The Minoan Cipher

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Tensions were high on the Santa Maria. The helicopters could return any minute. The fishing boat would make an easy target. But the return trip to Cadiz was uneventful. The boat pulled safely back to the dock late in the afternoon.

Hawkins thanked the captain and his son, then he got into a taxi with Abby and Calvin. Hawkins carried the artifact in a backpack. At the hotel, they made plans to meet for dinner and went to their rooms to shower and change clothes. Hawkins washed away the sea grime, changed into fresh slacks and was just buttoning his shirt when his phone signaled a text message.

Matt. Please Skype Dr. Constantine Vedrakis at this number and show him your exciting find. Thx. KK

Hawkins sent Kalliste a quick reply and connected his tablet with the number she had given him. A wide, sunburned face, framed by snowy-white hair and beard appeared on the screen. Hawkins estimated Vedrakis to be in his sixties. Eyes the hue of a New England winter sky peered through wire-rimmed glasses.

“Hello, Professor Vedrakis. My name is Matt Hawkins. Kalliste Kalchis suggested that we talk.”

Speaking with a trace of an accent, the professor said, “I find it hard to believe Kalliste ever suggested anything in her life. She has the guile of Odysseus and the relentlessness of Artemis.”

Hawkins nodded his agreement; he knew from personal experience that Kalliste was an accomplished arm-twister. “I was being diplomatic.”

“No need, Mr. Hawkins. I have the highest regard for my brilliant colleague. Otherwise I might have brushed her away when she suggested I talk to you. Our conversation must be short. I have my hands full herding fifty energetic young college students who are in Crete under a program with the University of Buffalo.”

“Then I’ll cut right to the chase. What did Kalliste tell you?”

“Only that you have made a discovery that will take my breath away. She tends to talk in superlatives. Tell me, Mr. Hawkins, was she exaggerating?”

“You’ll have to be the judge of that. Hold on.”

He held the artifact in front of the tablet camera lens and turned it in his hands. Like Kalliste, the professor asked that he repeat the rotation.

“Thank you, Mr. Hawkins,” Vedrakis said. “Please tell me where you found this object.”

“I hauled it up from a shipwreck around thirty miles off the coast of Cadiz, Spain. Kalliste believes the ship is Minoan.”

The gray eyes narrowed under bushy brows. “Cadiz. Of course. That would make sense. The city was the site of a Minoan mining and trading colony.”

“Then Kalliste wasn’t exaggerating?”

“Not at all. Your discovery has taken my breath away. I’m amazed at the condition it is in.”

“It was in a watertight bronze chest. My first impression was that this was similar to the mechanism of the Antikythera computer. Kalliste said it was a navigational device, but for a different type of sea.”

“There are similarities between the two mechanisms, but this instrument may be even more important than the Antikythera machine because of its different features.”

“You’re talking about the script?”

“That’s correct. Are you still in Spain, Mr. Hawkins?”

“I’m staying at the Hotel Cadiz.”

“I would fly there immediately to examine the artifact firsthand, but I’m tied down with this blasted student program. I have a great favor to ask. Can you bring the artifact to Crete?”

“I’ll see if I can be there tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I would be forever in your debt. It’s going to be difficult keeping my mind focused on these students while I await your arrival.”

After they hung up, Hawkins called Abby’s room and told her about the professor’s request that he bring the device to Crete. She checked with her company’s traffic controller and called back a few minutes later.

“We can fly to Zurich tomorrow on a freight plane and hitch a ride from there on a smaller jet to Crete. Best I can do. We’ll arrive in the afternoon. Might get there faster on a commercial flight.”

“Not a good idea. The device would look like an infernal machine on the X-ray screen. Airport security would throw me into a holding cell. Besides, the mechanism is pretty fragile. I don’t know if it would survive being tossed around by baggage handlers.”

“Both good points. We fly later but safer. See you at dinner.”

Hawkins called the professor with the travel details. They agreed to meet at the archaeological museum in Heraklion. Hawkins was uneasy about leaving the artifact in the hotel room, so he wrapped it in a spare pillowcase and tucked it into the backpack which he slung over his right shoulder.

Calvin was cooling his heels at the entrance to the hotel restaurant. He had a sour expression on his face. The maître d’ who had been studiously ignoring Calvin’s request for a table for three had disappeared completely by the time Abby arrived. She had exchanged the jeans and sweater she had worn at sea for a long, silky, white dress that set off her tanned skin and auburn hair.

Her arrival brought the maître d’ out of hiding, all smiles and heel clicks. He glanced with obvious distaste at the backpack on the tall man’s shoulder, then turned to Abby. He could hardly take his eyes off the attractive woman. He practically groveled when Abby asked for a private table, escorting them to a quiet corner of the dining room away from the ordinary guests. He clapped his hands and a waiter appeared instantly to take their cocktail order.

Calvin watched the maître d’ strut back to the entrance to defend the restaurant from riff-raff. “Glad you showed up and lured Mr. Fancy Pants out of his hidey hole, Abby.”

“Can’t blame the guy,” Hawkins said. “Rough-looking characters like Calvin and me probably scare the regulars away.”

“Nonsense,” Abby said. “I couldn’t ask for more dashing escorts.” She gave their arms a quick squeeze, then her Annapolis and corporate persona asserted itself. “I suggest that we adjourn this meeting of the mutual admiration society and get down to business.”

Hawkins filled Calvin in on the plans to fly to Crete to see Professor Vedrakis.

“That works with me,” Calvin said. “Thinking of talking to a couple of arms dealers. Maybe they can put me on the track of Spike missiles.”

“Coordinate with Molly. She’s researching missile sales.”

“Will do. I apologize for the excitement today on the boat. Never figured on an air approach.”

“And I never expected to play bucking bronco with an ROV,” Hawkins said.

“I don’t understand why they didn’t go after us,” Abby said. “We witnessed their destruction of the archaeological site.”

Hawkins said, “I’d guess their orders were to get in, drop their firecrackers, and get out.”

“Orders from who?” Abby said.

Hawkins tapped the backpack nestled next to his leg. “Whoever wanted this gadget and every trace of the ship blown to smithereens.” He looked across the dining room. “Here come our drinks.”

There was little talk of business over cocktails, and the Spanish wine and dinner that followed. They were simply three old friends laughing over good times shared. After dinner, Calvin excused himself, saying he had to make some phone calls.

Abby watched Calvin leave the dining room; a smile on her face. “Do you have the feeling Calvin wants us to be alone?”

“More than a feeling, Ab. He’s taken on the role of matchmaker. Or should I say rematch-maker.”

“And—?”

“I don’t know where this is going, Abby. Until we do, I suggest that we avoid anything that doesn’t have to do with the business at hand. Leave emotion out of it… for now.”

She nodded in agreement. “Sort of the equivalent of a sterile cockpit on a plane. I can live with that.”

After dinner they took a stroll around the hotel, breathing in the sights and sounds of the old city. They stopped at a sidewalk café for a nightcap. On the walk back, they held hands like a couple of school kids out on a date. Walking Outside her room, Abby opened the door, then turned and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

“We are officially in sterile cockpit mode,” she grinned. “For now.”

Giving him a seductive smile, she closed the door behind her.

Hawkins stood there a moment, thinking that the usual description of their relationship—complicated—didn’t even begin to describe the situation.

The long day, combined with alcohol, had caught up with him. He was headed for the bedroom when Professor Vedrakis called with a change of plans.