’s, and I can’t find anything.” She folded her arms and set her jaw. Her eyes were fixed on some invisible spot in the distance as she thought. “It has to be there. It just has to.”
Maddock thought he knew someone who could help them. He excused himself for a minute and stepped outside to make the call. When he returned to the living room, Bones and Kaylin looked at him with curious expressions.
“I’ve got a friend on the case,” he explained cryptically. He would leave them in suspense until he heard something back.
“So that’s how you’re going to play it?” Bones asked, grinning suspiciously.
“Yep,” Maddock said. He did not want to get their hopes up until he found out what kind of results his contact could get. That and he enjoyed keeping them in suspense. At any rate, there was more that they could do in the meantime.
“Kaylin,” he said, turning to the blonde, “What do you say we check out your dad’s library?”
Father Michael Wright kept an eye on his rear-view mirror until he was well out of sight of Kaylin Maxwell’s building before taking out his cell phone and punching in a number he’d committed to memory but dared not write down, much less save in his phone.
“Yes?” the voice on the other end of the line snapped.
Heart racing, breath short, Wright spoke a single word. “Dominion.”
“I’ll transfer you immediately.” The line rang again, and a familiar voice answered.
“Robinson,” the voice on the other end said.
“It’s Wright.” A police car passed him, going in the opposite direction, and he flinched. He knew it was a foolish reaction, but he’d never been completely comfortable in his dealings with this group, even if he did agree with their aims. He found himself on edge every time he spoke with one of them.
“Report.”
“I visited the subject’s house. She claims to have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the article in question.” Silence on the other end of the line. “I think she’s telling the truth.”
“Then you’ll have to keep looking. We need it.”
Wright suppressed a shiver. The man was cold as ice.“I understand, but I’m at a loss as to how to proceed. He had no other living family, no close friends.”
“Find out where he banked. Perhaps there’s a safe deposit box.”
“Could be, but I wouldn’t be able to get inside it.”
“You wouldn’t but we would.” Robinson paused. “Anything else?”
Wright took a deep breath. “Yes. She seems to have attached herself to some new friends. I’m no expert, but they look like they could be dangerous men to me. They served with her father."
“Listen to me, Mister Wright.” Robinson always omitted the priest’s title. “I don’t care how dangerous the men you encounter are, I promise you we are more dangerous. And there are many more of us. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal.” Wright hated the sound of his own voice—tight and weak.
“Excellent. Remember, you are doing the Lord’s work. His dominion is at hand.”
Wright swallowed hard. “His dominion is at hand.” Ending the call, he realized he’d inadvertently driven past the rectory. Sighing deeply, he made a u-turn and headed home. He needed a stiff drink and time to plan his next move. Not for the first time, he wondered how he’d managed to fall in with such men.
Chapter 4
The books in Maxwell’s library were arranged in meticulous fashion by subject, author and date of publication. The precise rows were totally in keeping with the commander’s personality. Everything in the room, from the painting of the shipwreck on the wall above the computer to the single, framed family portrait, reminded Maddock of his mentor and friend. A pang of sadness welled up inside but was immediately overwhelmed by a wave of bitterness. He wanted to find whoever it was who had done Maxie in. He wanted them bad. He clenched his fist, imagining the murderer’s throat.
“I wonder what Bible Father Wright was talking about.” Kaylin stood next to him, looking over the books. “I know what Dad had in his library, and I never saw an old Bible.”
“I didn’t know Catholics even read the Bible,” Bones said, “at least not in English.”
“He didn’t read it, genius. It was in French,” Maddock shot back. “You don’t see it anywhere? Maybe whoever broke in took it.” He didn’t know why someone would steal a Bible. He scanned the shelves but saw no obvious empty spaces where a book might be missing.
He set about the task of examining the library, pulling books off the shelves at random and thumbing through, looking for notations, papers, anything that might give a clue as to what they were looking for. Kaylin searched through the filing cabinets while Bones sat popping Maxie’s thumb drives into his laptop one at a time, scanning their contents.
His cell phone vibrated against his chest. Maddock withdrew it from his jacket pocket and flipped it open. It was the call he had been waiting for.
