by David Wood
“Exactly.” Again, Maddock felt a twinge of discomfort at agreeing with Grizzly. “What we need to do now is look for such a message.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed.” Grizzly gave him a wink. “And I promise not to touch anything.”
They gave the cavern a thorough, floor-to-ceiling search, but found nothing. Maddock had hoped that one of the pedestals on which the treasure once stood might hold a clue, but they were free of any markings aside from the names of the treasures.
“Maybe there was a clue, but it got eroded away?” Grizzly asked.
Eroded! Maddock returned to the statue of Danu. If anything had been washed away, this would be the most likely place.
“Do you see something?” Grizzly asked.
“Help me look.” He examined every inch of the statue, from head to toe. And then his gaze drifted to the serpent at her feet, and something caught his eye. What he’d initially taken to be the snake’s faded markings were, in fact, a series of symbols scraped into the stone. “I think this is it!” He took out his camera and began photographing the markings. “Jimmy’s going to kill me when I ask him to decipher this.”
“Isla has a friend—a codebreaker by the name of Meikle. He helped us with the last clue. He’d probably help with this one, too.”
“Works for me. Two heads are better than one.” Maddock barked a rueful laugh. “These people do like their puzzles, don’t they?”
Chapter 19
Edinburgh, Scotland
Walter Meikle sat in a high-backed chair, feet propped up, thumbing absently through an aged volume of Tuatha mythology. The yellowed pages made a pleasant scratching sound as he slowly turned them. He looked at each word but digested only a few. He turned another page and stopped at a detailed, black and white image of the goddess Danu. He knew it was merely his imagination, but it seemed accusation shone in her eyes as she gazed up at him. He snapped the book closed and tossed it on the table beside him, knocking over his empty teacup in the process.
“Damn,” he muttered.
His phone rang, and he stared at the name for a full three seconds before answering. Isla Mulheron. Why couldn’t the girl just leave it alone? But he knew the answer, knew she would not relent.
“Hello?”
“Meikle? It’s Isla Mulheron. Listen, the Dunstaffnage clue was spot-on.”
“Really?” Meikle sat up straight. “What did you find?” He felt his eyes go wide as she described an underwater passageway, a trapdoor, and a treasure room hidden in a cave far beneath the castle.
“And you’re confident the treasures were once kept there?” His reservations about her, his wishes for her to leave him alone, were forgotten.
“As certain as we can be.”
Meikle squeezed the phone, tension knotting his back. “Did you…run into any trouble? The passageway and cave were structurally sound, I mean,” he hastily added, not wanting to rouse her suspicion.
“I didn’t go down with them. SCUBA isn’t my thing. But the guys who went in made it back okay.”
“Guys? I thought it was only you and that…interesting fellow.”
Isla let out a long sigh. “You noticed. Believe me, he wasn’t my first choice of partners. But yes, we’ve added a couple more to our team. Capable men, unlike Grizzly.”
Meikle breathed a sigh of relief. He’d hated reporting Isla’s first clue to the Tuatha, but he’d had no choice. He had feared for her safety, but it appeared they’d made contact with Isla and managed to bring her into the fold, or at least convince her they were on the same side. This also meant that he was not in trouble for concealing her identity. That was a tremendous weight off his shoulders.
“The reason I’m calling is, I need your help again.”
“Oh?”
“We found a set of symbols that had apparently been added to the Danu statue well after its installation. We believe it’s a code or cipher of some sort, but you’d know for sure.”
Meikle’s heart raced. If she was correct, they were finally on the path laid down for the worthy. The treasure might finally be within reach. He’d waited all his life for such a breakthrough.
“Send it along. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Will do. Please let me know as soon as you come up with something.”
Meikle forced a laugh. “I appreciate your confidence in me. It could take time, but I’ll keep you posted.” He bade her goodbye and immediately headed to his computer.
