The Stone of Secrets

by K. L. Nelson

  “It’s really not a good time. Is Andy in some kind of trouble?”

  “No, but we think your life may be in danger,” Emmett replied. “May we come in?”

  The woman looked Emmett over and closed the door. Seconds later, the door swung open without the chain. “Make it quick, I have to leave for work in a few.”

  Emmett traded glances with Dax as they entered the flat. Somehow Emmett could always get women to open the door.

  “What did you and Andrew discuss when you were together?” Emmett asked as they stood in the front room.

  The woman suddenly grew tense. “You’re FBI right?” Cara said. “You guys wanted me to spy on Andrew.”

  Dax answered, “Miss White, the FBI did not ask you to spy on Andrew. I’m afraid you’ve been misled.”

  “No, he had a badge just like you. He said he was with the FBI.”

  “Can you describe the man?”

  “About your height, slender, dark features.”

  “What kind of information was he interested in?”

  “He wanted to know about the professor, the red-haired lady. He said she was using archaeology as a front for funneling drugs into the country.”

  The agents looked at each other.

  “Can you tell us anything else about the guy; any distinguishing characteristics, visible birth marks, scars?” Dax avoided the word ‘tattoos.’

  “Yeah, he had a tattoo, right here on his neck.”

  “Miss White, that man was not with the FBI. He was impersonating an agent to solicit information from you. Can you tell us how to find him?”

  “Not really. I never saw him after that first day.”

  “How did you get the information to him?”

  “He told me to put it in a brown paper bag and leave it at a bus stop in the city.”

  “How did he pay you?”

  “The money came in a manila envelope through the letter slot. It was usually when I wasn’t at home. That’s how he gave me instructions too.”

  “Did you keep any of these instructions?”

  “He told me to burn them,” she replied. Cara suddenly realized she wouldn’t be getting any more payments. “Hey, how do I know you guys aren’t the imposters and he’s legit?”

  Dax looked at Emmett, and then back to Cara. “We aren’t offering you money.”

  The Next Day

  Skye and Emmett watched the van pull away from the house. The interns and their luggage were headed for the airport. They would make it back to Steinbridge University just in time to start the semester. Skye was worried about them, especially Andrew. He was heartbroken that Cara had only been interested in him to get information. She was a beautiful woman; long dark hair, big eyes and no eyelids. Television personalities don’t have eyelids. When a woman with no eyelids uses you, it makes you feel lower than slime.

  “What will you do?” Emmett asked after the van disappeared over the hill.

  Skye let out a sigh. “I have to get back too. I am having the Marnoch Stone transported to the university. Once it’s packed up and on the boat, I’ll be heading back.” She looked up and put her hand on the back of Emmett’s arm. “And you?”

  “Looks like I’ll be hanging around here for a while,” Emmett replied with a shrug.

  “How come?”

  “The FBI wants to keep an eye on the dig site. It’s too much of a hot spot to just walk away from.”

  “Don’t they have flunkies that can do that?”

  Emmett smiled. “I am the flunky.”

  Skye laughed.

  “Hey – I know!” Emmett broke in, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Stay here with me. Wouldn’t you like to find the rest of that stone? We could work together through the winter. I could use what you taught me about archaeology. I’d be your best assistant ever.”

  Skye loved watching Emmett advance his brilliant idea. “You and me, alone at Tintbay Garden all winter long,” she said. “Emmett Burke, that is the worst plan I have ever heard.”

  Emmett stood back and held up his right hand. “I would be a perfect gentleman, I promise. Come on, Skye. That fragment is still out there. I know we can find it.”

  “Emmett I have to get back. I have lectures to give.”

  “Don’t they have flunkies that can do that?”

  They both nodded and spoke at the same time: “I am/you are the flunky.”

  “That’s too bad,” Emmett sighed. “We could be good together.”

  “I’m sure we could,” Skye replied with regret in her eyes.

  Later that day as Skye was crating the Marnoch Stone she discovered something she had not seen before. It was not the symbols themselves but how they were organized. She couldn’t believe it was there all along, staring her in the face. She grabbed a piece of paper and started drawing a diagram, arranging symbols from the stone into her drawing. When she drew the last symbol, she stood back and put her hand over her mouth.

  Emmett needed to see this.

  “How long has The Pact been around?” she asked the agent after dragging him into the garage where she was working.

  “No one really knows,” he replied, “fifty years at least.”

  “How about more than a thousand? Come here, look at this.”

  Skye began showing Emmett her diagram taken from the stone. “It’s called a chiasma. A Mormon archaeologist friend showed it to me. Many ancient texts are written in this style. It refers to the structure of the writing. Look here,” Skye drew Emmett’s eye to her diagram. “The text begins and ends with the same idea. The second and second to last also correspond, then the third and so on all the way up to the middle of the text. The concepts are arranged like a pyramid, with the very top being the idea the writer wished to emphasize. It’s designed to draw the reader’s focus onto one grand idea.”

  “What’s that got to do with The Pact?”

