by David Wood
“You’re the first to ask me about the Urquhart Treasure. It’s not commonly-known.”
“We actually don’t know anything about it,” Isla said. “I’m writing a book on legendary Scottish treasures and wondered about any that might be associated with the Loch.”
“Well then,” Douglas said. “You’ll be wanting to know about the Urquhart Treasure, I suppose Long ago, Highlanders called this place Strone Castle, after the fortress that sat here upon Strone Point. As legend had it, the old fortress that sat here was built atop two vaulted cells built into the hollow rock below. One of the cells is filled with gold—a treasure of unimaginable value. The other seals up a pestilence that, if it were released, could wipe out all of Scotland. And no one knows which vault is which, save the men who sealed them there long ago, and that secret died with them.”
“The Lady or the Tiger?” Isla said.
“Exactly,” Douglas agreed. “Even if someone found the treasure, they’d have to be certain which vault they were opening, or else all could be lost. Assuming one believes the legend is true, that is.”
“Has anyone ever searched for the treasure?” Maddock asked.
Douglas shook his head. “Not as far as I know. As I told you, it’s not very well-known, and the few who know about it take it none too serious.”
“Any chambers underneath the ruins?” Maddock pressed
“Not that anyone’s found. Given that, in its long history, the castle has been raided, pillaged, and even blown up, if there are vaults down there, they’re buried deep. Of course, the water level of the Loch has risen quite a bit since the construction of the Caledonian Canal back in the 1800s. Perhaps there’s a way in from under the water.”
“Any idea who put the treasure there? The Tuatha de Dannan perhaps?” Isla asked.
Douglas’ smile melted. “No idea. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be getting back to my group now.”
“That was odd,” Isla whispered.
“Yeah. Considering the guys who tried to kidnap you are Tuatha, you should probably keep mention of them on the down-low.”
“All right.” She sighed, stared down at her hands. “It’s certainly not the Tuatha I imagined when mum and dad used to tell me stories as a child.”
Maddock looked at Isla. Something had been bothering him since they’d first met.
“Isla, you mentioned your parents. You said they ‘believed’ in the treasure. What did you mean by that?”
“They’re dead,” she said flatly. The expression on her face said no further questions would be welcome.
Maddock considered pressing the issue, but then his phone vibrated. He checked it to find a message from Jimmy.
Check your email. Found the key in a scan of an old journal. I’m not saying where I had to hack into in order to find it. You owe me bigger than ever.
Maddock smiled and texted back. You live for this stuff. He laughed aloud when Jimmy immediately replied with a photo of Johnny Cash giving the finger to the camera.
“Good news?” Isla asked.
“I think so.” He opened his email and gave it a quick read. “Looks like our guy wins.”
“Seriously?”
He handed her the phone and she read Jimmy’s email with interest. “Mind if I pass this along to Meikle? Perhaps he could reverse engineer it for confirmation.”
Maddock shrugged. “Can’t hurt. Two heads are better than one.”
While they headed off in search of Bones and Grizzly, Isla called Meikle and shared with him the message Jimmy had decoded. He expressed surprise that someone had decoded the message so quickly, but promised to do what he could to confirm it.
They found Bones and Grizzly down by the waterfront. Grizzly was loudly speculating about the possibilities of a dive in this area.
“I think we should scour it thoroughly. No one with my level of experience has ever...” He halted in midsentence when he saw Maddock.
Maddock figured he’d hold off on mentioning the legend of the treasure since they now had a new lead to follow. He didn’t need to fuel Grizzly’s desire to make another dive. Any more underwater exploits would be himself and Bones.
“We totally struck out. No signs of the Tuatha anywhere,” Bones said. “How about you? Did you get lucky?”
Maddock didn’t miss the double-entendre, but he chose to ignore it. “We might have. Jimmy thinks he’s deciphered the clue from Dunstaffnage.”
“Hell, yes!” Bones pumped his fist. “What is it?”
“We need to find a place called the Well of the Dead.”
