The Goddess Legacy (15 page)

Allie waited expectantly. “The righteous…?” she prompted.

Sharma pursed his lips. “That’s all it says.”

Her shoulders sagged. “What?”

“Yes. It probably continues on the other side of the blade. At least, that was my speculation.” The professor sipped his tea. “It was a most unusual substitution cypher. Fortunately, there are no secrets to those with the fortitude to persevere.”

“But there’s no guarantee that it continues on the flip side?” Drake asked.

“Well, no, there are never any guarantees in life. But it’s a reasonable assumption, and one that would be consistent with other relics of the period.” He glanced at Drake and then sat back. “Your colleague mentioned that he hoped to have the dagger available for physical inspection soon.”

Allie nodded. “That’s right.”

“I’d suggest that once you have it, you get back in touch with me. Call whenever, I’m usually up late working – the curse of bachelorhood, I’m afraid. I’d be delighted to decrypt the rest of the script for you. It’s a welcome challenge after long days of lecturing to bored students – the bane of my existence, but someone must pass on knowledge to future generations.” He rose, walked over to his desk, and slid a business card from an antique jade case before returning to the table. Sharma handed the card to Allie, who pocketed it. “Which reminds me that duty calls,” the professor said. “I’m afraid I have no more time – my next class begins in just a few minutes, so I must say goodbye.”

Allie and Drake moved to the open door, where Divya had resumed working at her station. “Thank you for all your help, Dr. Sharma, and for agreeing to see us,” Allie said.

The professor joined them at the threshold. “It is my unexpected pleasure to have such delightful company, although I wish the circumstances were different. I’m sorry about Elliott’s passing. He looked so vital…”

Drake sighed. “It came as quite a shock.”

“I’m sure.”

Allie smiled at the studious young woman as they left. “Nice to meet you, Divya,” she said.

Divya glanced up and then returned to her work. “Likewise.”

Spencer was hunched over a computer station, a bottle of water and an empty plate by his side, when Drake and Allie returned to the cyber café. On the screen he had zoomed in on the suspect area of Kashmir, but his body language radiated annoyance, and they didn’t need to ask how his research was going.

He pushed back from the screen and studied their faces. “You look pretty pleased with yourselves.”

“It’s been a productive day so far,” Drake said.

“You going to share, or do I have to guess?”

“We talked to the professor… oh, and we learned who Carson was buying the dagger from,” Drake explained, and gave Spencer a short report on their progress. When he was done, Spencer swiveled back to the screen.

“What was the guy’s name? Indiana Singh? Let’s see if he has a website,” he said, and typed the name into a search engine. A link popped up, and he selected it.

The cartoon image of the exaggerated features appeared in all its glory, and Spencer cocked his head as music drifted from the headphones by the side of the CPU. He listened for a few seconds and laughed.

“That’s beyond cheesy. He’s totally ripped off the Raiders thing.”

“My guess is he didn’t get permission,” Allie observed.

“That’s probably a safe assumption.”

Spencer scrolled down and navigated through the website, which featured photos of temples, slums, and dizzying perspectives from the tops of cliffs. Glowing testimonials all written in suspiciously similar British English assured prospective customers that Indiana Singh was not only the best tour guide in all Delhi, but an honest and friendly chap who quickly became his clients’ best friend.

“About the only thing he’s missing is his own infomercial,” Drake said.

“He dances, he sings, he’s Indiana…Singh!” Allie intoned, and they laughed.

Their merriment was cut short by a ringing from Allie’s purse, and she fumbled the new cell phone out.

“Hello?”

“Who is this?” a male voice demanded.

“My name’s Allie. Who’s this?”

“You left a message on my phone.”

“Mr. Singh?”

A pause. “It might be.”

“I’m a colleague of Elliott Carson’s. I’ve arranged for the final payment. I’m ready when you are,” she said. “You have the dagger?”

“There’s been a change of plans.”

Allie swallowed hard. “What change? We had a deal.”

“The price went up. I want two hundred for it, not one hundred. So you’ll need to transfer a hundred and ninety.”

“I…that wasn’t the agreement. How can you justify raising the price?”

“It went up when Carson showed up in the paper with his head on the other side of the street from his torso.”