  “Emmett, look what is at the top of the pyramid.” Skye showed Emmett the symbol at the exact center of the stone.

  “The tattoo on their necks,” Emmett said.

  “Yes, the Pictish symbol for signal.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “It means The Pact goes all the way back to when this stone was carved, maybe even before.”

  “That explains why they’re so interested in the dig site.”

  A big smile appeared on Skye’s face. “It also means…well, the head of my department kind of owes me a favor anyway…” She paused and looked at Emmett. The man’s countenance went from completely dejected to totally elated. His winter just got a whole lot more interesting. Skye was staying!

  Emmett allowed impulse to overtake him. He started for Skye.

  “Now Emmett, remember your promise! Perfect gentleman, remember?” Skye backed up and then broke into a run as Emmett chased her around the table. She laughed like a child as Emmett finally caught her and wrapped her in his strong arms. He lifted her off her feet and spun her around. For a moment Skye was glad the interns weren’t around. This would not look good.

  She had let the man catch her.

  ***

  Winter on the Scottish Highlands is cold and windy. It’s a damp cold that chills a person to the bone. The best defense is layers of clothing. Skye and Emmett prepared to brave the elements and find that fragment. It was needed to decipher the rest of the language, and hopefully learn more about the case.

  Emmett knew The Pact would be putting on layers too. He geared up for the worst. The first thing was to have backup batteries and an emergency generator installed at Tintbay Garden. It was a detail he’d not had time to complete before, but the best security system in the world is useless if the power gets cut.

  Emmett finally got to show Skye his gun collection, at least in the literal sense. He gave her a crash course in personal defense, and a sidearm to carry. If anyone came after Skye again, they were in for a surprise.

  The FBI did not leave Emmett alone to defend the dig site. Though Emmett and Skye would never see them, three
sniper teams were assigned to rotate in four hour shifts and watch the site 24/7. Their operation was invisible. The teams would set up in a different location each shift, in total silence.

  And Emmett had satellite heat detection imagery linked directly to his phone in real time. The remoteness of the site was a great advantage. If anyone came within miles of the place, they would stick out like a sore thumb. With the security details out of the way, they turned their attention to finding the fragment.

  “How are we going to find that thing with only two shovels?” Emmett asked. “It’s going to take all winter, especially in these conditions.” The rain outside was beating on the window and periodically turned to sleet.

  “Maybe not,” the professor replied. “With less manpower, you’ve got to use your other resources better.”

  “Okay, what are our other resources?”

  Skye tapped her finger to the side of her head. “Right here, Emmett.” Emmett smiled as the woman unrolled the site map and spread it out on the table. It was the record of the entire summer in chart form. Archaeologists are meticulous about records. Each find, no matter how insignificant, had been logged on the map including its exact location, the date it was found, and how far beneath the surface.

  “Okay Professor, what are we looking at?” Emmett asked.

  “Well, it’s something I noticed the other day before the sting. Fragment one was found here, and fragment two was found clear over here.”

  “Opposite ends of the site. It’s like someone didn’t want it to be found.”

  “That’s what I thought. But what if they actually did want them found? There’s something I didn’t notice the other day. Look at this.” Skye pointed to a cluster of marks on the chart. “These are building stones. They were probably used in some kind of barrier, like a perimeter wall around the abbey. The wall was dismantled centuries ago. Most of the stones were probably taken offsite and reused in other buildings in the area. But there are enough of them here in concentrations to be able to approximate the old wall’s location.”

  Emmett watched as the professor drew on the map. “We have a corner of the wall right here,” she said, “and another corner over here.”

  “They buried the fragments just inside the wall at each corner,” Emmett observed.

  “This third corner is the cemetery. They wouldn’t have buried anything there. So all we have to do is trace these last two walls…”

  Emmett watched Skye draw the two lines to determine the location of the last corner. Sure enough, the lines intersected at a spot where they had not dug yet. They looked at each other in utter amazement. It was so simple. There was no doubt in either of their minds that they would find the last fragment buried at that spot. They couldn’t wait to start digging.

  The Buccaneer Ruins

  Twenty minutes later

  “I just remembered why we haven’t dug here,” Skye commented as they stared at the scraggly old tree. It was perhaps a hundred years old, very young compared to the artifact that was no doubt entangled in its roots. The old wych elm stood at the exact location Skye had determined the fragment was buried. It was at least three feet across at the base, with a large burl around its bole. The crooked, leafless branches reached twenty feet up. Those branches now swayed violently in the squall that was coming off the North Sea. But neither the storm nor the tree deterred the pair. They grabbed their shovels and started digging near the tree’s base.

  Skye started on the north side of the tree, the side nearest the abbey. Emmett’s approach was on the west side slightly to the south. The first two fragments had been found at a depth of six feet, so that was their target depth. Digging under the tree required hatchets as much as shovels. It was slow going in the thick root system. By week’s end they had gotten only a small area down to six feet, with no sign of the stone fragment. The squall had settled into a steady drizzle and soaked them all week as they worked. They were muddy, tired and hungry.

  “I hear the Moonfish is good…” Emmett suggested.

