by W H Lock
Quinn took a seat across from Nelson.
"But back to business. Things like this come across my desk when she suddenly shows up as a replacement for another nun at a parole hearing for a known con artist that's a deft hand at illusions. Especially one suspected of having conned several million in gold from the White Dragon of Cleveland and survived."
"That's flattering you think I'm an artist, Nelson," Quinn said. "That actually means a lot coming from a guy like you. But what does this have to do with anything? She's still just an ex-soon-to-be nun taking tours and maybe filling in for a friend. Nothing FBI related so far."
"What went missing the day she took the tour was Coronado’s Lantern. Are you familiar with it?"
Quinn shook his head.
Nelson pulled a few pieces of paper out of the folder, sorted through them and fished out a sketch. "It's an old oil lamp from the conquistador days. Supposedly, Coronado used it to help him find the Seven Cities of Gold. He believed that the light from the lantern would reveal the secret paths that led to the cities. It’s hard to argue with his result, that’s for sure."
"Quaint," Quinn said. The drawing was of an unremarkable brass lamp. Quinn thought it looked more like something a genie would find comfortable. "I know a couple of guys, we could make a nice profit from it."
Nelson nodded. "Today it's believed that the lamp has the power to reveal the truth of things, but mostly it's just a relic from the past sitting in the Vatican vaults for centuries. No one is really sure what it does since it's been out of circulation for so long."
Quinn shrugged. "I'm still not seeing anything here."
Nelson nodded. "It's also one of the three items theorized needed to destroy the world."
"What?"
"I don't get it either, but that's what the eggheads and the priests from the Vatican keep telling me. Combine this thing with a specific dagger and a specific skull, and you can end the world."
Quinn shook his head. He couldn't process the idea of Gwen laughing manically while trying to hold a skull and an old oil lamp while attempting to stab the world with a dagger. In Quinn’s head, this just wasn't adding up, but somehow in his gut, this was making a kind of sense. The sort of sense that added up to a lot of wrong sounding answers.
"So you can see why this is on my plate, Quinn. A young woman has a nervous breakdown because a statue of an Angel is talking to her. Then she drops off the face of the world only to turn up a few days later in Italy looking like a different person. Then shows up at a parole hearing with a long list of credentials she didn't earn for a man known to be gifted at getting people to give him things. Things they wouldn't normally part with. And then the owner of the skull's house burns down, a dragon you've been connected to was seen in the area, and the skull disappears."
Quinn shrugged and after a moment said, "So? Why are you here? Why are you telling me all of this."
"Because the statue was of an angel that's dropped from any contact. People who regularly talk to angels can't get a hold of this guy. He's gone too. You know that I think?"
Quinn shook his head again. He tugged the picture of Oscar and Gwen walking through the airport.
"How did she know about the lantern? Apocalypse stuff wasn't an area of study for her but all of a sudden she not only knows that three things she'll need to destroy the world but where they're at. She suddenly is seen with the sort of guys who can get those three things for her. I think your girl is working for an Angel that drove her crazy. I think they're getting the things necessary to destroy the world and I really like to stop that."
Quinn looked up at the special agent.
"So what's it going to be, Quinn? Are you going to help me save the world from an apocalypse you started or what?"
<<<
The Dragon Sting
Want to find out the story on how Quinn conned $4 million in gold from the Great Dragon of Cleveland?
Find Out Today!
The Fiddler’s Dagger
If the FBI is to be believed, thanks to Quinn, the world is two steps closer to the apocalypse. Can Quinn stop the end of the world before it’s too late? Will he even try?
Get the sequel today!
Acknowledgments
No man is an island, and I am no exception. No book is created and published in isolation. This work is the cumulative effort of an entire team, of which I am only one member.
About the Author
W. H. Lock is the author of the Jack Story series and the Quinn Caper trilogy. He was born in Chicago but somehow ended up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with a wife and two sons. He makes his online home at www.whistlelock.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
What’s with all the whistlelocks? You might be able to guess but if you buy him a couple of drinks he’ll probably tell you the whole story.