The Minoan Cipher

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Miguel picked up Hawkins and Abby at Malaga Airport and drove them to the Santiago apartment in an upscale part of Cadiz. Captain Santiago greeted the visitors with effusive bear hugs and introduced his wife, Louisa, a pretty woman with the broad smile that had been passed down to her son.

The sturdy dining room table groaned under the weight of the Spanish appetizers known as tapas. The dishes included meatballs in spicy tomato sauce, garlic prawns and olives of every size and color. All washed down with an oak-aged Rioja wine.

After lunch, Captain Santiago led his guests to his dark-paneled study. He pointed out the painting of Cervantes hanging over the fireplace. Photos of the salvage boats that had given the captain and his family a comfortable living hung on the walls.

Hawkins recognized a photo of the Sancho Panza. Santiago noticed his pained expression. “It’s all right, Matt. The sea giveth and the sea taketh away. So make sure you have insurance.”

“Words of wisdom from Cervantes?”

“No.” The captain jabbed his chest with a forefinger. “From Santiago.”

He unlocked a desk drawer and pulled out a large mailing envelope. Inviting his guests to take a seat, he settled into a stuffed leather chair. He opened the envelope and extracted a print-out of the document Hawkins had sent him.

“I must ask you a question,” he said to Matt. “Where did you get this?”

“From an Englishman named Robsham. It was among papers he inherited that once belonged to his great-uncle. Do you know what it is?”

Santiago nodded. “A deed of penance. Basically a real estate transfer that dates back to the 16^th century, regarding the transfer of property in the Castilla La Mancha.”

Hawkins glanced at the portrait of Cervantes. “As in ‘Man of La Mancha’?”

“The very same countryside where the Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance roamed. It’s a region in the central part of Spain. Very flat and desolate. Known for its windmills, like the one Don Quixote battled, while imagining they were giants. I’ve traveled there a number of times. I’ve seen the property described in the document. It’s a medieval castle, surrounded by abandoned vineyards and farmlands. No inhabited villages or towns lay nearby.”

“You would think that the vineyards would generate local commerce,” Abby said.

“Perhaps at one time; long ago,” Santiago said. “According to the legends I’ve heard, the area has long been plagued by strange happenings that drove people away.”

“What sort of happenings?”

“People disappeared. Mostly young and mostly female. The villagers suspected the disappearances had something to do with the castle, which was home to a secretive order of monks. Many of the locals moved away. After some people were killed by some huge creatures who attacked them in church, the remaining inhabitants decided that even the Almighty couldn’t help, so they deserted their village.”

“What sort of creatures?” Abby said.

“They were said to be demonic dogs. The story goes back to the mid-1500s. It was on a Sunday and the people were at worship when two massive dogs burst down the doors and ran among the kneeling congregation, maiming and killing. They ripped the throats out of six people. Churches could be targets for brigands, so the villagers always carried weapons under their cloaks. Some attacked the animals with their knives and swords. Witnesses heard a whistle and saw one dog go to a man standing outside the church. He appeared to be a monk from the castle. He left without a word with the dog at his side. The other animal ran off, leaving a trail of blood.”

“Tell us more about these dogs,” Hawkins said.

“The animals were as tall as a man and had eyes that were flaming red; or bright yellow, depending on the storyteller. Their heads were skull-like, with a thick ruff around the neck, and they had long, narrow snouts.”

“Good thing it’s only a legend,” Hawkins said.

Santiago hiked up his thick eyebrows. “Maybe not. A few years ago researchers digging near the foundation of the old church found the bones of a gigantic dog lying in a shallow grave. The dog would have stood more than seven feet on its hind legs and weighed more than two hundred pounds. Its skull shape matched the descriptions and led the researchers to believe that it was a hybrid of some sort.”

“Fascinating, but maybe we should get back to the document Matt sent you,” Abby said. “You described it as a ‘deed of penance.’ ”

“The deed was an invention of the Inquisition. Loss of your property was part of the penalty paid by the accused. The document was basically fiction to make the theft of property legal. No money was mentioned in the papers. The Salazar family listed as beneficiaries took ownership for what was termed a ‘consideration.’ In other words, it was never paid for,” Santiago said.

“Lucky buyer.”

“The Salazar family has always made its own luck.”

“Who are the Salazars?” Hawkins asked.

“They are a prominent family that go back a long time. They are very rich and own many businesses. Their biggest one is Auroch Industries. It started as a mining company and now has holdings around the world.”

“Impressive.”

“That’s the who. More important is what the Salazars are. The family has a bad reputation. There are stories of their rivals mysteriously disappearing in the old days. It’s very strange, but the Salazar family was never prosecuted. Most of the family has died out in recent years so you rarely hear anything about them.”

“Your message mentioned ‘evil deeds’,” Abby said. “Were you talking about the family’s criminal activities?”

“What I mentioned is the sort of thing you would expect of any criminal organization. The document suggests that the Salazars have a past that is much more evil than I knew of.”

“More evil than murdering rivals?” Abby said.

“Sadly, yes. I’m a simple mariner. If you’re ready, I’ll introduce you to an expert on evil.”