“You remember Medford, Eve,” Millet said. “He’s the fool who almost killed you.”
Medford cheeks flushed. “I didn’t expect her to jump in front of—”
“You made a mistake,” Millet said. “It’s beginning to be a habit.”
“Faruk,” Medford repeated
.
“I won’t need him. I expect to be busy until the Offering. If I do, I’ll call.”
Medford turned and strode back toward the cockpit
.
“You see, everyone is excited to come to this Offering,” Millet said to Eve. “How could I disappoint them?” He turned and sat down in a seat across from her stretcher. “I’ll permit you to rest for a little while before we land. I’ve decided that I’ll let you walk to the temple. We have plenty of time. I’m going to let your Jane worry about you for a while. It will make her more amenable when I do call her.” His tone became mocking. “A strong woman like you would be insulted to be carried on a stretcher.”
Eve closed her eyes. Think. Is there a way of escaping after we land or would it be better to wait? Lord knows, I’m weak right now, and they
will be more alert during a transfer. It would probably be smarter to be patient until they reached this temple and I can access the situation
.
It was going to be hard to wait . . .
DRIFTING . . .
Darkness.
Gray mist . . .
No! Jane struggled desperately. She couldn’t leave Eve. She had to stay with her, help her.
But the grayness was now disappearing, too.
“Stop fighting it,” Caleb said softly. “You’re back, Jane.”
Her lids slowly lifted. It took a moment for her to focus. “I have to go back. I have to help her.”
“Not now. You were going too deep. I had to pull you back.”
“Help me.”
“I won’t help you. Not that way.”
“Dammit, she’s alone.”
“But not dead evidently. That’s a good thing.”
“Yes.” She sat up and brushed her hair away from her face. “It’s her right shoulder. It was throbbing. It looked as if it had been bandaged very clumsily. She’ll be lucky if it doesn’t get infected.”
“If we get her away from him quickly enough, we won’t have to worry about that.” He handed her a glass of water. “Now clear your head and let’s see if we can find a way to do it. You definitely made it through? You were dreaming about Eve?”
“Yes. And I think it was that remote viewing you told me about. It was too real to be anything else.” She drank a few sips of water and handed the glass back to him. “How long was I asleep?”
“Over an hour.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s odd. Dreams are supposed to last only minutes, seconds.”
“But then your dreams aren’t exactly run-of-the-mill, are they?”
She shook her head. That was an understatement if she’d ever heard one. “He told Eve he wants a trade. He’s not going to kill her just as a way to punish me the way he did with Celine.” Her lips twisted. “There’s not enough time to waste when he needs me for the Offering.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“She was on a plane on her way to the temple in Syria. They were almost there when I had to leave her.”
“And where is this temple located?”
“I told you, Syria. I don’t know anything else.” She gazed at him accusingly. “They hadn’t landed yet when you made me leave her.”
“It was necessary.”
She knew it was probably true, but it didn’t lessen her disappointment. “Okay, it’s done. There has to be something else I can use to find her.” Her brow knitted as she tried to sift through that ugly conversation Eve had had with Millet. “A man named Medford shot her. Millet wasn’t pleased with him. The plane they were on was some kind of a cargo aircraft. A few seats but mostly benches on either side of the plane. There were huge boxes that—”
“Any writing on the boxes?”
“Yes, but it was in Arabic.” She made a face. “There was no way I could decipher that script. But there was some kind of symbol under the writing. A crescent in a circle.”
He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small notebook and pen and handed it to her. “Draw it for me.”
As she began to draw the symbol, she suddenly stiffened, her gaze flying to meet his own. “I just remembered something else. Why the hell didn’t I zero in on it immediately? The pilot was a
Captain Faruk,” she said. “He was going to return to Damascus to bring back other members to the Offering.”
“Jackpot!” he said softly. “Any description?”
She shook her head. “Eve never saw him. Medford was only talking about him.”
“Never mind. The name may be enough.” He got to his feet. “I’m going to go outside and get Gavin. I need to fill him in and have him stir Venable into getting us information about Faruk.” He opened the door. “Damn fast. You try to think of anything else we can use.”
As if she weren’t doing that already. But searching her memory word by word, the pilot’s name had been the only thing that even had a chance of being helpful. Excitement was beginning to build within her the more she thought about it. Faruk could be a major help to them. He wasn’t just a hired pilot. He knew about the Offering. Therefore, he must know the location of the temple.
