Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (28 page)

In a matter of minutes, he was in. Jimmy had programmed an Elvis icon that gave a thumbs-up and said,
“
Thank you very much,
”
upon a successful hack. Corey chuc
kled at the image and moved on.

A few keystrokes and a list of directories scrolled down the screen. He selected
/security
and Jimmy
’
s program began
its work.
Two minutes
later he was looking at a list of  sub-folders
containing video from various parts of the building. Where to begin? Angel had been taken less than t
wenty-
four hours earlier, so
he
chose a likely time frame and began his search.

He sighed, wondering how long this was going to take. He hoped Willis was having better luck.

Willis, clad in khaki pants, a baggy polo shirt, and glasses, and wearing a camera around his neck, made his way through the museum. It wasn
’
t the greatest disguise in the world. He was more than six feet tall, so he stood out in any crowd, but at least he was dressed appropriately for the setting.

He regularly consulted the map in his brochure, but it wasn
’
t the exhibits he was interested in. He was marking off the rooms he had inspected, searching for access to offices, storage, or mechanical rooms. So far he
’
d met with no success. The few doors he had seen were locked and required electronic clearance to enter.

The only room he had not yet checked stood adjacent to the entryway. If he struck out here, he wasn
’
t sure what he
’
d try next. Maybe go outside and look for a service entrance. The exhibits here were devoted to pirates. He took that as a good sign. A replica of a Seventeenth Century pirate ship hung suspended from the ceiling, with a second-floor viewing area up above. Tall windows lined the wall to his left and a series of exhibits filled the wall to his right.

He passed wax figures of Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Black Caesar. A heavy tarp was draped across the next exhibit and a sign taped to the rail indicated it was
“
closed for repair.
”
That didn
’
t necessarily mean anything, but he had a feeling about it, and his instincts had kept him alive through a youth spent in one of the worst neighborhoods in Detroit, and then through service in the Navy.

He checked to make sure no one was looking, then peered behind the plastic. A wax figure lay on the floor, one arm broken. Nothing too weird about that. And then he spotted something very out of place
—
the tip of a sneaker print. Even that might not have seemed unusual if it weren
’
t for the fact that he
’
d seen enough bloody prints in his life to know one when he saw it. Whoever had come through here had stepped in blood. He leaned farther in and spotted a doorknob on the back wall.

“
Can I help you?
”
A big man with a shaved head and battered face stood behind him. The man wore a museum ID badge that named him A. Shears, a radio on one hip, and a pistol on the other.

Willis immediately recognized him by the description Dane had given. This was the man who had accosted Dane and Bones in the chapel earlier in the day and whom Matt had taken out. He suppressed a grin, wishing he
’
d seen what Bones had described as an
“
epic takedown.
”
He had to hand it to Shears, though. The guy bounced back quickly.

“
Just wondering what this display was. First time I
’
ve been here, you know.
”

Shears looked him up and down before answering.

“
Nothing special, just a diorama of a pirate raid. The bloke got himself a broken arm.
”

“
All right. Cool.
”
He continued down the line of exhibits, feeling Shears
’
gaze boring into him. He checked his watch. Forty minutes until closing time. If Shears didn
’
t move along soon, he
’
d have to find a place to hide.

Thirty minutes later, he stood alone on the second floor balcony that afforded visitors a view of the pirate ship. Shears still stalked the ground floor, ushering the last visitors out of the museum. As the last group of people left, Shears mounted the steps, heading up to the second floor.

Willis was cornered. The stairs were the only way down and, with Shears already suspicious of him, he had no way to explain his presence here. He looked for a way out. He had less than ten seconds before Shears reached the top of the stairs, turned, and spotted him. He looked around, seeking a way out, and his eyes fell on the pirate ship.

It would be a bit of a leap, but he could do it. His mind made up, he clambered up onto the rail, not looking down at the floor below.
Hoping this wasn’t the day his impulsiveness finally came back to bite him
, he jumped.

His stomach fluttered on the edge of nausea as he flew through open space. Next thing he knew, his arms and legs were wrapped around the stout cable that supported one corner of the stern. He slid down its length, his hands burning as the rough steel scoured his palms, and dropped with scarcely a sound into the ship.

He hit the deck and reached for the Beretta M9 he wore concealed underneath his shirt. If Shears spotted the gentle rocking of the ship, he might investigate, and Willis was through playing around. He waited, wondering if he
’
d be spotted and, if not, how he was going to get down.

“
It
’
s somewhere around here, I think.
”
Avery let out and exasperated sigh and stamped her foot.
“
This is so frustrating. We need more to go on.
”

They stood in the Trinity Churchyard, looking at the rows of gravestones, many of which had eroded over the centuries until the engraving on them was nearly illegible.