Chapter 22
Culloden Battlefield
The sign up ahead read Culloden Battlefield. Maddock looked out across the rolling, green landscape, heart racing as it always did when he was hot on the trail of a treasure. The historic battlefield, the site of the final battle of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, stood only a short distance east of Inverness, very close to Loch Ness.
“Tell me again exactly how the message reads,” Isla said.
“Beneath the Well of the Dead, Saint Columba’s beastie guards the treasure from the unworthy.” Maddock had memorized it by now.
“The only Well of the Dead I’ve ever heard of is here at the battlefield,” she said. “Internet searches didn’t come up with anything else, so fingers crossed.”
“The Saint Columba bit is a home run,” Grizzly said.
Isla glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “You guys mentioned that name earlier. What’s the story, again?”
Bones cleared his throat loudly and affected a lecturing tone. “Saint Columba was a traveling monk. Back in the sixth century…”
“565 AD,” Grizzly interjected.
“Not important to the story, but okay. Back in 565, he was traveling in the area of Loch Ness when he came across some locals…”
“Picts,” Grizzly said.
“Maybe you could have him tell the story. He seems to know it better than you do,” Maddock jibed.
“He doesn’t know it at all. He’s got an article open on his phone and he’s injecting superfluous details.”
Grizzly smiled. “The women say I make everything super.”
Bones gave him a long, blank stare. “Dude, I have no freaking idea if you’re joking or not. Anyway, Saint Columba came across a group of Picts on the shore of the River Ness who were burying one of their own. They told him the man had been bitten by a water monster that terrorized them from time to time. They were able to catch him with hooks and lines and pull him to shore before he was devoured, but they didn’t manage to save him.” He paused and looked at Grizzly, as if daring him to interrupt, before continuing his story. “Saint Columba needed to get across the river, and there was a boat on the other side. Either he didn’t believe the story about the monster or he was kind of a tool, because he made one of his men swim across to retrieve the boat.”
“Big mistake,” Grizzly said.
This time, Bones ignored him. “So, the dude gets out into the water and, big surprise, here comes the monster. Saint Columba raises his staff, calls up some Jesus mojo, and tells the monster to walk, which he does.”
“Some stories also say he used his staff to raise the dead man,” Grizzly added, “but they aren’t considered reliable.”
“But the monster story is considered reliable?” Isla asked, eyebrows raised.
“We’re not going to go through this all over again, are we?” Bones said.
“I suppose not,” Isla said. “So it does seem to connect with the tooth and the Loch Ness legend. And if there truly are underwater channels leading from the loch to the sea, it’s not unreasonable to think one might run beneath Culloden.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Bones said. “It doesn’t hurt to put your skepticism on the back burner every once in a while. About a lot of things,” he added with a sly wink.
“If you say so,” Isla said. “Understand, the only reason I’m even entertaining this notion is the fact that you guys recov
ered that tooth. And even that I’m taking on faith, since all I’ve seen are photos.”
“Just to be clear,” Bones said, “I found the tooth. Maddock just came along for the swim.”
“Yeah, but who found the journal?” Maddock retorted, then immediately kicked himself for stooping to Bones’ level.
“Fine. You’re both very talented.” Isla reached over and patted Maddock’s thigh. He didn’t miss how long her hand lingered there before she removed it.
They parked the car in the lot closest to the Well of the Dead and began the short walk to the site. They hadn’t gone far when Isla let out an audible gasp.
“What is it?” Maddock asked.
“Looks like the Tuatha got here first.” She pointed to a group of four standing a hundred or so yards ahead of them. “You see the tall man with the long gray hair? That’s Michael Fairly, an old friend of my father. He’s obsessed with the history and legends of the Tuatha de Dannan. On more than one occasion, Dad hinted that Michael was one of them.”
“What about the others?” Maddock asked.
Isla squinted. “I can’t tell. It’s too far and they’re all facing away. None of them look familiar.”