And, in Damascus, he was relatively vulnerable and isolated from Millet’s gang of thugs.
As Caleb had said.
Jackpot.
“FARUK, AHMED,” JOCK SAID
as he came into the house fifteen minutes later. “Formerly a copilot with Alitalia Airlines. He moved to Damascus four years ago and opened his own cargo line. He makes regular runs between Damascus and cities in Italy and does a bustling cargo and charter business out of Rome.” His brows lifted. “Now I wonder where he got the money to start his own business?”
“Does Venable show any connection with Millet?”
He shook his head. “And no criminal record. He’s clean.” He turned to Caleb, who had come in behind him. “Did you find anything else about him on the Net?”
“Only his home address in Damascus,” he said. “But that was really all I was interested in.” He inclined his head to Jane. “I believe I should take a run to Damascus and pay Faruk a visit.”
“No, Millet hasn’t even contacted me yet. What if something went wrong, and it got back to Millet? I don’t want to rush in and risk Eve unless we have a sure thing.”
“That’s not going to happen, Jane,” Jock said gently.
“As close to a sure thing as we can make it.” It was hard to be patient when all she wanted to do was rush forward as much as Caleb did. “Millet is letting me stew, so that he can have a maximum effect when he does contact me. We’ve got to take that time and try to turn it against him.” She turned to Caleb. “Look, find Faruk, zero in on him. Get ready to pounce. But hold off.”
He just looked at her.
The hunter, again.
Not now. She didn’t want to have to deal with that savage side of him. Dammit, he was such a complex blend of lethal aggression and sophisticated persuasiveness that she could never know which one was going to surface. It made her feel angry and helpless and she wanted to strike out.
She couldn’t strike out. The last thing she wanted was for him to strike back. She had enough battles looming on the horizon.
She drew a deep breath. “Please.”
He gazed at her for another moment. “That was extremely hard for you.” He shrugged. “If you like.” He turned and headed for the door. “I’ll head for the airport. I should be in Damascus within an hour or so, and I’ll locate Faruk. But keep in touch with me. I have to know that we’re moving or it becomes . . . difficult.”
“It may be difficult anyway,” Jock said as the door closed behind him. “What Venable knows, Joe Quinn will know. How are you going to keep Joe from going after Faruk? That would be the first thing I’d do. Caleb won’t let anyone else take his prey while you keep his hands tied. It could be major mayhem.”
Dammit, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. She seemed to be operating purely on instinct, and that wasn’t going to work. “I’ll have to call Joe.” She took out her phone. “In the meantime, can’t you see if you can get that artifacts professor here any sooner?”
He nodded. “I’ll call Gillem and check on his progress.”
She went into the bedroom and quickly dialed Joe’s number.
“Are you all right?” Joe asked curtly when he picked up. “I meant to call you, but I’ve been scrambling.”
“I know.” It was what she had expected. “I’m scared. Frantic. But working through it. You got Jock’s report?”
“Yes, I’m heading for the airport now. I’ll be in Damascus in a few hours.”
“No!”
“Jane, don’t tell me no.”
“I don’t have any choice. Do you think I don’t know how you feel?” she asked fiercely. “I’m not letting there be even the smallest chance of anything going wrong until we have some kind of trap in place. I’m not going to let either you or Caleb run your own show. We have to work together, dammit.”
“What the hell are you thinking? I won’t do anything to risk Eve.”
“Listen to me. Millet took Eve because of me. All of this is because of me. He knows about you and Venable and that he has to walk very carefully. But that’s not going to stop him from trying for a trade.” She paused. “If I feel as if I’ve lost control, and there’s a risk, he’ll get his trade.”
Joe was cursing. “That’s crazy. He won’t let her live regardless.”
“Then stop and clear your head and help me get a plan together. I won’t have you rushing to Damascus and grabbing Faruk and trying to force him. I gave you and Venable this lead to Faruk. He’s
mine
.”
He was silent. “God, I’m scared, Jane,” he said hoarsely. “She’s . . . everything.”
