Solomon Key

Chapter 18

Nomi stared at the carving that lay on the table before her. It was a beautiful artifact, expertly crafted from a bluish stone. It seemed to emanate a sense of history. For what must have been the hundredth time she ran a finger across it, relishing the cold, smooth sensation. It was magnificent…and useless.

“You think you’ll learn something through osmosis?” Constance’s sardonic voice penetrated her contemplations.

Nomi forced herself to maintain a calm demeanor. She hated that Constance could slip up on her silently.

“Just admiring the craftsmanship. Dzimba dza mabwe.” She spoke the name like a blessing.

“May her greatness never be forgotten,” Constance intoned. She picked up the carved bird and glared at it. “What secret are you hiding?” she whispered.

Nomi laughed. “You believe interrogating a sculpture will be any more effective than osmosis?”

The corners of Constance’s mouth actually twitched. “I’m willing to try anything at this point.” She stood and began pacing. “Caesar left this, only this, in the hidden compartment. It is important. But why?”

Nomi kept her silence. She enjoyed watching Constance flounder.

“The obvious connection is to Great Zimbabwe. But it has been searched countless times.”

Great Zimbabwe was a medieval city in southeast Zimbabwe. It had once served as the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, and had served as a royal palace. Though it had long ago fallen into ruin, many of its prominent features remained. The many gold mines in the area had made it a prime candidate for the site of Solomon’s Mines and many had conducted fruitless searches. It was now a World Heritage Site, but that had not stopped Nomi and a few of the cousins from conducting a clandestine exploration of the ruined city and surrounding area. They had found nothing.

“What if the bird itself is a clue?” The question didn’t seem to be directed at Nomi. Constance’s gaze was fixed on the ceiling. “If this is a unique species, perhaps the mine is located in the region from which they come.”

A sudden thought struck Nomi. “Let me see it, cousin.”

Constance handed the carving to her. Nomi turned it over and shook her head. It was so obvious! How had she not realized?

“How does it stand?”

“What’s that?” Constance asked, still deep in thought.

“What sculptor shapes a statue without a base on which to stand?” She held the bird up for emphasis. The thin branch on which it sat curved downward and came to a smooth end.

Constance understood immediately. “That bitch! She broke it off of the base!”

“Someone did at some time in the past.”

“If someone else had discovered the hiding place, they would have taken the entire thing. She needed to get away from us, so she kept the bit of the carving that actually mattered.” Constance clenched her fist and cocked her elbow, but before she could actually punch something, a sense of calm returned. “It’s all right.”

“You think so?” Nomi couldn’t see anything all right about the situation. If, as she suspected, the missing piece of the sculpture held an important clue, it was now lost to them, and all they knew was a blonde white girl had taken it.

“Back on the island I managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of their boat through my binoculars. I got the name and had a cousin do some research.” She took out her smartphone and tapped the screen a few times. “I’m almost certain that the boat is owned by a man named Dane Maddock who lives in Key West, Florida.”

Nomi couldn’t stifle her gasp.

“What is it?” Constance snapped.

“That’s impossible. Maddock is dead.” Her head spun, trying to make sense of this new piece of information. She thought about the woman on the island. It had been dark, but if her memory could be trusted, there was a resemblance there. The woman could have been Maddock’s sister.

Constance folded her arms and slowly raised her chin until she seemed to be looking down at Nomi from a high place.

“What have you kept from me?”

Nomi struggled to regain her composure, add some strength to her words. She told Constance about meeting Maddock and Bonebrake, and how she had taken advantage of their skills to find Caesar’s headquarters. “I didn’t feel they were worth mentioning. I had already taken care of them.”

“Did you watch them die?” Constance asked coolly.

“No.” The admission was a wrench. “But I destroyed the only way out.”

“The only exit you know of. If you want a man dead, kill him.” Shaking her head, Constance moved to the window, rested her palms on the sill, and stared out at the balmy day. “We have to consider the possibility that this Maddock person is alive.”

“He wasn’t on the island,” Nomi said.

“Unless he was the man shooting at us from the shadows.” Constance turned back around, her brown eyes boring into Nomi. “I want to know everything you’ve hidden from me. Right now.”

“There’s nothing else.” Nomi waved off Constance’s protests. “Understand, I’ve been working on this for some time. It’s possible there might be something minor I haven’t mentioned, but I’m not intentionally keeping any secrets.”

Constance pursed her lips, disbelief evident in her gaze, but she didn’t argue.

“It’s possible that Maddock and Bonebrake are, in fact, dead. If the people operating the boat were friends of his, he might have spoken with one of them the night before our dive.”

“Which would explain why they were on Caesar’s trail.” Constance nodded. “Regardless of whether or not they live, our next step is clear. We will go to Key West and find the woman who stole the artifact.”