Sean Wyatt Compilation Box Set

by Ernest Dempsey

  “Got anything?” Sean sounded exasperated.

  The others shook their heads and joined him on one side of the monument. Firth stayed put, still staring at the object the same way he had been for the last several minutes.

  “What are we missing?” Sean asked the group. “Is there anything else at this site?”

  Jabez looked around the fenced in area but didn’t see anything of note. “It does not appear so.”

  Sean noticed the professor hadn’t moved since they got there. Something had gotten Firth’s attention, but what it could be was still a mystery.

  “What is it, Professor?”

  The older man remained still a few more seconds before responding. Finally, he let his hand down from his chin and pointed at the long shadow running along the ground toward the east.

  “It’s a sun dial,” he said matter-of-factly. “If I had to guess, I would say the shadow points to the area in the mountains you are looking for. Of course, you would need to know the time of day. That could be a problem.”

  A grin crept across Sean’s face. He put his hands on his hips for a moment, impressed with the professor’s assessment.

  “Well, Doc. There you go. Welcome back to doing some field work.”

  Firth scoffed. “This is hardly real field work,” he emphasized the word real with a sarcastic beat. “And like I said, you have the problem of not knowing the time of day required.”

  “Yes,” Adriana interrupted. “But we know the general direction from the map in the prison pit. Sean, pull up the picture you took in the dungeon.”

  He had already begun fishing the device out of his pocket before she’d finished her sentence. A few seconds later he was tapping the screen and spreading his fingers, zooming in on the image Saint Gregory had left so many centuries before. Adriana and Jabez peeked over Sean’s shoulder as he analyzed the picture on the screen.

  The line extended out at an angle, leading into the mountains. Those mountains ran from the northwest to the southeast for hundreds of miles, which presented a problem. If they guess wrong, Sean and his companions would end up out in the middle of the wilderness mountains.

  Another cold breeze rolled through the center of the town, kicking up dust along the way. Dark clouds were beginning to sneak up from the west. While the southern part of Armenia and eastern Turkey didn’t usually experience drastically cold temperatures, there were times when the weather could reach some extremes. Snowfall wasn’t a typical thing. But as cold as the air was, Sean wondered if the approaching storm might bring some precipitation.

  The bigger problem was that if Firth was right, and the sword sculpture was a type of sun dial, they would be up a creek without a paddle if the clouds covered up the source of light. They needed to figure out the direction, and quickly. Otherwise, hours could be lost, maybe even days. That was something they couldn’t afford.

  Sean closed the picture out and pulled up his Google maps app. He entered the location and zoomed into the center of the city where they were currently standing. He twisted the overhead view a little and zoomed back out, peering with narrow eyes at the image.

  “What are you looking for?” Adriana asked. Firth had moved over to where the other three were huddled around Sean’s phone and tried to lean in to see what he was doing.

  “A road, a path, a trail, anything leading out of the town that could coincide with the line that leads into the mountains.” He pointed at the screen. “The problem is there are several roads that lead out of the town, heading into the mountains. It could be any of them.”

  Adriana’s face crinkled slightly as she considered the problem. “What if the direction we should take is still part of the clue, the one about the righteous?”

  Sean shot her a quick grin. “Could be. But how does it relate?”

  “Before, it had to do with kneeling. I doubt there is another map hidden under this dirt, though,” she traced a finger around the area circling the monument. “It would have been found long ago. Or it might have even washed away after being exposed to the elements.”

  “So, what could it be?” Jabez wondered.

  Adriana began slowly moving around the sculpture, staring at it as she spoke. “Muslims are required to pray at certain times of the day. In the ancient times, the Judaic ancestors of Abraham kept a similar tradition. There was a time for morning and afternoon prayers, while the sun was still up, nearing the end of its journey across the sky.” Sean nodded as she spoke. He was beginning to see where this was going. “It is estimated that the afternoon prayers took place around five 0’clock. If we assume the sun would be at that point,” she extended a finger into an empty place in the sky, “the shadow would be cast across the ground in that direction.” She pointed at the sword, but her eyes were gazing beyond, into the high mountains outside the city.

  Sean checked the direction she indicated then got back his phone to see if where she was pointing had any discernible paths. There was one faint outline of a dirt road that trailed away from the town and wound its way into the Mountains.

  He looked up from the screen and smiled. “I think you did it,” he praised. “I’m pretty sure this is our road.”

  Jabez and Firth peeked over his shoulder at where he was indicating on the screen.

  “Pretty sure?” Firth returned to his dubious self. “If we are going into those mountains, I would hope that you are a better than pretty sure.” He crossed his arms again and cocked his head to the side.

  Sean slipped his phone back into his pocket. There was “It’s the only way that makes sense,” he responded as patiently as possible.

  “And how far do we go into the mountains? Do we just keep going until we bump into some mythical boat?” The Englishman held his arms out to his side. “If it was there in plain sight, other people would have already found it by now. It won’t be that easy.”

  For a moment, the only sound that interrupted the silence was the wind blowing across the surface of the sword and a through a few of the scraggly trees dotting the tiny park.