“I know. Me too.” She couldn’t speak for a moment. “It’s going to be okay,” she said unevenly. “I know it will.” She steadied her voice. “The temple is definitely in Syria. We don’t know where yet. You and Venable go on to Damascus, but leave Faruk alone. That’s as good a jumping-off place as you can get. I’m going to call MacDuff and tell him to join you there. You’re going to have your hands full just keeping him in line.” She paused. “I’m not trying to close you out of this, Joe. If you or anyone else can come up with a foolproof plan that’s safe for Eve, then I’ll grab it.”
“I
hate
this. I don’t know enough to have a plan. But I’m not going to sit in Damascus and twiddle my thumbs for very long.”
“You shouldn’t have to worry about that,” she said dryly. “Millet’s not going to give me very long. Day after tomorrow is the day of offering.” She added, “I’ll let you know what’s happening as soon as I do.”
“You’d better,” he said. “And don’t do anything stupid. Eve isn’t the only one I care about.” He hung up.
But Eve is the only one who makes his world worthwhile, Jane thought. She knew Joe loved her, but Eve was the center of his universe. It was amazing that he’d let her talk him into restraining that explosive anger and fear that was tearing at him. But the situation was still volatile, and keeping Caleb and Joe in check was going to be a delicate balance.
Well, she’d just have to do it. But one thing at a time. First, she
had to see if that bottle possessed the genie that would make all this terror go away.
She opened the door and went to see if Jock had any news about the professor who was going to free that genie.
“HE’S STILL CALIBRATING HIS
equipment,” Jock said as he walked out of the bedroom where Professor Tischler had set up shop over an hour ago. “He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. I’ve never seen anyone this painstaking.”
Jane leaned back against the couch. “Good. Then he won’t damage anything.”
“That backpack was heavier than I thought it would be when I took it into the bedroom. How much does thirty pieces of silver weigh?”
“It’s actually shekels of silver. Each shekel is about twenty-nine millimeters in diameter and thirteen grams in weight. It’s a little smaller than a half-dollar. Then you take into consideration the alabaster bottle. It’s not really heavy, but it’s substantial.” She shook her head. “That’s why Adah Ziller’s red herring of those two little ancient coins she left around for Weismann to find was so pitiful. I don’t think she did her research. They weren’t even Shekels of Tyre. Though it might have just been a teaser. Or maybe she thought that Weismann wouldn’t have done his research.”
“What’s a Shekel of Tyre?”
“It’s the only coin that the priests of the temple would use or accept. That was why Judas would have had to be paid in Shekels of Tyre. They were minted in Phoenicia, but were in common usage in Jerusalem.”
“Evidently you did your research.”
“Part of that bundle of books you got for me. But Professor Tischler will know a hell of a lot more.” She glanced at the door again. “He has to be close to getting answers. I don’t need museum-type authenticity. All I need is to know that it’s a possible.”
“Which may take a while. You could take a nap. I’ll wake you.”
She shook her head. “I’ve already had a nap.”
“So Caleb told me.” He looked down into the tea in his cup. “Dreams. Strange.”
“You mean I’m strange,” she said.
He shook his head. “I don’t have as much problem accepting dreams as I do the weird stuff Caleb does. Dreams happen to everyone. I can see how a dream might wander off into the deep end.”
“That’s an odd way to put it.”
He smiled. “Is it? I know a lot about getting lost in the deep ends. You just have to hold on and keep going until you see a break ahead.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” She added quietly, “With a little help from my friends. Thank you for being my friend, Jock.”
He inclined his head. “It’s my pleasure.”
“Not at the moment. Right now being my friend is a pain in the ass.”
“Well, I’m not bored. There’s something to say—”
“I’ve finished,” Joseph Tischler stood in the bedroom doorway. He was a small, wiry man in his early fifties whose rust red hair was streaked with gray and whose dark brown eyes glittered with vitality. “As much as I can complete without actually breaking the seal and opening the bottle. I refuse to do that. The scroll could disintegrate.”
“You X-rayed it?”
“In a manner of speaking. I’ve developed my own digital-process
X-ray-based CT scans of rolled papyrus and carbon-based ink samples. It’s been done before, but I’ve combined it with some rather sophisticated imaging. I used it extensively in Cairo when they discovered several scrolls that would have been destroyed or remained unopened for the foreseeable future. It lets you slice through an object and develop a three-dimensional data set without having to open it. Then you can digitally unroll the scrolls on a computer screen. It was the only possible solution with that bottle.”