As they watched, one man slowly turned around.
“Unless I’m mistaken,” Bones said, “the guy on the far right is Brown, one of the guys I caught at Dunstaffnage.”
“You’ve got sharp eyes,” Isla said.
“That’s only one of the many services I provide,” Bones said. “By the way, at least one of them is a woman. She’s wearing a suit, but it’s definitely a chick. Can’t tell about the other.”
“What do we do?” Isla asked.
“I don’t want a confrontation if we can help it,” Maddock said. “Bones and I have two pistols and sixteen bullets between us. We should assume all of them are armed, and that they have backup in the area.”
“I’m a good shot if you want me to take one of the guns,” Grizzly offered.
“I don’t,” Maddock said. “You guys go back to the car. I’ll see if I can sneak up on them. If they find something down there, we might have to take steps. If it proves to be a dead end, they’ll have done our work for us.”
“I’m better at blending into the landscape,” Bones said.
“That’s debatable, and in Scotland, you stand out a lot more than I do. Hell, you stand out anywhere. Now, let’s move before they see us.”
Maddock made a quick sprint for the nearby tree line. The forest was sparse but provided sufficient coverage for one as experienced as he was at hiding behind cover. He quickly closed the distance between himself and the four members of the Tuatha, and shadowed them until he ran out of forest. He watched as the group stopped at a stone marker. He knew from photographs that this was the site of the Well of the Dead.
Lush grass, knee high in places, ran from the forest to the well. “I guess it’s basic training all over again,” Maddock said. He chose his spot with care, dropped to the ground, and crawled forward until he was within earshot of the foursome. A low stone wall, buried in the same deep grass, stood between Maddock and the Tuatha, and ran all the way down to the small pool of water that was the well itself. If Maddock wanted to, he could crawl within arm’s reach of it unseen. At the moment, there didn’t seem to be any need to get closer.
He peered through the lush greenery, and managed to get a good look at his quarry. Fairly, the gray-haired man whom Isla had identified as a friend of her father, stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at the stone marker. Brown stood twenty paces away, staring out at the parking lot. Maddock could tell by the lump inside the man’s jacket pocket that he’d replaced the weapon Bones had taken from him. The other two were middle-aged, one a tall and distinguished-looking woman with gray-streaked auburn hair, knotted in a bun. The other was a rail-thin woman with short, red hair and a permanent scowl. Both wore expensive-looking suits, tailor made by Maddock’s estimation.
His eyes moved to the triangular stone marker at the edge of the pathway that ended at the well. A message was engraved in the surface in rough text:
WELL OF THE DEAD
HERE THE CHIEF OF THE MACGILLIVRAYS FELL
The Tuatha stared at the marker, then moved along to the small pool.
“I don’t see how this could possibly be the place,” Fairly said. “I’ve checked the geological surveys and there’s nothing down there. I think this is a dead end.”
Maddock had to agree. The Well of the Dead was not his idea of a well. It was just a very small hole from which water bubbled up. Back in the states it would have been called a natural spring.
“I thought you said your man, Meikle, was reliable,” the older woman said.
Maddock’s fists clenched at the mention of Isla’s friend. Rather, the man she thought was a friend. So that’s how the Tuatha had managed to dog their trail.
“Brigid, we’ve been through this,” Fairly said. “Meikle is competent and dependable, but there are bound to be occasional mistakes in his work. He’s decrypting codes that have withstood translation for years, centuries even. Sometimes there’s a certain amount of guesswork involved.”
Brigid rubbed her chin, nodding thoughtfully. “He was correct about Dunstaffnage. And no one would have suspected the existence of the cavern found by Isla and her people. Perhaps this is a similar situation?”
“You mean there’s a cavern deep underground?” Fairly gave a shake of the head. “I doubt it.”
“We should have the area excavated, just to be safe. Or at least drill down and check for open spaces.”
“That could be a problem,” Fairly said.
Brigid quirked an eyebrow. “Not for me.” She took out his phone, but before she could punch up a number, Brown hurried forward.