By the time he’d logged in and opened his email server, he had multiple emails from Isla, each with a pair of high-resolution photographs attached. His breath caught in his chest as he clicked through them. A stone serpent slithered across his monitor, and then a series of close-up photos showing symbols that appeared to have been scraped out with a knife.
“Oh, my dear,” he said. “What have you found?”
Chapter 20
Oban, Scotland
Maddock listened intently, his ale forgotten as Isla discussed their find with her friend, Meikle. Though his attention was focused on her conversation, he kept his eyes turned away, gazing out the window at the dark blue waters of the Firth of Lorn. A small resort town near Dunstaffnage Castle, Oban was picturesque, but the view left him cold on the inside.
He turned his attention to Bones’ and Grizzly’s discussion of Bigfoot. The two were getting along famously, but Isla seemed to share Maddock’s low opinion of the cryptid hunter.
“You and I should go Bigfoot hunting sometime,” Grizzly said to Bones. “Unless you’d rather stay close to home and look for the Skunk Ape instead.”
“Bigfoot would be cool,” Bones said hurriedly. He flashed a knowing glance in Maddock’s direction.
“Meikle says it could take some time,” Isla said, pocketing her phone.
“If he manages to decipher it at all,” Grizzly added.
“You’ve seen him in action. If anyone can do it, he can,” she said.
“It’s a race, then,” Maddock said. “Our hacker versus your scholar.”
“Let’s make it a bet,” Bones said. “Loser buys dinner and drinks…and pays for the hotel room.” He gave Isla a wink.
“Fine by me,” Isla said. “As long as you bunk with Grizzly.”
“Hey now!” Grizzly said, laughing. “Don’t I get a say in this?”
“No.” Isla turned and smiled at Maddock. He felt his cheeks flush and he quickly raised his ale and took a long swig.
“Slow it down,” she said. “I’m not trying to get you drunk.”
Maddock tried to think of a clever repartee, but that was Bones’ specialty, not that most of Bones’ comments were particularly clever.
“Actually, I have to make a call. If you’ll excuse me?” He stood up too fast and banged his knee on the table, nearly upsetting everyone’s drinks.
“Time to cut you off, Maddock,” Bones said.
“Maybe.” He made his way out of the pub and onto the street. The sidewalks bustled with tourists selecting a lunchtime destination. The aroma of seafood blended with the damp breeze blowing in off the water. He found a relatively quiet spot and called Angel.
The conversation was brief. He gave her the broad strokes of their latest mystery, omitting the men they’d encountered the previous day. Angel said all the right things, but she didn’t ask her usual dozen questions, didn’t say how much she wished she were there. She told him about her new agent, who had apparently been showing her all the sights in introducing her to all the interesting people in Hollywood. He ended the conversation before they hit the long silence that seemed to plague most of their recent talks.
As he made his way back to the restaurant, he checked his email and was pleased to see he had a message from Colin Jeong. He scanned it and grinned.
“Bones is going to love this,” he said to no one in particular.
Their meals had arrived by the time he returned to the table. As he dug into a dish of mussels, scallops and crab rillettes, he filled the others in on Jeong’s findings.
“As if we didn’t know that already,” Bones said.
Maddock ignored him. “The creature it came from comes from Scotland and its diet consisted of eels, salmon, and seals.”
“How could he tell that?” Isla asked.
“Something called ‘stable isotope analysis.’”
“Yep. Stable isotope analysis,” Grizzly said, nodding. “That’s what I figured.”
“Really?” Maddock asked. “How does it work? Jeong didn’t elaborate in his email.”
“I, um,” Grizzly shoveled a chunk of lobster in his mouth and chewed slowly, his face growing ever redder under Maddock’s and Isla’s twin stares. “It’s too much to explain. It wouldn’t make any sense if you weren’t already familiar with the scientific underpinnings of the process.”
“Sure. Anyway, he wants to do further testing on it. He said it would require taking a part of the tooth. I told him that was all right by me. We need the information more than we need a tooth no one will believe isn’t a forgery.”