  Firth had a point, as much as Sean hated to admit it. If ark was sitting in plain sight in the mountains to the north, someone would have already found it. Even if it weren’t obvious, satellites or possibly airplanes would have noticed an anomaly and taken pictures of the ancient vessel.

  Adriana interrupted his thoughts. “We need to think about this differently, Professor. If there were a large boat-type structure that came to rest somewhere, years of erosion and decay would have destroyed the entire ship. Correct?”

  “Obviously,” he answered emphatically. “Based on the geography, those mountains probably receive most of their rainfall in short bursts. That means flooding. So, after decades and centuries of rotting and decay, the remnants of anything would have surely washed away. If there was something there to begin with.” He added the last part with a little sneer.

  The dark clouds in the distance eased a shadow over where the companions stood. Without the warming light of the sun, the temperature seemed to drop about ten degrees. Jabez pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders.

  Adriana nodded in agreement to what Firth had stated. “Your assessment is accurate, Professor. But if there were a structure that large, it still would have left behind a trace of something else.” To this, Firth’s face curled in question.

  “What do you mean it would have left something else behind? There is nothing. Even if it was there, it is gone now.”

  “Tell me, Professor. Have you ever been to the beach before?”

  His face twisted further, clearly confused as to where her line of thought was headed. “Yes. But what does that have to do with anything?”

  She set one foot out in front of the other on the loose dirt. The ground sloped slightly downhill running away from the stone sculpture. “When you were at the beach, did you ever walk along the line where the water met the sand?”

  His frown couldn’t get any deeper. “Yes. I supposed, so. I’m not much of a beach person
, though.” Sean snickered at the last comment.

  Adriana ignored his skepticism and continued. “When you walked on the wet sand, did you ever let the water wash up over your feet?”

  Firth was now exasperated. He put his hands on his hips and let out a deep sigh. “Look young lady, I don’t know where you are going with this, but I hardly think we have time to be discussing long walks on the beach.”

  “I have,” Sean chimed in, answering the question for the grumpy professor.

  She smiled over at him. “And what happened when you let the water wash over your feet?”

  Sean had to think for a second. He hadn’t been to the beach in a while. Standing there in the cold made him long for it even more. The warmth of the sunshine, the calm sounds of the ocean waves crashing into the beach. Then he remembered.

  “Your feet sink a little into the sand. Right? They sink and sand washes up around them. If you stand there long enough, your feet get covered with sand.”

  She nodded at him, her grin widening slightly. “Exactly.” Firth crossed his arms, trying desperately to make the connection with what she was talking about to their current predicament. “Now,” Adriana went on, “when you pull your foot out of the sand, what do you have?”

  Sean’s face lit up as he realized the answer. What she was saying suddenly made total sense. “A footprint,” he said steadily, trying to contain the epiphany.

  “Precisely,” she said pointedly, moving her foot away from its spot on the ground.

  The men imagined seeing the footprint in the sand, as they would have on the beach. Professor Firth still wasn’t convinced.

  “That theory is fine and all, but a wet footprint in the sand washes away eventually,” he spoke almost as if he were happy to rain on her parade.

  Adriana was undaunted, though. She’d overcome more obstacles than a grouchy English archaeologist in her life. And she’d prepared for his argument in the same moments she had come up with the idea.

  “When the waters of the great Biblical flood began to recede,” she began, “a massive amount of water dissipated quickly, just as it would on the ocean with the footprint. But if there were an extended period before rotting and decay began and the boat disappeared, the footprint the vessel would have left would have had more than enough time to solidify. It’s likely that the area around it would have petrified into a rock wall.”

  Firth considered her thoughts for a moment in stunned silence. Sean and Jabez watched the older man intensely, waiting to see what he would say next. Finally, he uncrossed his arms and put them behind his back.

  “When did you come up with this?” he asked in a less harsh tone than usual.

  She waited for a second to see if there would be an insult accompanying the question. When none came, she answered. “Just now. But it makes sense. If the circumstances were right, after the flood waters receded, it is possible the ark sank into the muddy earth. Then it would have only needed time to do the rest.”

  “So we are looking for a giant footprint?” Jabez needed clarification.

  “In the shape of a giant boat, apparently,” Sean grinned. “I like it.”

  Firth remained dubious for a few more seconds. “That is actually a sound theory,” he surrendered. “It might just be exactly what we’re looking for.” His mouth curled slightly into a narrow smile. “Good thinking, young lady.”

  Adriana appreciated the compliment. But she accepted it with a stoic expression. “We haven’t found the thing yet, Professor.”

  Chapter 33

  Armenian Mountains

  The helicopter swooped around another rocky peak only to find another on the other side. Below, the ridges and mountaintops sloped down into valleys that rose back up to similar peaks. The mountain range seemed an endless patchwork, extending far to the north and east, beyond the horizon.

  Lindsey and his men had been flying around for the last hour, but with no luck. They hadn’t found even the slightest resemblance of the ark.

  DeGard spoke up from the rear of the chopper, filling the radio headsets with his nasally voice. “I am sorry, Monsieur, but if there were an enormous boat sitting out in the open, someone would have seen it by now.”

