Nothing happened. She ventured three feet further into the room and walked to the left. Finally she stood in front of the shelf filled with codices. Turning back to him at the open entrance she said, “Brian, these are priceless manuscripts. There were only four in existence until now. There must be fifty here. Oh my God…” she suddenly put her hand to her mouth.
“What is it?” Brian shouted. “What’s wrong?”
To Brian’s left the door stood open. From Lynne’s vantage point she could see behind it. “There are three more bodies behind the door, Brian.”
“I figured they were somewhere,” he responded quietly.
“How…how did you figure that?”
“We know that Captain Jack had three Belizean men with him. The party hasn’t been heard from in over a year. We just found the entire expedition. They probably opened the door, everyone rushed in and it all happened in a matter of seconds. The falling stone killed Jack immediately just like Juan a few minutes ago. His three guides were trapped when the door shut and they died either of asphyxiation or starvation. Except for Jack I’m sure it took a long time for everyone to die.”
They stepped out and explained to Alfredo what they had found. He and Fernando went inside and they heard muffled sobs from the man who had at long last found his brother.
Fernando came out of the room and sat on the ground, crossing himself and uttering a prayer in Spanish. Everyone in turn offered condolences and they held hands for a group prayer for the brother who had lost his life. Leaving Fernando to mourn his sibling they continued to work.
Sam and Alfredo went into the sealed room and used the five-pound stones to continue checking the floor for traps. They ended up on the other side of the table. “Holy shit, Brian! There’s a whole lot of the gold sheets stacked neatly in piles over here,” Sam yelled out. “Maybe a couple hundred. Maybe more. They have the same glyphs on them that Arthur’s two sheets have.”
Everyone got a chance to see what was in the room. After fifteen minutes Lynne said, “That’s it. We all need to get out, guys. We must let the door seal back to save the codices. Then we need to formulate a plan.” They pulled away the stones that blocked the door’s closure and it swung tightly shut.
As they ate the rest of the tapir meat for lunch Lynne offered a suggestion. “There’s no way we can carry this stuff down and at this point we’re really required to get the Guatemalan government involved. For a find like this they won’t wait very long to show up, I guarantee it. This is maybe the biggest find in Mayan history. I can’t think of anything to top it.”
Brian responded, “So what do you suggest?”
“My vote would be to seal one of the codices in plastic wrap and take it and two of the gold sheets. This gives us something to show the authorities. We can notify Arthur Borland of the whereabouts of his father and tell the people in San Ignacio where the three guides ended up. At least there’s an ending to the puzzle even if it’s tragic. We would leave everything else and post Fernando to guard the site. We have enough food and water for him to stay a week. If something happened to us and someone doesn’t show up by then he just walks down the mountain to Jaguar’s Call.”
The group agreed. Alfredo said, “We can’t leave Juan’s body out here. An animal will eat him. What should we do?”
After discussion it seemed that the best way to preserve Juan’s body until his family could be notified and make a decision was to place it back into the room where Captain Jack and his three guides lay. The room was almost airtight and it would be a safe resting place.
That afternoon Lynne and Brian reentered the sealed room while Sam and Alfredo moved Juan’s body, reverently placing it on the ground next to Captain Jack.
“Let’s make this as fast as possible,” Lynne said. “I want to keep the air out of here as much as we can.” She went straight to the shelf of codices, looked carefully at them and selected one. She immediately put it into a 2-gallon plastic storage bag, expelled all the air and sealed it tightly.
Brian was behind the table. He picked up the first two gold sheets and put them into a canvas bag. “Ready when you are.” All told, they had been in the room less than three minutes.
“Me too. Let’s go.”
They removed the rock wedges and let the door seal itself tightly shut.
Since it was early afternoon, they decided to break camp and start down. Lynne offered, “We can hike until five then get up tomorrow morning at dawn. If everything goes well we’ll be back at Jaguar’s Call tomorrow afternoon. It took several days to get up here but it will only take maybe a day and a half to get back down. Much easier going and no new trails to blaze.”
They left Fernando at the site armed with the pistol Lucky had given Lynne and almost all the food and water they had left. He pitched a tent and was smoking a cigarette as they started their descent.
That night Brian took Sam aside and told him what Brian had learned. He said that Lynne had regularly called Tomas with updates on their progress including notifying him that they had found the temple. “He replied asking if we found the gold and I told him no but I doubt that’s going to put him off. We need to think of what’s next. Once we leave Jaguar’s Call we have to go down to the main highway. How are we going to get back to Belize from there? I don’t have my passport – do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Sam replied. “In all this adventure I’d forgotten that I pulled my passport out of the hotel safe when we left for the cave that morning. You never know if you’re in Belize or Guatemala out there in the jungle and I find it’s always good to carry it just in case.”
“Think I should call Nicole and get her boss to help me get out of Guatemala?”
“I have a plan that’s way easier than that, Brian. How about I call Odette when we get to Jaguar’s Call? She can get your passport out of the safe and meet us at the bottom of the mountain. The only thing your passport won’t have is an exit stamp for Belize and an entry stamp for Guatemala. She can call that Embassy guy in Belmopan and enlist his help – the same guy who rescued Nicole.”