“I apologize for the interruption,” he said quickly. “I think there’s a problem.”
Brigid froze, slowly raised her head. “Go on,” she said, not looking at Brown.
“I just saw the big Indian who…”
“The man who single-handedly neutralized you and Campbell?”
At that, the thin, red-haired woman let out a harsh laugh.
“Where did you see him?” Brigid asked.
“In the car park. I couldn’t tell who else his is with him, but I assume one of them is,” he hesitated, “Isla Mulheron.” He swallowed hard. “What do you want me to do?”
Brigid exhaled slowly. “Isla is here, which means we are no longer one step behind her. Her companions can safely be eliminated.” She turned to the red-haired woman. “O’Brien, go with him and make sure he doesn’t make a botch of it. And no witnesses.”
O’Brien drew her pistol and grinned.
“I can do it,” Brown said hurriedly. “Please let me take care of it.”
Brigid looked at Fairly, who nodded.
“We don’t know how many men she has in her employ. Campbell’s sweeping the area, but he could be a long way away. It might be a good idea to keep O’Brien with us.”
Brigid finally looked in Brown’s direction. “Fine. Make it quick and clean.”
Heart racing, Maddock took out his phone and fired off a quick text message to Bones.
Tuatha coming. Get out of here.
The reply came a few seconds later.
Roger that. What about you?
Maddock tapped a quick reply.
I’ll catch up.
He put away his phone and assessed the situation. He was confident there was nothing to be found here at the well. Either Jimmy had made a mistake in the translation or the clue was a false lead. He had a pistol with eight shots. Brigid and Fairly were completely unaware of his presence, but now that they knew Bones was in the area, O’Brien appeared to be on high alert. She still had her weapon drawn, and her eyes swept the grassy area where Maddock was concealed.
Maddock had no idea of O’Brien’s level of skill, nor how close by Campbell might be. It was too risky to try and take all three of them out. Besides that, Maddock was n
o assassin. Yes, Brigid had ordered Brown to eliminate Bones and Grizzly, but none of the people standing before him posed an immediate threat to Maddock. The rationalizing required to turn three murders into an act of self-defense was too much for him. He’d simply have to get away.
Moving silent as a snake in tall grass, he dropped onto his belly and slithered away.
I hope I don’t end up regretting this.
A ghostly air seemed to hang around the Clava Cairns. The Bronze Age cemetery complex lay a little over a mile from Culloden, but it felt worlds away. A complex array of graves, cairns, and standing stones gave it an unearthly feel. As Maddock emerged from the trees and into their midst, he almost expected to be greeted by the ghosts of long-dead soldiers.
He’d had no difficulty getting away from the unsuspecting members of the Tuatha, who were focused on plotting their next move. None of them believed the Well of the Dead would turn up any new clues, and seemed at a loss for where to go next. The problem was, Maddock and his friends were at a similar standstill.
“At least we’re not running behind,” he said.
A pair of tourists passed by. He greeted them with a smile and a nod, and was taken aback when they frowned and hurried away. It took him a moment to realize what had elicited the reaction. His clothing was filthy, streaked with mud and covered in grass stains and dirt smudges from his crawl through the grass.
“Smooth as ever, Maddock.” Bones appeared from behind a tree that Maddock swore wasn’t large enough to hide his friend’s bulk. “You charm everyone you meet.”
“You got away all right?” Maddock asked.
“No problem at all,” Bones said. “There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot besides ours. I figured one or both belonged to the Tuatha, so I slashed their tires.”
“Nice. Where are Isla and Grizzly?”
“Over there.” He inclined his head toward one of the ring cairns.
The low, round structure loomed atop a large earth mound. The cairn itself stood shoulder height to Maddock. The base was constructed of huge, gray stones. The center was filled in with stones of varying sizes. A slit just wide enough for a man to walk through radiated out from an open ring in the center. Inside, Grizzly and Isla waited.