  “If they’ll let us in,” Skye said laughing.

  They cleaned up and drove into the city for dinner.

  “So what’s next after we find the third fragment?” Emmett asked sitting across the white linen-draped table at the Moonfish.

  “You sound so sure we’ll find it,” the professor replied.

  “Oh, if there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s that Professor McAlister always gets what she wants.”

  Skye laughed. “So I’m spoiled then.”

  “No, just driven.”

  “Okay, well… if we find fragment three, it will be shipped back to the university with the other two for analysis.”

  “…with the professor trailing closely behind,” Emmett surmised aloud.

  Skye looked at him thoughtfully. “Yes, Emmett. It won’t be much of an analysis without the analyst.”

  “Ever think about a job with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation?” Emmett asked seriously.

  Skye sat back and looked at him like he’d just flown in from Mars. She burst out laughing at the thought. “I don’t think I’m what the FBI is looking for, Emmett.”

  “Really? You’re young, smart, driven; you’re the best in your field of expertise. The Bureau is always looking for analysts of your caliber.”

  “You must get a bonus for recruiting,” she replied. “Emmett, that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. In case you haven’t noticed, I already have a career. Why would I take a pay cut just to get shot at?”

  “The fact is, without you on this case the FBI would be lost. You’ve handed us almost every lead we’ve had on The Pact. We’ve learned more about them in the last three months than the previous twenty years. Think about that; the best agents in the bureau have been scratching their heads on this for decades. Then you come along and blow everything wide open without even trying.”

  “I appreciate the thought, Emmett. I really do. But I think I’ll stay where I’m at.”

  Emmett sat back and smiled. “Suit yourself,” he said knowingly, “but I think you’re going to want to give it some thought.”

  “Why do you think that?” Skye asked, still smiling at how hard Emmett was trying to recruit her.

  Emmett leaned forward. “What did you tell me the other night about saving the world? Skye, I’ve noticed a change in you ever since you found out about The Pact. The truth is you’re not going to be happy unless these guys get taken down hard. And trust me; you’re going to be disappointed if you’re not there when it happens.”

  Skye’s smile faded as she wondered how this man could see so clearly into the soul she tried so hard to conceal. She wondered what other little things he’d learned by watching her.

  The rest of dinner was pleasant and charming; Emmett at his best. And when it was over, he surprised her with – of all things – ballroom dancing! He’d learned there was a group that gets together every Saturday night in a rented hall on the second floor of an old building on the pier. It was a calculated risk, but Emmett was sure it would put Operation Skye on a whole new plane. He was right.

  “Look at this!” Skye exclaimed as they walked into the hall. She was beaming with excitement as if she’d just opened a gift. There was a live band playing at one end of the hall and a mirror ball hanging from the ceiling. The wood floor was expansive and well-maintained. “How did you know I was a dancer?”

  “Just a hunch,” Emmett replied.

  “No really,” Skye pressed. “How did you know?”

  Suddenly Skye got a surprised look and gave Emmett a slug on the arm. “You did a background check on me, didn’t you?”

  Emmett pleaded innocence. “It’s the way you carry yourself,” he explained, “the way you move.”

  “You’ve been watching the way I move?” Skye asked incredulously.

  Emmett didn’t waver. “I have,” he replied seriously. “It’s poetry to watch. You have a certain style, a confidence in the way you do ordinary
things. It belies a person disciplined in the art of dance.”

  “Oh really,” the woman replied with a giggle. “And how is that? Maybe you could demonstrate.”

  Emmett looked around. “Mm, okay. Take the way you unbutton your coat for instance. Most people just unbutton it like this,” he said showing her. “But you, on the other hand, are much more purposeful. You put your shoulders down and bring your elbows slightly forward, like this. It’s like the button has no choice but to release itself.”

  Skye laughed. “Emmett Burke, now I know you’ve gone completely off your rocker.”

  Emmett smiled because he’d pegged her and she knew it. “Well, what do you say you accompany me to the floor and prove me right?” He offered her arm and led her to the floor.

  The band played a classic waltz. Before this night, Skye had helped many partners improve their skill on the dance floor, but Emmett needed no training. Skye loved being led by someone who not only knew what they were doing, but did it with style. She felt liberated having such a competent partner.

  In fact, Emmett showed he could do it all: Rumba, Jitterbug, Tango. Through it all, he was right there with her. And when Skye shouted, “Go big!” right in the middle of the Samba, he did. Most dancers in the room that night were learning the basics of ballroom. When they saw this American and this Australian killing it, they stood back to cheer them on.

  “You never cease to amaze me Emmett Burke,” Skye said as they walked out of the dance hall laughing together when it was all over.

  “I was just trying to keep up with you,” he replied. “Where did you learn to move like that?”

  “Oh, no,” she countered. “You’re far better than I. Your Argentine Tango was incredible! Now, I know you didn’t get that from boot camp.”

  “My mother made me take lessons when I was a kid,” he revealed with a smile.

  “Well here’s to your mother. I have got to meet this woman someday!”