  The air in the cabin was getting much colder, despite having all doors closed. Lindsey pulled his coat around his torso just a little tighter. Kaba looked over at him to get his attention then tapped on the fuel gauge. It was getting low. They would need to set down soon, or head back.

  Dark clouds had rolled in quickly from the west, and his concerns were realized when tiny white flakes began swirling around the windshield of the helicopter. They had brought supplies: food, tents, a little extra fuel, and several other items normal civilians might take on a winter camping trip. He had insisted upon it. Lindsey had always been of the mindset that it was better to be too prepared than underprepared.

  Kaba pointed to a flat area on one of the ridges nearby. “I think we should set down over there. It’s one of the only flat places I’ve seen. Either we land now or head back, Sir. It will be dark soon, and we won’t find anything after dark.”

  “Very well,” he nodded his head. “Take her down over there. We’ll set up camp for the night and hope this storm blows over by the morning.”

  His pilot nodded and steered the helicopter over to the appointed ridge. As they neared the landing spot, wind shear picked up and wobbled the chopper around. Kaba remained calm, making subtle movements with her feet and hands to keep the flying contraption steady until it was safely on the ground.

  Lindsey’s men opened up the side door, letting in a gust of frigid air. A few snowflakes swirled into the cabin and settled on the hard floor while the men pulled supply bags and containers from storage bins inside the chopper. The rotors eventually slowed to a stop, but Lindsey had no intention of going out into the freezing cold. Not yet. His old bones were already sending pain signals to his brain. He imagined if he were to step outside for very long, his entire body might lock up.

  While two of the men were securing the helicopter with a few anchors, Will grabbed a long nylon bag and dragged it over to where the ridge began to rise toward the mountain peak. He figured up against the hill it would be at least a little less windy. He unzipped the large bag and began pulling out a beige-colored material similar to what the bag was made out of.

  Once he’d piled up the fabric, he connected a small box with a knob on the side of it to a plastic hole in the fabric. He switched the knob and an electric motor came to life, sucking air through the box and pouring it into the fabric. In just a few short minutes, the inflatable structure began to take shape. While the air compressor filled the walls, Will quickly moved around the perimeter to stake down each side of it so the wind wouldn’t blow the thing away.

  The other men had copied what he was doing and were inflating two additional structures, slightly closer to the helicopter. He didn’t like the idea of camping up on the top of the mountain in the dead of winter, but Will knew that his employer was too old to try and make it down to the bottom of one of the valleys. The hills were too steep and rocky for the fragile Lindsey.

  By the time he finished pounding in the last stake, the air compressor had completed its task. The inflatable domed structure stood about twenty feet square, enough room inside for several people. Will figured he and Kaba would sleep in that room with Lindsey. The old man seemed more and more anxious to keep Will close. He wasn’t sure if it was because his employer felt a close connection to him, or if it were just a matter of paranoia.

  Kaba had finished shutting down the helicopter and had joined Will on the far end of the quickly forming encampment. She carried a small black box in one hand and a nylon bag strapped across her shoulder. She stepped through the flap that served as a door and set the box down on the ground. Bending down, Kaba flicked a switch on the side of the device and warm air began to pour out into the inflatable dome. After the heater had begun warming the room, she removed an inflatable mattress from the should
er bag and set about getting it ready.

  A few minutes later, Lindsey was satisfied that his temporary quarters would be warm enough, so he carefully stepped out of the helicopter and shuffled past the two other, smaller domes. He stepped into the room and was greeted by surprisingly warm air. Kaba was busy in one of the corners inflating a second bed.

  “I wonder if this storm is going to last long,” she looked up, squatting near the inflating mattress.

  Will had entered the quarters and shook his head. “I don’t know. But the snow is really starting to come down. It’s got to be pretty rare in this part of the world,” he cast a wary glance at Lindsey. “We could be up here a while, Sir.”

  The old man grunted, and loosened up his coat a little. He was amazed at the amount of heat the heater could put out and at how well insulated the structure was.

  “We are too close to turn back now,” he said with conviction. “We know that, based on what we looked at on the screen, the ark should be somewhere near here.”

  DeGard stepped into the inflatable and looked around, inspecting the place for a moment before speaking. “I’m impressed. It seems you are a man who likes to be prepared.” He strolled leisurely over to the far side of the tent and spun around in a dramatic fashion. “I wonder. Are you prepared for the possibility that we may never find what you are looking for?”

  Lindsey coughed for a moment before peering at him through narrow slits. “The ark is here, DeGard. I know it.”

  The Frenchman threw up his hands. “Based on what? A hunch? If there were a giant boat in the middle of these godforsaken mountains, we would have found it by now. Someone, at least, would have discovered it centuries ago.”

  “It is here,” Lindsey repeated and trudged over to the nearest mattress and sat down. He had a tired look on his face. Will wasn’t sure if it was from the exhaustion of the journey or from the frustrating banter of their French companion.

  “We will stay here for the night,” Will interjected, seeing the conversation was going nowhere. “In the morning, Kaba and I will head up to the top of the mountain and see if we notice anything out of the ordinary.”