Allie had no comeback. “Mr. Singh…”

“People call me Indiana.”

“Indiana. Fine. But be reasonable. That’s a huge amount of money.”

“Then don’t buy it. I can find others, I’m sure. Just the melt weight is probably sixty grand.”

“We could probably come up with a hundred and fifty.”

“We?”

“I’m here with my boyfriend,” she said, looking at Drake, who blushed at the term.

“I’m liking this less and less.”

“Assuming I can raise a hundred and fifty, can we do the transaction?” Allie asked.

Indiana sighed. “Fine. But it has to happen today.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“None of your business. Can you do it or not?”

“I’ll have to check. It’s the middle of the night in the U.S. How am I supposed to do a transfer with the time difference?”

“Do you have a bitcoin wallet?”

“No.”

“Create one. You can figure out how in a few minutes – there are plenty of services that will do it for you. Then you transfer money to one of dozens of intermediaries, and they convert it. They’ll deposit it in your wallet, and then you transfer it to me.” He gave her the name of a preferred bitcoin broker, and she memorized it for later use.

“I’m not transferring anything until I have the dagger in my hands,” she warned.

“Fair enough. You have six hours.”

“That might not be enough time.”

“It’s all you’ve got.”

Allie bit back her exasperation. “I’ll do the best I can. Where do we meet to do the exchange?”

Indiana was silent for a moment. “Do you know where the Red Fort is?”

“Is it a landmark?”

Indiana laughed humorlessly. “You really are right off the boat, aren’t you? It’s one of the most famous buildings in Delhi.”

“Then I’ll find it.”

“I’ll meet you by the Delhi Gate at seven thirty. Don’t be late. How will I recognize you?”

“I’ve got black curly hair, and I’m wearing black cargo pants and a blue top. My boyfriend is wearing brown pants and a black top. How will I recognize you?”

“You won’t. I’ll approach you. But fair warning – you come alone. Anything’s off, I bolt, and you lose the dagger.”

“Why are you so nervous?” she asked.

“Your partner was decapitated and you’re asking me why I’m nervous? Be at the gate at seven thirty, and no games. Keep your phone on.”

“You’ll call?”

“No, I just don’t want you to miss any important messages,” he said, his tone derisive. “You really are out of your depth, aren’t you?”

“All you should be worried about is how I can transfer money in the middle of the night,” Allie snapped.

“Figure it out.”

The line went dead and she stared at the phone in anger. “What an ass.”

“I heard. He upped the price,” Spencer said.

“Yeah. That’s not the problem.”

“No? Then what is?”

She looked around the café, her eyes locking on the waitress, who was texting someone on her phone while studiously ignoring two tables of customers. When Allie glanced back at Spencer, she appeared pensive.

“Underneath all the bluster, he sounded terrified.”

“Of what?”

“He didn’t say. But I think it’s about time to call Reynolds and find out what he’s gotten us into.”

Casey Reynolds was startled by his cell phone vibrating in his shirt – he rarely received calls on his personal number, and his pulse quickened as he ducked out of his meeting and hurried to the bathroom. He answered the call on the fifth ring.

“Yes?”

“Reynolds, it’s Allie.”

“Allie! Where are you? Roland told me about the boat. I have no idea how that happened.”

“Not a lot of ways I can think of.”

Reynolds paused. “You think Roland told the police? I told you, he’s completely loyal.”

“That’s one explanation. Or you could have.”

“Are you out of your mind? Why would I do that? I helped you get away.”

Allie sounded less sure. “I don’t know.”

“They must have gotten a tip. Maybe one of the other boats saw you and phoned it in. I was able to kill most of the enthusiasm for finding your buddy, but he was all over the news last night. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Drake thinks they might have been able to track Carson’s phone.”

“You have it?” Reynolds’s surprise didn’t sound faked.

“Had. We couldn’t recover the data.”

“Damn. Well, remove the battery, and you can hand it over when I see you. Maybe one of our tech guys can do something.”

“That’s not why I’m calling. I want to know who you think killed Carson and why.”

“We’ve been over this. I don’t know. But I’m guessing it has to do with what he was working on.”