“Works for me.”
The trek down the mountain the next morning was as easy as Lynne had predicted. They made good time and walked into Jaguar’s Call at 3:30.
“Anybody home?” Lynne yelled.
“Hey, it’s good to see you,” Lucky came out of the office and hugged her tightly. “How did it go? Where are the other two men?”
An hour later Lucky had been told everything. They showed him the Mayan codex but Lynne wouldn’t let anyone unwrap it. “This has to be opened in a controlled environment to avoid having it turn to dust,” she cautioned.
Lucky held the gold sheets in his hands and gazed at them. “You say there are a lot more of these up there? My God, Lynne. You’ll all be famous. You’ll all be rich. It’s incredible. A lost city – the Ancient Library of the Maya. People have wondered about this for centuries. But you guys found it.”
They discussed how much should be revealed when Sam made his call to Odette. Brian said, “I have to call Arthur tonight. I’m OK with telling Odette what we found and I’d like for her to contact Nicole too – she can then call Collette so everyone’s in the loop. We need to tell them to keep it quiet though. Before we notify the authorities we sure don’t want looters coming around. They’d do anything to get hold of what’s up there. I’m sure the life of our guard would be worth nothing if they came for the gold.”
Lynne’s phone had been on a charger since they arrived. At five Brian turned it on and placed a call to Arthur Borland.
“I have important information for you,” he said in a voicemail. “I’ll call you again tomorrow at this same time.”
Brian handed the phone to Sam who placed a call to the San Ignacio Inn. Odette answered and they talked for nearly fifteen minutes. Sam told her what they had found but asked her to say nothing to anyone except Nicole, who in turn was to call Collette and confidentially advise her. Odette promised to get Brian’s
passport and contact the Deputy Ambassador’s office.
“I’m sure they can work everything out,” she said in her usual optimistic tone. “And I’m so happy for your discovery, Sam. This is just incredible!”
As soon as the call ended Odette dutifully called Nicole, passing along the information along with the admonition to keep it under wraps. Nicole promised to call Collette. When they hung up she first dialed Randall Carter’s office.
“Good news, Mr. Carter. After all you’ve done to help me I wanted you to be among the first to know what’s happened in Guatemala. Brian and his party have made a discovery. They’ve found a lost city and they’ve located the Ancient Library of the Maya. Gold, codex books, even Captain Jack Borland’s body. They’ve found it all.” She asked him to keep it totally confidential and he assured her that was no problem.
And he did except for one phone call. “Have you heard the news?”
“No. What news is that?”
Randall Carter related everything he had been told by Nicole in confidence. “Looks like they’re coming back down the mountain the day after tomorrow. I thought you would want to know all of this.”
“Oh yes. This is very important information. Thanks, Randall. I owe you one.”
Randall Carter sat back in his chair, wondering if being owed a favor by this man was worth the price one had to pay. Was he being seduced by the temptation of the fast life, limos and jets, money beyond imagination? Carter already had it all – why did Spedino’s power enthrall him so much? What was it worth to sell your soul?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Late the next afternoon Brian, Sam and Alfredo were camped halfway between Jaguar’s Call and the highway at the bottom of the mountain. Lynne came along too so she could retrieve her phone from Brian once they met up with Odette.
Brian called Arthur Borland but his phone again went to voicemail. That’s odd, he thought, leaving another message for Arthur to call him at his earliest convenience.
There was an air of anticipation as the four cooked their last dinner on the mountain. Lucky had replenished their provisions so they had beef jerky and canned potatoes. Coffee followed, and Brian smoked his last cigar. Pumped by excitement, no one slept much that night – they took turns on three-hour watches and each of them was already awake when it was time for the shift to change.
They packed everything for one final morning and started downhill. Around noon they reached the highway. Sam saw his pickup parked on the side of the road and ran to embrace Odette. They introduced her to Lynne then Odette steered everyone to the back of the truck. She opened a cooler and handed each of them an ice-cold Gallo, the local Guatemalan beer. “I’m not sure anything has ever tasted so good in my life,” Brian said.
“How’d Brian’s passport work out?” Sam asked Odette.
“All good. I ran it down to the Embassy in Belmopan yesterday and they stamped some things and issued a letter to Guatemala. This morning when I came through the border station I presented the letter and got it stamped here too. Brian, I’m pleased to say that you’re free to come back to Belize!” She handed him the passport and the stamped paperwork.
The group stood and talked by the side of the two-lane highway as an occasional car sped by. In a few minutes a black four-door sedan approached, slowed and pulled in behind Sam’s truck. They all looked at it as the back door opened and a man got out.
“Who’s that?” Sam asked quietly.
Brian smiled. “That’s Arthur Borland!”
“Arthur! Am I glad to see you! I have news for you. Did you get my messages?” As he thought through it, Brian began to wonder. “How’d you know to come here?”
When he got closer Brian saw that Arthur’s countenance was grim. He was shaking and his eyes darted left and right. “Uh, Brian…” he stammered. “Did you find the gold…uh, and my father, of course? What did you find?”
“What’s going on, Arthur? Why are you so nervous?”