“
If we
’
re looking for another Templar church, we have to assume it was built long before Trinity Church or this graveyard were here,
”
Dane said.

“
Thanks for that ray of sunshine,
”
Bones replied.
“
If we don
’
t find something soon, I
’
m going to get all weepy and emo like that Keep America Beautiful Indian.
”

“
Iron Eyes Cody?
”
Avery said.
“
Did you know he wasn
’
t even an Indian? He was Italian.
”

“
Shut it! No freaking way.
”

“
Yes, way.
”
Avery laughed.

“
Focus.
”
Dane knew Bones was trying not to think about Angel. Dane too was having a hard time keeping his mind on the task at hand.
“
The map has three of the cross-in-circle symbols set in a triangle. Why don
’
t we see if we can find that same pattern on any of the gravestones?
”

They spread out, moving quickly because evening was rapidly approaching and the light growing dim. Dane soon found what he was looking for on the gravestone of William Bradford. The three crosses formed a triangle around a cherub face. Hope rose, but fell as he realized it was only a simple headstone and could not be the entrance to anything.

“
Got one!
”
Bones called.
“
Three crosses
around an angel dude
. Just a headstone, though.
”

“
Same here.
”
Avery sounded disheartened.

“
Wall, that was a fail,
”
Bones said.
“
What now?
”

Dane considered the situation. Like the crosses, the headstones formed an equilateral triangle, and at the center of that triangle stood...

“
Alexander Hamilton
’
s tomb,
”
Dane whispered.

The tomb of Alexander Hamilton was perhaps the most impressive of all the structures in the churchyard. Square at the bottom, with columns at each corner surmounted by urns, the tomb was topped by a weathered obelisk.

Dane knelt down behind Bradford
’
s headstone and followed the cherub
’
s line of sight. Sure enough, it pointed directly at the obelisk. He instructed Bones and Avery to do the same with the headstones they had found and, moments later, they confirmed his theory.

Dane made his way over to the tomb and circled it, looking for any indication that this was what they were looking for. An epitaph to the famed patriot was engraved on one side, but he saw no Templar symbols. He let his eyes drift upward to the top of the obelisk where he thought he saw the faint outline of a circle engraved on the weathered top.

“
You two, keep a lookout,
”
he said to Bones and Avery, and climbed onto the tomb. The obelisk was short enough that he could easily see the four sides of the capstone.

“
They
’
re here!
”
he exclaimed.
“
A templar cross on three sides of the point. This is it.
”

“
But Hamilton wasn
’
t a Freemason. Why would that symbol be carved onto his tomb?
”
Avery looked puzzled.

“
It
shouldn
’
t
be here. Someone put that mark here for a reason.
”
Dane had no doubt he was on the right track.

“
What do we do now? Say
open sesame
?
”
Bones asked.

Dane looked down at the symbols and two details immediately caught his attention: a groove ran ar
ound the capstone
, as if it were a separate piece; and on the fourth side, instead of a cross, a small arrow was carved. It was so tiny he almost missed it, but it was there.

“
What
’
s that thing you
’
re always saying, Bones? Righty tightie, lefty loosie?
”
With that, he took hold of the capstone and gave it a deft twist. It didn
’
t budge.

“
Impressive.
”
Avery smirked
, then turned and gave Bones a wink.

“
Thanks for the support.
”
Dane got a better grip this time and poured all of his strength into the effort. Slowly, inch by inch, the capstone began to rotate, and rose as it turned. After a quarter turn, Dane heard a loud thunk and the capstone froze.
“
Anything?
”

“
Nothing,
”
Avery said.

“
There are three crosses,
”
Bones said.
“
How about three turns?
”

“
Or maybe three quarter-turns,
”
Avery added.

“
You
’
re already correcting me, woman?
”
Bones asked.
“
We hardly know each other.
”

Dane tuned them out and gave the capstone another twist. He felt the strain in every muscle of his shoulders, arms, and back as he turned the stone another quarter-turn, and then another. When he
’
d completed the third turn, the tomb vibrated beneath his feet and a
hollow, grating sound
rose up from down below.

“
Yahtzee!
”
Bones exclaimed.

“
You did it, Maddock,
”
Avery whispered.

Dane leapt down and looked down at the base of the tomb on the side facing away from the street. The entire side of the tomb had sunk into the ground, revealing an empty space below. They had found it!

Corey sighed and opened the last sub-folder. His search had been utterly fruitless, and now it was closing time. He wondered if Willis had fared any better. Considering how long he
’
d spent in the museum, he
’
d better have found something. If Willis had been browsing museum displays while Corey worked his butt off, they would have a talk later.