“I don’t believe you. I think you know more.”

“I wish I did. I’m just as in the dark as you are.” Reynolds paused. “You never told me where you are.”

“That’s right. I’ll be in touch when we have something material.”

“Allie–”

The line went dead. He cursed, and then the door opened and another man entered. “Falling asleep in there, huh?” the man asked good-naturedly.

“No. Got some bad curry last night.”

“Stuff will kill you,” the man agreed.

Reynolds nodded, his mind elsewhere. “Death by a thousand cuts.”

~ ~ ~

Allie shook her head as she slid the phone into her back pocket. “I don’t know. He sounded like he was playing straight.”

“The guy’s a spy. It’s his job to lie convincingly,” Drake said.

“But to what end?” Spencer asked. “That doesn’t compute.”

“Well, if Reynolds doesn’t have a clue, maybe Indiana does,” Allie said. “He’s scared of something – that came through loud and clear.”

“You’ll be able to ask him in a few hours. Were you able to make the transfer to your online wallet?”

“Yes. It was actually pretty painless. Electronic, from my checking account.”

“You keep that kind of money in your checking account?” Spencer asked.

“I keep a half million, just in case.”

Spencer shook his head. “Okay. Let’s go over this again. You know the layout. There’s a police outpost at the gate, so it’ll actually be pretty safe for a meet,” he said, and swiveled back to the monitor, where a zoomed image of the fort dominated the screen. He tapped the screen with his forefinger. “I’ll be here, watching your back.”

“He said that if he spotted anything funny, he’d walk away and we’d never hear from him again. Or words to that effect.”

Spencer’s face hardened. “He won’t spot me.”

“How are we going to make sure he doesn’t pull a fast one on his end?” Drake asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that. Allie, you give me the private key for your wallet. When you’re ready to make the exchange, you call me. You’ll have a safeword to use so I know you’re fine, and I’ll make the transfer. It should be fairly instantaneous. If there’s a problem, don’t use the safeword, and I’ll stand down.”

“Which won’t help us,” Drake said.

“There’s risk to everything. But it sounds like he wants the money, so we have to believe he’ll perform. No tickee, no laundry.”

“I really wish Allie wasn’t involved in this part,” Drake protested.

“And I really wish you didn’t talk about me like some kind of object,” Allie snapped. “I’m right here. I can hear you just fine, and in case you haven’t noticed, I’m an adult. Besides which, it’s too late now.”

“You can call him and tell him it’s just going to be me.”

“And risk losing him? What’s the logic in that again?” Allie asked. Her voice softened. “Drake, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. I appreciate the concern, but it isn’t necessary. Spencer will be looking out for us. This is as good as it’s going to get.”

“We should buy a gun,” Drake said. “Several guns.”

“Just walk outside and start asking people where we can buy weapons?” Allie asked.

“Tell me there’s no black market here,” Drake countered. “Look around you and tell me that.” He turned to Spencer. “Ask your girlfriend where you can buy some drugs. She looks like she’d know.”

“What have you got against her? She’s been nice to me,” Spencer said.

Drake rolled his eyes. “Just do it. Clock’s ticking.”

“For the record, I think this is a terrible idea,” Allie said.

“Why? They already want him for murder one and me for helping. What are they going to do to us? Kill us twice?” Drake said.

“Just walk up to her and ask?” Spencer said. “That doesn’t seem weird to you?”

“Dude, tell her you and your friends want to party. Where’s the best place around here to find some fun – that sort of thing. Wherever they’re selling drugs, there’ll be someone who can get us whatever we want. You know how it works.”

“I think guns are illegal here,” Allie said.

“Which is why we’ll have to buy them from criminals,” Drake shot back. “Criminals never have any problems getting guns.”

“Is that what you are now?” Allie asked.

“That’s what they’ve made us,” Spencer said, rising and walking over to the waitress, who brightened as he neared.

~ ~ ~

Oliver Helms placed a call from his car parked fifty yards down the street from the Internet café, where he’d followed Drake and Allie.

“Yes?” a male voice answered.

“I met two Americans who were looking for Singh. They went to Delhi University and met with a professor of linguistics, and now they’re in a cyber café. I’m parked outside.”