The Eye of Heaven

37

Lazlo was subdued the following day at breakfast. Dark circles ringed his eyes, lending him the look of a haggard raccoon, and it was obvious to Sam and Remi that he hadn’t spent much of the night sleeping. After his third cup of coffee, he sat back and fixed them with a fatigued stare.

“The answer to your question is yes. Yes, I translated the inscription. And, yes, it tells an incredible tale. Unfortunately, the one thing it doesn’t describe is where to find the Eye of Heaven,” he said.

“What does it say?” Remi asked. Lazlo pulled a piece of worn notepaper from his pocket and unfolded it. He slipped it across to Sam and Remi, who read it carefully.

Sam and Remi puzzled over the final line as Lazlo watched their reaction. When Sam looked up, his expression reflected the frustration Lazlo felt after spending half the night on the translation.

“So there’s a marker near a rock cliff beneath a hill or mountain. Piece of cake. That only leaves, what, several thousand miles of Mexican and Central American coastland? And a marker that could have well disintegrated long ago,” Sam said.

“Assuming it wasn’t a casualty to one of the earthquakes that have reshaped the coastline and decimated cities in Mexico over the last thousand years,” Remi added.

“Or hurricanes. Let’s not forget the hurricanes.”

“Although it does say that a marker had been built. Not erected or carved. Built. I take it to mean that it must be referring to a structure. Where the ships landed,” Lazlo said.

“Oh well, in that case forgive my pessimism. All we’re looking for is a marker that was built on the coast a thousand years ago. Which could mean anything from a pile of rocks to who knows what,” Remi corrected.

Sam appeared lost in thought. He took a long sip on his coffee and then stopped, the cup frozen in midair as he turned to Remi.

“On the ship. The Baffin find. There was a rune stone aboard. Do you have a picture of it?”

She nodded. “I think so. But I’m not sure where. Probably on one of the flash drives.”

“We never bothered to translate it.”

Remi pushed back from the table. “Oh … my …”

“If I might be so bold, I’d love to get a look at that photo sooner than later,” Lazlo said.

Remi almost ran back to the room. The waitress cleared the plates out of the way and Sam was laying down several large-denomination peso notes when Remi returned, holding a blue flash drive aloft in triumph.

“How long will it take you to translate it?” she asked as she handed it to Lazlo.

“Depends on how much text there is. How big was the stone?”

“Maybe two feet by three. I honestly thought it was ballast the first time I saw it in the hold.”

“Let me get to work. Shouldn’t be more than an hour or two. Certainly not after all the practice I’ve recently had.”

“We’ll wait here for you.”

“No need. If you want to go to the dig, I’ll meet you there once I have something to report.”

Remi nodded. “One thing, though. I think for now it would be best to keep our discoveries to ourselves. This could well lead us to the Eye of Heaven. I don’t want to broadcast that and become targets. Or get beaten to the punch. So mum’s the word,” she said.

“My lips are sealed,” Lazlo agreed as he rose. “You can tell the lads I slept in, should anyone have a burning desire to consult with me about the price of tea.”

“The man needs his beauty rest,” Sam agreed.

“Good luck, Lazlo,” Remi said.

Lazlo gave her a pained smile. “Luck will have little to do with it.”

Antonio and Maribela were already at the tomb site when Sam and Remi got there, supervising what seemed like a phalanx of archaeologists and techs from the Institute, all outfitted in newly issued white lab coats, while a cadre of armed soldiers looked on. Antonio waved when he saw them and the guards let them through.

“Good morning. Where’s your partner in crime?” Maribela asked with a sunny smile.

“He should be along anytime,” Sam said. “What have you got planned for today?”

“We’re going to begin mapping the area and go over the lower tomb with the sonar before we send it back — just in case,” Antonio explained. “And I’ve just briefed everyone on the protocols for documenting the find with video and photographs.”

“Sounds like you’ve got everything under control,” Remi affirmed.

“As much as anything of this scale can be managed. But make no mistake — this will be a multiyear endeavor. It dwarfs any of the other excavations we have going.”

“Do you have a team working on the casket inscription?” Sam asked.

“That will be processed in due time.”

“We can help with that, if you like,” Remi offered.

“We appreciate it, but, honestly, you two have done more than enough,” Maribela said, her tone cordial but her glance dismissive. “Which reminds me. We’ll be doing a press release and a conference later and would love to have you there.”

They were interrupted by a harried-looking scientist carrying a clipboard and a radio, and Sam and Remi used the disruption to move away from the command center. Sam held one hand over his eyes, shielding them from the morning sun, and watched the activity near the mouth of the tomb.

“You have any interest whatsoever in doing a press conference?” he asked Remi.

“Not unless someone’s holding a gun to my head.”

“So we’ll beg off?”

“Absolutely. We can claim one of us got food poisoning.”

“Works every time. Want to flip a coin?”

Remi shook her head. “No, I’ll be the fall guy this time.”

Half an hour later, Lazlo arrived and, after running the security gauntlet, headed directly for them, barely contained excitement playing across his face. Maribela watched him march toward the Fargos, and Sam moved to meet him before he gave anything away.

“I say, I think I’ve—” Lazlo started, but Sam cut him off.

“We have a lot of folks paying attention to us today. Maybe we should take a nice, slow stroll around the pyramid while you tell me what the rune stone says?”

“Ah, quite. I see. Well, lead the way. Sorry. Didn’t mean to give away the game.”

“No problem. Remi, will you join us?”

“You couldn’t stop me.”

Once they were out of earshot, Lazlo quickly gave them a rundown of what he’d discovered.

“The rune seems to have fairly specific instructions on locating the Eye of Heaven. It doesn’t refer to it as such, but it does say the pride of the New World resides beneath a temple. And then it goes on to describe landmarks. A jutting peak just south of it. A nearby lagoon. Cliffs. A small nearby island. I think that there’s enough to go on. With a detailed examination of the coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, we should be able to narrow it down — assuming that the landmarks are still roughly the same.”

Remi’s eyes lit up. “Why, Lazlo, that’s wonderful. Do you have a written translation for us?”

“Of course.” He slipped her a folded piece of paper. She slid it into her rear pocket and exchanged a conspiratorial look with Sam.

“Lazlo, we’re going to bow out, claiming stomach problems. You’re welcome to stay or you can join us back in Mexico City while we research this.”

“Much as I enjoy standing in the sun turning into a lobster, I think I’ll err on the side of caution and accompany you. Do you mind?”

“Of course not.”

Sam and Remi moved back to the staging area and, after a brief discussion with Antonio, begged off the media circus in favor of returning to their motel. Antonio had one of his assistants drive them back, and by noon Lazlo was back at the clinic and Sam and Remi were checked into the St. Regis.

Sam’s first call once they had settled into their room was to Selma, who agreed to stand by for receipt of the translation so the team could go to work on locating the area. Remi quickly typed it into her computer and sent it off, and as she watched the confirmation of receipt appear in her in-box, smiled at Sam.

“It’s only a matter of a few days before Antonio and Maribela get around to translating the inscription, you know.”

“Yes, but nobody has the message from the longboat except us.”

“What about Antonio and his sister? How do you feel about involving them?” Remi asked.

“I think once we have an idea what we’re looking at, we can make that call. Right now, the fewer people with all the puzzle pieces, the better. There have been too many leaks already. Why tempt fate?”