The driver of the sedan got out and walked to the back. He opened the door and a man stepped out. He was impeccably dressed in a grey suit, white shirt and tie, despite the temperature and humidity.
“Hello, Brian. It’s been a long time.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Brian’s anger overflowed.
Sam came over. “Is something wrong, Brian? Do you need some help?”
“No, Mr. Adams. He doesn’t need any help. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends, Brian?” He turned to Sam and said, “I’m John Spedino.”
Sam was shocked when he heard the name. He recognized it immediately. But what was this mob boss doing here in the jungle? And how did he and Brian even know each other?
Spedino asked to talk to Brian alone. They got into the back seat of the car. As much as Sam and Lynne wanted to know what John Spedino’s connection was to Brian they felt they had to tell him about Captain Jack. They said they had found his father’s body along with his three guides. Borland’s head dropped as he heard the news and their explanation of what had likely happened.
“I was afraid it would turn out like this since it had been so long.”
Lynne and Sam offered their condolences.
“Thanks. He was a real adventurer,” Arthur said. “He would have wanted to go this way.”
They discussed the find. “Did you find gold?” Arthur asked.
“Until we find out more about why you and John Spedino are hanging out together, I think we’ll stop talking for now about what we found.”
Arthur fidgeted, his hands never still. “It’s all right. I can’t talk right now but you’ll learn everything shortly.”
In a few minutes John Spedino and Brian Sadler emerged from the sedan.
“Brian’s riding back with me,” Spedino said.
“Right,” Brian replied impassively. “I need to talk to him. We’ll meet you all at the hotel.”
Sam asked, “Brian, are you OK? What’s going on? How do you two know each other?”
Brian looked at his friend. “Trust me, Sam. I’ll tell you everything soon. I’m good for now.”
He handed Lynne her phone. She hugged him and said, “Well done, Mr. Amateur Archaeologist. Quite a discovery we have on our hands. I think you’ve joined the big leagues!”
“Thanks. We couldn’t have done it without you, Lynne. Literally. I’ll be in touch to let you know what’s next.”
“OK, call me and let’s talk about how to handle everything. We have to get our man back down from up there. And the bodies.”
Spedino said, “Brian will be in touch once we have our plans finalized.”
“Our plans?” Sam was shocked. “Brian, what the hell is this guy talking about? What does he have to do with this? And why does he have plans?”
“I suggest you stop now before you say more than you should, Mr. Adams. Brian and I will meet you at the hotel. He can explain everything then. Rest assured my interest in this matter is the same as yours. The outcome will be positive for everyone. Gather your things, Brian. I have a lot to tell you.”
Brian said, “Sam, just trust me. You’ve known me for years. Trust me.”
Arthur climbed in the front seat of Spedino’s sedan as Brian threw his backpack into the trunk after retrieving his passport and the paperwork. He and John Spedino got in the back and the car drove away.
“What the hell was that all about?” Lynne said to Sam.
“I’m not sure. Do you know who that guy John Spedino is?”
“Nope. Is he a movie star or something?”
“Not exactly. He’s called ‘Teflon Two.’ He’s a mobster. He’s head of the Mafia in the U.S.– some people say he may even be the Godfather worldwide.”
“Are you serious?” Lynne was shocked. “So Brian’s in bed with the mob? What’s this going to mean to our discovery?”
“I trust Brian. I have to believe he’s not in bed with this guy. Brian’s a good man. I know that. Something’s going on and I’m not going to jump to conclusi
ons. Obviously he knows this guy but he sure wasn’t happy when he saw Spedino get out of the car. I promise I’ll call you the second I find out anything about what’s going on.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The border crossing was uneventful for John Spedino and his passengers. At Melchor de Mencos they were all required to exit the vehicle and go through the Guatemalan exit procedures while the driver pulled the car to an inspection area. Brian and the others walked through a narrow hallway, cleared Guatemalan immigration without a hitch then walked outdoors fifty feet to another building which bore a large sign that said, “Welcome to Belize.” Customs and immigration on that side took five minutes and they were soon reunited with their driver.
On the Belizean side of the border the town became Benque Viejo del Carmen, or just Benque to the locals. At Spedino’s instruction the driver parked at an outdoor café situated along the Mopan River. Spedino said, “We’re going to have a coffee, men, while we finish our conversation and allow Brian’s friends to get back to the hotel before we arrive.”
An hour later the sedan pulled up at the San Ignacio Inn.
Sam had stood in the front window for a half hour watching for Brian. He saw the car pull up and observed Brian as he exited the back seat. His friend’s jaw was set and his face showed his anger. The driver popped the trunk and Brian pulled out his pack. He said something through the car window to whoever was in the back seat then he walked inside as the car pulled away.
Odette welcomed him back. “I can’t tell you how good it is to have you two safely back here!”
He hugged her and said, “I need to talk to Nicole. Where can I use a phone?”
“Oh, you just reminded me!” Odette ran behind the front desk and grabbed a package. “This came from Nicole this morning. I think it’s a new iPhone – she told me she was sending you one by Fedex.”
Brian Sadler Archaeological Mysteries BoxSet Page 49
