Icefall (Dane Maddock Adventures) (7 page)

“
The what?
”

“
The number of the shift. How many letters over you count when substituting the
new
letter.
”
A bit of Jimmy
’
s cockiness was returning.

Dane thought immediately of the Wise Men.
“
Three.
”

“
All right, Carnac, which direction?
”

Dane decided not to spoil all of Jimmy
’
s fun.
“
No idea.
”

“
The right. You should have known that. This is more of that ancient church crap. Right hand of God. Left hand is unclean...
”

“
True. I
’
m a little distracted right now. I
’
m sitting in a pub in Cologne, downing a few brews with a couple of beautiful women.
”

“
You
’
re such an ass, Maddock.
”
Jimmy chuckled.
“
Of course, Bones is probably there too, which sucks all the fun out of everything.
”

“
I
’
ll tell him you said so. Can you send me the translation?
”

“
Sure. The last word was partially rubbed out or chipped away or
something
, so I didn
’
t get it all. Emailing it to you right now. And, of course, you owe me a meal... again.
”

“
What would I ever do without you? Thanks Jimmy.
”

Dane
ended the call and punched up
his email on his phone.
Everyone leaned toward him as he began to read.

“
As the lion roars for the king, the peacock be your guide into the depths of the well. The kings point the way to the falling ice that hides eternal l...
”

It ended just as Jimmy had said
–
with an incomplete word.

“
There it is again,
”
Bones said.
“
You know, we figured the priest just didn
’
t manage to get the last word out, but if he knew the words on this disc, maybe he was trying to tell us all he knew.
”

“
Maybe.
”
Dane looked up as their next round of drinks arrived. He found he had lost his thirst, though, and drank mechanically as he pondered the words.
“
It
’
s
a f
ar cry from step-by-step instru
ctions.
”

“
And this should lead us to the missing skulls, you think?
”
Jade leaned over to read Jimmy
’
s email. She shook her head.
“
The wording makes it sound like there
’
s something more. But what?
”

“
Should we go to the police with this?
”
Angel asked.

“
I don
’
t know.
”
B
ones spoke slowly, absently spinning
his beer mug as he thought the problem through.
“
What do we really know? The killers want the skulls of the wise dudes. I
’
m guessing you told them as much.
”
He looked at Otto who nodded.
“
We could give them this clue but what would they do with it? Can you see a cop who
’
s probably got a ton of cases on his hands taking the time to trying to figure this thing out? That
’
s what
we
do.
”

“
I could share this with the police,
”
Otto volunteered.
“
I will tell them it is something I found in my research. I suspect it will all be meaningless to them, but at least we will not be holding back anything significant.
”
He frowned as he said the last.

Dane nodded. It made sen
se. Still
the fact that they were hiding their presence at a murder scene, though they arrived after the fact, fe
lt wrong. He remembered
that the killers had left no footprints, and he had a hunch they
’
d been careful not to leave behind any fingerprints or DNA.

“
The safest course would be to go on with our vacation and just forget the whole thing. Then again, my gut tells me the only hope there is for finding the murderers lies with us. Maybe if we can solve this riddle we can figure out who was after the
Magi
’
s bones and why. Even then, who knows what we can really prove?
”

“
I say we go for it.
”
Bones had the familiar gleam in his eyes that Dane associated with the start of a treasure hunt.
“
What better way to celebrate Christmas than solve the mystery of the lost bones of the
Magi
?
”

Jade nodded.
“
You know I
’
m in. And you,
”
she turned to Dane,
“
live for this stuff, whether you want to admit it or not.
”

Dane grinned. He and Jade were kindred spirits; both loved the sea, archaeology, and mysteries. That left only one person. He turned to Angel, whose cheeks were aglow and her brown eyes sparkling as she gazed back at him. He was suddenly struck by her beauty, and there was something in her expression that made him uneasy. He was pleased to see that Jade
’
s attention was once again on the stone disc, and
she
hadn
’
t seen whatever might have passed across his face. He took a quick drink, buying himself a moment to clear his head.

“
How about you, Angel? You signed up for a vacation, not a mystery.
”

“
Are you stu
pid? I
’
m all over it. Do y
ou know how sick I am of Bones coming home and bragging about wrestling Bigfoot and all the other crap you two get up to?
”
Her roguish grin was so like that of her brother that it made Dane flinch. It was one thing to notice Angel was hot. To think that
Bones
’
sister
was hot
–
that was something else entirely.

