The Nostradamus File

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

Nick and the others lay just inside the edge of the trees, fifty feet away from Harrison's garage. The building had one window on the side. There was a side entry door. A John Deere riding mower was parked out front on the gravel. Nick watched a guard walking his route between the garage and the main house. He'd been watching the man for an hour. The guard had an M-16 slung on his shoulder.

"Same pattern, all the time," Nick said. "He goes past the house, around it, comes back and down the drive to the front of the garage, walks around the building, goes back to the house and does it all over again. It takes him about twenty minutes."

"He looks bored out of his skull," Ronnie said. "Reminds me of guarding barracks filled with snoring jarheads against enemy attacks from crazed Californians."

"Pendleton?"

"Yeah."

"You never know, Ronnie. Might have got invaded from Tijuana."

"Or San Diego."

"Next time he's behind the house, we go for that door."

"I've got my picks." Ronnie patted a pocket. "Looks simple from here."

Five minutes later, the guard disappeared behind the house. The three got up and ran for the garage. Selena felt the gash on her leg open under the bandage as she ran. Ronnie inserted the picks, jiggled the tumblers. The lock clicked. They pulled the door open and went inside. Selena closed it behind them.

The interior was dim with faint light coming from two skylights overhead and a small window on each side. Three shrouded vehicles were parked against the back wall. Ronnie lifted a corner on one and peered underneath.

"An old Bentley," he said. "Collector car."

A Ford pickup was parked near the closed doors in front. Tools hung over a long workbench. It was a typical, neat garage, except for boards and straw packing lying on the floor near a wooden crate by the doors. From where they stood they couldn't see what it contained.

"Think that's it?" Selena said.

"Only one way to find out." They moved forward until they could see the contents.

"It's the altar from the church," Ronnie said. "The front is loose."

He lifted the front of the altar away. The space inside was empty.

"Something was in there."

"They must have taken it into the house," Nick said.

"What now, Kemo Sabe?"

"We go get it. The house is dark. They're asleep. No point in waiting."

"We lost the trank guns," Selena said. "What about the guard?"

"We have to silence him. There's no way we get over there without him seeing us. We'll take him out when he makes a pass behind the garage."

"He should be due any time now," Ronnie said.

"We'll see him go by the window. I'll take him down."

They moved to the door.

They waited in silence. A few moments later the guard passed by the window, headed for the back of the building. Nick gave it a beat, then eased out of the door. The night air was thick with the sound of crickets. The man was just disappearing around the corner.

Nick came up behind him, silent as the mist rising from the ground. The guard sensed something and began to turn, too late. Nick wrapped his arm around in a choke hold. The guard struggled and twisted, making choking sounds as he tried to call out. Nick kept pressure on the carotid arteries. The man stopped moving and slumped, unconscious. Nick dragged him back to the door and into the garage.

Ronnie found electrical wire on the workbench. They hogtied the guard and stuffed an oily rag into his mouth.

They stepped out into the moonlight. The crickets had gone silent.

"The camera on the porch is pointed at the entrance," Nick said. "If we keep to the side of the house, we should be all right."

One of the windows on the side of the house showed a sliver of dim light.

"They're still awake in there. Keep your weapons ready."

"I thought you wanted to wait until they were asleep," Selena said.

"Too late for that. The guard had a radio. He probably reports in on a regular schedule. We have to move now."

"Are we supposed to shoot anyone we see?"

"They didn't mind shooting at us in England."

"We don't know if it's the same people. Maybe Harrison just hired those men."

"It doesn't matter. He's behind it. Don't shoot unless you have to, but don't hesitate if you do."

Selena let it go.

"There has to be a back entrance. Keep together. Go."

They ran across the lawn, away from the camera, to the side of the house.

They bent low under the windows and moved to the back. A wide screened porch ran the length of the house. There was a camera on the corner, pointed toward a short flight of steps. Ronnie took a spray can from his pack, reached up and covered the lens. They went up the steps, opened a screen door and moved to the back entrance, a door with a brass knob. Nick tried the knob. It was unlocked. Harrison wasn't expecting trouble. Nick held up three fingers and counted down. On the third count he opened the door. It led into a large laundry area.

They were in the house.

On the far side of the laundry room was a closed wooden door painted white. Nick cracked it and listened. Then he eased the door open the rest of the way.

A long, carpeted hall led away into the house. Flickering light spilled out from a room on the side. They moved silently down the hall. When Nick reached the open doorway he held up his hand and listened. Inside the room, someone was humming to himself.

Nick knelt down and risked a quick glance around the door frame. The room was a study. Books lined one wall. The windows were covered by cloth drapes. A man sat in a chair, his back to the door. The humming noise was coming from him. The tune was vaguely familiar. It might have been a hymn.

In front of the seated figure was a large, mahogany table, polished to a dark gleam. The light in the room came from a dozen fat candles that filled the room with a deep, rich glow. The light reflected off gold. Resplendent in the middle of the table was the Ark of the Covenant.