The Goddess Legacy

Chapter 29

Ten minutes later Spencer left the car in the driveway of an electronics emporium with the keys in the ignition and the window down. He wiped the steering wheel, shifter, and door handles. There were still thousands of people on the street, so they had no problem blending into the pedestrian traffic as Allie checked her phone for possible hotels near the train stations. One, named after a popular American rock starlet, drew a smirk from Drake.

“That sounds perfect. A budget hotel with diva pretensions,” he said.

“There are a bunch more around there if we run into a problem,” Allie said, studying her phone map.

“So now all we have to do is cross town, and we’re home free.”

They continued walking, the balmy night soothing their nerves, and stopped outside of a nightclub that was just getting warmed up. After a short wait a taxi dropped off a couple, and they snagged it and gave the driver the name and address of the hotel. He twisted to look at Allie and scowled. “Are you sure? Not a very nice place. There are many better for the same price.”

“Near that one?”

“Oh, yes, I know of several you would prefer, if you saw the one… in question.”

“Fair enough. Take us to the least expensive.”

The establishment recommended by the driver turned out to be one slim level better than a barn, but in its favor, the reception clerk didn’t ask for anything but money when Spencer and Allie checked in. Drake waited a half hour and then entered and rented a room, receiving the identical lack of scrutiny, and used Spencer’s cell to call Allie once he was in his room.

“We’re in 211,” she said. “Door’s open.”

When he arrived, Allie was seated on the bed with her tablet and Spencer was watching the television news, waiting to see whether the professor’s murder would be reported. Allie looked up when Drake locked the door behind him and stared at the two beds. “I figured you and I could swap since this one has twins,” she said.

Any vision of Allie’s naked form next to him evaporated as Drake nodded. “Good idea.”

“You think Helms will live?” Allie asked Spencer.

“Maybe. I conked him pretty good, but his heart was still beating. The cops will deal with him — the murder weapon has his prints all over it, and he’s at the scene of the crime, so it should be open and shut.”

“They’ll probably want to know who hit him.”

“Any story he tells will be presumed to be a lie, judging by the way I was treated,” Spencer said.

“Still, it’s a fair question.”

“They might just assume that the professor did it as he was dying,” Drake said hopefully.

“Either way, it’s not likely that they spring into action looking for anyone else with him caught red-handed,” Spencer said.

“I wonder who he was working for,” Allie said. “He said ‘powerful interest,’ or something like that.”

“Which tells us why Indiana was scared witless,” observed Drake.

Spencer nodded. “Apparently whoever used to have it will do anything to get it back.”

“I’ve got photos of the flip side now, so it doesn’t matter. We don’t need the dagger anymore — which raises another obvious problem: we need to find someone who can translate the remainder of the script,” Allie said.

“Which puts us back at square one.”

Allie raised an eyebrow. “Maybe, maybe not. I have an idea, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.”

“What is it?” Drake asked.

Spencer shushed them and turned up the volume on the news. An earnest woman was staring at the camera with a troubled expression, speaking in English.

“Hours earlier, a gunshot drew the police to a privileged enclave in one of New Delhi’s most expensive areas, where the body of Dr. Rakesh Sharma was found, murdered. Details are few at the moment, but our sources tell us that the police are actively pursuing leads to find the killer. Anyone with information is urged to call the hotline number on the screen. All tips will be kept confidential.”

Drake and Allie shook their heads. Spencer frowned. “Unbelievable,” he said.

“Maybe they haven’t told the reporters everything yet?” Allie ventured.

“Or he somehow got out before they showed up,” Drake said.

“Or worst case, whoever hired Helms has the clout to get charges dropped even with him at the crime scene. In which case, we’re in even more trouble than we thought,” Spencer said.

“If he’s on the loose, he knows we have the dagger… and he knows our names,” Allie pointed out.

“Which means even if we somehow manage to get out of this, we’ll be at constant risk,” Drake said.

“There’s an easy way to solve that. We can just donate the dagger to a museum or something and make it public knowledge. Then there’s no reason to.”

“It may not be so straightforward.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. Maybe the real value is whatever’s hidden in the script, and the dagger is just the messenger, so to speak. If that’s the case…” Spencer said, not needing to finish the thought.

Drake sank onto the bed next to Allie, his eyes glued to the screen. A night shot outside of the professor’s house filled the background as a journalist echoed the newscaster’s paucity of information. When the report shifted back to the newscast and the headline switched to a bus strike, Spencer lowered the volume and turned to them.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to hose off and hit it. We’ve got our work cut out for us tomorrow, and I’m beat,” he said, rising from his chair.

“Sounds like a plan. If I can sleep at all, that is,” Allie said, switching her tablet off and standing. She placed it in her duffel and held out her hand to Drake. “Can I have your key?”

“Oh. Sure,” he said, retrieving it from his pocket. He placed it in her hand and there was an awkward moment when he debated kissing her, but with Spencer standing there and Allie looking exhausted, he thought better of it at the last second. To his surprise, she leaned forward and planted one on his lips, and then pulled back and smiled ruefully. “See you bright and early.”

“Sleep well.”

“I’ll be counting sheep all night at this rate, but I’ll do my best.”

“More like roaches in this place.”

“Thanks for planting that visual as your parting shot,” Allie said.

Drake smiled. “Don’t worry. The rats probably keep them at bay.”

“Much better. Good night,” she said before turning and moving to the door. When she’d gone, Spencer grinned at Drake.

“Love’s in the air. I told you this trip would be a good idea. Look at how close it’s brought you two.”

“I’ll try to think of a suitable way to thank you,” Drake volleyed back. “Don’t slip in the shower or hit your head or anything.”

“Oh. That’s right. You haven’t seen the bathroom.”

Drake took a deep breath. “That bad?”

“Let’s just say the mold has mold.”

“But there’s a toilet, right?”

Spencer’s face could have been carved from stone. “I won’t spoil the surprise.”