Otto cleared his throat.

“
There is something else I must tell you.
”
Not meeting anyone
’
s eye, Otto recounted the time after they had left him alone in the cathedral. His voice was soft, remorse weighing heavily in every word.
“
I told them about the three hares.
”
He lapsed into silence, but Dane sensed there was more.
”
And I gave them Jade
’
s name.
”

Dane and Jade exchanged glances. He couldn
’
t tell exactly what she was thinking, but she didn
’
t seem too upset about it. She was tough.

“
One of them knew
you and he sounded very upset
when I told him your name.
”
Now Jade did look surprised, but she kept her silence.
“
That was when the authorities arrived.
”
Otto finally looked at her.
“
I am so sorry. I have read adventure novels and i
Magi
ned myself a hero, but reality is something entirely different. I am not a strong man.
”
His chin fell to his chest and his face darkened.

“
It
’
s all right.
”
Jade took his hand in both of hers.
“
I would have done the same thing.
”

Dane knew that wasn
’
t true. Jade was stronger than Otto ever dreamed of being.

“
This is really jacked-up,
”
Bones said to Jade.
“
If you have any rivals in your field, they
’
d have one of your specializations, wouldn
’
t they?
”

Jade shrugged.

Dane looked at Bones and could tell they were thinking the same thing. There was only one group that was likely to have it in for Jade. If his hunch was correct, they were all in danger.

“
Did he say what, exactly, we are looking for?
”
Ulrich appeared in the doorway looking annoyed.
“
I searched the other two rooms and found nothing but suitcases that had not even been opened. It appears Ihara
’
s friends checked in and stayed only long enough to drop off their luggage.
”
He ran his fingers through his wavy black hair. His vanity and legendary poor swimming ability had earned him the nickname Hasselhoff, though few dared say it to the quick-tempered man
’
s face.

“
The skulls, obviously, and anything else that might connect to the three hares, the
Magi
, or the cathedral.
”
Niklas
finished his search of the bag. Neither it nor Ihara
’
s luggage had turned up anything. The name on the identification tag read Dane Maddock. The name meant nothing to him, but he committed it to memory all the same.

“
Have you found anything?
”
Uhlrich opened the bathroom door and peered inside.

“
I have not yet finished.
”
Niklas
felt a flash of annoyance. He did not want to leave empty-handed, but he was concerned that Ihara had taken the skulls with her. He searched the dresser, closet, and even the floor beneath the
bed skirt
, but came up empty. Uhlrich poked around, looking in all the places
Niklas
had already checked.

He was about to give up when he noticed a bulge behind the curtain. Not wanting to give away his presence to anyone looking in from the outside, he drew back the curtain just far enough to see a black backpack resting on the windowsill.
Dark, hollow holes gaped up at him from sinister, horned skulls. H
e had found what they were looking for.

“
I
’
ve got them! Let
’
s go.
”

Uhlrich
’
s tense face sagged with relief. He cracked the door open and peered up and down the hall before signaling that the way was clear.

They took the stairs down to the first floor and, along the way,
Niklas
slipped out of his overcoat and draped it over his arm, concealing the backpack. Neither Ihara nor the rest of her party knew him or Uhlrich, but there was always the slim chance she would recognize her own backpack, and he did not want to risk blowing things through a chance encounter. By the time they exchanged the warmth of the hotel for the cold December night, he knew he had made the right choice.

F
our people approached, talking and laughing. Though he had never seen a picture of Ih
ara, he knew this had to be her
. An attractive young woman of mixed Asian ancestry along with two American natives
–
one a tall, muscular man with long hair and a roguish face, the other an attractive twenty-something girl with captivating eyes. How many of their race did one see in Cologne? The fourth member of their group was a muscular man with blond hair and eyes the c
olor of a stormy sea. This must
be Dane Maddock. Though he smiled and spoke with his friends, his eyes locked on
Niklas
and Uhlrich as if he somehow knew something was amiss with them. Then again, perhaps it was because
Niklas
was not wearing his coat despite the snowfall that was growing heavier by the minute.

They passed close enough for him to catch a whiff of Ihara
’
s jasmine-scented perfume, and to realize just how tall the Indian was.
Niklas
was six feet tall, a shade taller than Maddock, but the Indian had him by at least half a head. Tension climbed his spine, knotting the muscles in his back and neck. He had a bad feeling about these two men and, though he and Uhlrich were armed, he would prefer not to have an encounter with them.