“Hey Jimmy, what’ve you got for me?” Jimmy Letson was a writer for the Washington Post. He had access, legally, to a myriad of internet databases. He was also a hacker who had access, illegally, to resources Maddock didn’t even want to know about. The two had been friends in the service, remaining in contact even after Jimmy had rung out of SEAL training and left the service when his tour ended.
“What’s that? No, ‘Wow, Jimmy, that was fast!’ or ‘Hey Jimmy, thanks for dropping everything to check on this for me,’ or ‘Gee Jimmy, thanks for risking your job…’”
“I get the point,” Maddock said, laughing. “Fine, I declare you the Pope of Cyberspace. Now, what did you find out?”
“Funny you should mention the Pontiff. This guy, Rienzi, he came back from his world travels sounding off to anyone who would listen about all the great treasures he had lost.”
“We knew that much already. Did he ever say what, exactly, he had lost?”
“He must have because, within several months, he had managed to tick off all of the scholars in his field, or at least the ones we have any writings from. Unfortunately for you, they all talk about his ‘ridiculous’ claims, but they never say what specifically those claims were. A year after his return, he pretty much shuts up and goes back to being a run-of-the-mill writer.”
“Do you think the ridicule got to him?” Maddock asked.
“I think it was bigger than that.” Jimmy paused. He had always tended toward the dramatic. “NAILS turned up a letter from the bishop of Paris to a cardinal back at the Vatican, written nine months after Rienzi’s return to France.”
NAILS was an acronym for “National Archive and Informational Linkage System,” an interconnected system of informational resources used by the CIA. Jimmy had somehow found a way to clandestinely link up to the system. Maddock had told his friend on more than one occasion that he did not want to be around when Jimmy was finally busted. Jimmy just laughed and boasted that he was much too smart to be caught by those bozos. His cockiness made even Bones appear humble.
“I’m waiting for you to tell me why I should care,” Maddock said, feigning disinterest.
“The cardinal wanted Rienzi excommunicated. Does that interest you, smart guy?”
Maddock reflected on this new bit of information. Could they be connected in some way? The timing was certainly right.
“I suppose it does. Thanks, Jim, that�
��s great. Anything else?”
“Probably nothing you don’t already know. I’ll shoot a summary over to you. Anything else you need?”
“Actually, would you see what you can find out about the ship Maxie was looking for? The Dourado.”
“I suppose you’re in a big hurry on this one too,” Jimmy groaned.
“No, last night will be soon enough.” Maddock ignored Jimmy’s profane reply. “Thanks again. I’ll stand you to a bottle of White Label next time I’m in DC.” Maxie had taught him long ago how helpful it could be to know a man’s weakness.
“You’ve got a deal,” Jimmy replied and broke the connection.
Maddock hung up the phone and shared this new information with Bones and Kaylin.
“So Rienzi comes back from his trip and starts ruffling feathers,” Bones said. He stood with his chin cupped in his hand. His brown eyes stared vacantly out the window. “Whatever claims he’s making, they’re enough to get somebody in the church all riled up. They threaten him with excommunication, and he clams up.”
“With the kind of clout the church carried, it wouldn’t be out of the question for the Vatican to find a way to get rid of any written record of Rienzi’s claims, whatever they were,” Kaylin added. “What could he have found that would upset the church that much?”
A flicker of movement at the corner of his eye caught Maddock’s attention. “Did you see something out there?” he asked Bones, pointing toward the window.
His friend shook his head. “Sorry, man. Lost in space.” He tapped his temple with a deeply tanned finger.
“Thought I saw something.” Maddock drew his pistol, a German-made Walther P-99 and moved to the windowsill, carefully peering out over the narrow backyard that ran down to the shore of the Cooper River. It was a calm, sunny afternoon. Nothing seemed amiss in the quiet neighborhood. Bones appeared at his side, Glock drawn.
A knock at the front door broke the silence, causing the two of them to jump. Kaylin looked at him questioningly. Maddock nodded and walked with her to the door. She opened it to reveal an elderly black woman in a neatly pressed dress.