“So we’re looking for a body of water in Scotland where you can find seals, eels, and salmon,” Bones said. “That narrows it down a bit.”
“There’s one more thing he mentioned,” Maddock said. “The tooth definitely came from a plesiosaur.”
Grizzly and Bones let out whoops of excitement.
Isla looked from the two men to Maddock. “Seriously? You want to go there?”
“We need something to do while we’re waiting for one of our guys to break the code. And there’s one place above all others that fits the bill.”
“Look at them. They’re like little kids at Christmas,” she said, inclining her head toward Bones and Grizzly, who were high-fiving.
“True, but I can’t bring myself to disappoint Bones. He’s wanted to go there forever.”
“This,” Isla said, “is going to be one long drive.”
Chapter 21
Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness
The ruins of Urquhart Castle stood on the banks of Loch Ness in the midst of the picturesque Scottish Highlands. Dating from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, the iconic castle was perhaps the best-known site associated with Loch Ness. Built on the site of a medieval fort, Urquhart had served as a royal castle until a series of raids took its toll. Now, little remained of its former grandeur.
Maddock found it difficult to believe he was actually seeing it in person. His was not the joyous, wide-eyed stare with which Bones took in the crumbling walls of the upper and nether baileys, the remains of the great hall, and the grandeur of Grant’s Tower, which graced most Loch Ness postcards. He did, however, feel a sense of completion as he checked off this bucket list item.
He paused, staring out at the dark, serene waters of the legendary Scottish lake, and let the atmosphere wash over him. Growing up, he’d been fascinated by the legend of Nessie, the monster of the loch. Over time, he’d come to believe her a myth, one kept alive by the tourist industry that had grown up around Loch Ness. Nothing he’d seen since their arrival that morning had changed his mind, at least on the latter score. But with the discovery of the tooth, he at least had to consider the possibility.
Isla sidled up to him. “I don’t know about this, Maddock. So much of the Nessie story is utter bollocks.”
A group of tourists standing nearby cast baleful stares in their direction.
“Not a popular opinion around here,” he said. “Maybe mind your volume?” He added a wink to show he was joking.
“But surely you know all the objections?” She began counting on her fingers as she enumerated her concerns. “Putting aside some of the hoaxes, there’s the lack of food supply to support a breeding population; the utter improbability of a prehistoric creature living here for God knows how long without a single, fully verifiable sighting; no scientific evidence; and no carcasses washing ashore. Nothing. And in an age where everyone has a phone with a camera, why aren’t we getting new pictures of her?”
“You’ve been listening to the wrong people.” Grizzly had overheard their conversation, and he and Bones moved to flank Maddock and Isla. “Nessie sightings are actually on the rise. There have been several in the past couple of years, and we’re not talking about drunkards or crackpots.”
“No, just tourists who are desperate to catch a glimpse of a monster. That and true believers who jump at every piece of floating debris.”
“Come on, chick. Don’t be a cynic,” Bones said. “It’s not impossible that some sort of creature lives primarily in the sea, but comes here from time to time.”
Isla rounded on Bones. “And gets here how? Splashing along the River Ness, right through the heart of Inverness?”
“Saint Columba spotted her in the River Ness,” Grizzly said.
“Whatever. I just don’t believe she could traverse the river without being seen several times.”
“She, or they, wouldn’t come by river,” Bones said. “They’d come by underwater channels that eventually lead to the sea.”
Isla rolled her eyes and let out a huff of breath.
“It’s not impossible,” Bones went on. “Non-native shells have been found in the Loch. And let’s be real—no one’s ever done a serious exploration of every nook and cranny of this place. It’s too big, too many cracks and crevasses, and visibility is awful.”
“Let’s say I believe there are such channels. We’re talking about a creature moving from salt water to fresh water and back.”
“Saltwater crocs,” Grizzly offered.
“Bull sharks,” Bones chimed in.
Isla turned pleading eyes at Maddock. “Help me.”
Maddock laughed. “You got yourself into this. Over the past several years, I’ve learned to keep a check on my skepticism, or at least try.”
“Fine.” She turned back to Bones and Grizzly. “I can accept that at least some of the monster sightings are living creatures, and not just logs, gas bubbles, or hoaxes. But a prehistoric creature?”
“What is it, then?” Grizzly asked.
“Seals, giant eels, perhaps Wels catfish.”
Bones snorted. “Catfish? Come on. Have you heard of Operation Deepscan? They turned up a bunch of hits on large, unknown creatures. And another expedition got underwater photos of massive flippers and one of a long-necked creature.”
“Blurry, photographically enhanced images,” Isla said.
“Only because the water’s so clogged with peat particles that a better image is impossible,” Grizzly said.
Maddock had heard enough. “Look, we aren’t going to settle this. The fact of the matter is, we found an actual tooth from a plesiosaur that lived in the Irish Sea a little over a century ago. That proves that a sea creature can go undiscovered for thousands upon thousands of years.”
“Coelacanth,” Bones harrumphed, covering a fake cough.
Maddock shot a reproving glance at him. “And while that doesn’t mean similar creatures lived in this loch, it’s worth checking out.”
Isla gave a reluctant nod. “All right. But can we agree there’s no way a German U-boat could have made its way to the Loch?”
Maddock raised his hand to forestall arguments from Bones and Grizzly. “Let’s agree it’s unlikely.”
A sudden uproar from a group of tourists drew their attention.
Maddock whipped his head around, his senses on high alert since the events of the previous day.
“Oh my God! What is that?” A young woman pointed out into the loch.
Maddock’s jaw dropped when he saw what she was looking at. A row of low, dark humps was slicing through the water, making its way down the middle of the loch.
People shouted with excitement. Camera shutters clicked. Phones and tablets were trained on the moving object.
For a moment, Maddock was a true believer. He raised his camera and focused on the row of humps.
And then it was gone, fo
llowed down into the water by a chorus of groans from the onlookers.
“False alarm.” Disappointment hung heavy on Bones’ words.
“What do you mean?” Isla asked. The sparkle in her eyes said she, too, was beginning to forget her skepticism.
“It’s a common phenomenon in lakes, particularly a narrow one like this,” Bones said, gazing at the spot where the humps had melted away.
“A boat comes by, and its wake spreads out in both directions,” Grizzly said, picking up the explanation. “Eventually the waves created by the boat bounce off the sides of the Loch and move back toward the center. Sometimes you don’t even see them until they collide again, long after the boat is gone.”
“And the collision creates what looks like a series of humps,” Bones said.
Maddock understood. “And gives the illusion of movement. That’s disappointing.”
“Enough excitement for now,” Isla said. “Let’s proceed with the treasure hunt. There’s a tour group over there.” She inclined her head toward Grant’s Tower. “Maddock and I will speak with the tour guide. See if he knows any legends of treasure around here.”
Bones quirked an eyebrow. “Why just you and Maddock?”
“You’re too intimidating,” she said. “The guy might be hesitant to talk if you’re looking over him.”
“People say that about me, too,” Grizzly said. “It’s frustrating.”
“Sure. How about you and Bones take another look around the ruins for any signs of the Tuatha? Symbols we missed. Carvings and the like.”
The two nodded, though Maddock thought he saw a touch of suspicion in Bones’ eyes. He made a point to keep a respectful distance from Isla as they walked away.
The tour guide was a tall, fair-skinned man with a thick head of white hair and twinkling blue eyes. His name tag read “Douglas.” He greeted them warmly and was happy to chat about the history of the castle and Nessie sightings that had occurred in this area. When Maddock steered the conversation toward the topic of treasure, he raised his bushy eyebrows in surprise.