The Rings of Poseidon (24 page)

"You all start work," said Alicia. "I'm going
to read through these papers in search of inspiration. You take
charge for the moment, Frank."

"Okay by me," said Frank, and they all got up
to leave. Alicia started with the bundle of papers.

Steve walked up to where the local men were
carefully sifting through sand near the floor of the second
house.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "I just
wondered whether you know that bird watcher bloke is that keeps
hanging around? I think he's afraid we'll disturb some nest of
other."

"Oh aye. I know who you mean, though I don't
rightly know a name," said Andy, looking up, "He's an off-comer
with plenty of money. He rented Doug MacDonald's place from the
start of April to the end of September. Doug has a farm with an old
farmhouse on it. You must know it, you have the power line for the
computer from there."

"Oh," said Steve and nodded.

"Doug did it up a year or two ago and started
renting it out to holidaymakers. The man didn't seem to do much
bird watching before you all came though. He seemed more interested
in yon stone circle the professor was speaking about
yesterday."

One of the others had stopped work and was
listening. "Comes to that, where is Professor Harrington?" the man
asked, glancing at his watch. "I thought he said he'd be back first
thing this morning."

"Probably just sightseeing or something,"
said Steve. "Alicia's having kittens in there about everything
being just right." He nodded vaguely towards the camp. "Anyway, I
best be on my way, before I run foul of the boss."

"Aye?" Andy smiled and the men settled back
to their work, while Steve walked back across the field enjoying
the sunshine.

As he drove out of the field Steve saw the
rest of the crowd leaving the cabin and waved to Gill.

Chapter 20

Steve parked the Landrover on the hard and
walked across to the post office. He glanced at his watch. He was
easily half an hour early for the ferry. There were few people
waiting yet, but it was a very pleasant morning. He opened the door
of the post office, holding the door for an elderly lady just
leaving.

"Goodbye, Mrs. McCloud." the assistant
called. She turned to Steve.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"First I want a couple of packets of mints.
Then I'll need a book of stamps - ten first class."

He offered her a five pound note and she
counted out the change.

"Lastly I want some information, but I don't
know who to ask," he said.

"I might know. It depends what you want."

"That farm of Doug MacDonald's that he rents
out to holidaymakers. Do you know it?"

"Aye."

"I wanted to know the name of the couple who
rented it this year."

"Well, I think it was rented in connection
with the archeological excavation you're working on yourself. I'd
have thought you knew. I've seen the name on letters though, when
I've sorted the post. Davies. A Mr and Mrs Ian Davies. The letters
had a Warwick postmark, wherever Warwick is. England somewhere. Why
don't you just drive up and ask your questions direct to them?"

I might just do that too," said Steve. "Thank
you for your trouble."

"No trouble," she said, smiling.

"Bye."

"Goodbye just now."

Steve was a little taken aback by what he had
learned. When he had connected up the power line it was to a
farmhouse, yes, but he had assumed the woman he spoke to was a
local. She must have been the one they saw in the stone circle. The
one, it would seem, from Warwick.

The ferry was in sight and Steve watched it
come alongside, doing each phase of the manoeuvre exactly as every
other time. 'It's like an army drill,' he thought. 'I suppose that,
if they do the same thing every time, it means they're practising
for bad weather in the winter.'

Steve collected the various items addressed
to the dig, including the photographs Alicia wanted and a letter
addressed to Manjy.

As he climbed into the Landrover he thought
he might as well go to the hotel while he was in Linksness.

"It'll save another trip in later." he said
to himself and started the vehicle.

At the 'T' junction he turned right, away
from the dig, and drove less than fifty yards to the hotel. He
parked the vehicle and walked in. There was nobody at reception,
but a man came straight away when he rang.

"I wondered if Professor Harrington was
around. I'm from the excavations down the road. He hasn't turned up
and I wondered if he was having problems with the car."

"No. He's not about and the car's gone."

"Oh well, probably gone sightseeing on the
way then. I don't blame him."

The man hesitated. "We're just a little
worried," he said, "Mr. Harrington must have gone out before
daylight, since his bedside lamp was still on. Besides, he hasn't
been to breakfast."

"I don't know him well enough to know whether
that's normal," said Steve, "but, if he doesn't show up by dinner
time, could you ring the police and ask them to keep an eye out for
him. He may have run out of petrol or broken down somewhere."

"I will certainly do that," said the man.
Steve turned to go. "Goodbye, sir."

"Bye," said Steve, and went out.

When Steve got back to the dig things looked
to be going well. He could see figures working all over the site,
though he couldn't see Alicia. He unloaded and then went into the
cabin to fix dinner. At the computer Manjy was entering more data.
Alicia looked up from the late professor's papers.

"Hello Steve," she said, and went on
reading.

At dinner everyone was full of themselves. An
archeological dig is very pleasant in nice surroundings on a sunny
day.

"Listen," said Alicia to the assembled team,
"It's getting too warm to work hard for a couple of hours and we've
made good progress with the excavation so far. Take a couple of
hour's break, go swimming or sunbathing or whatever, relax. We'll
have a sandwich about four and another session of work from about
five to seven."

She turned to Jamie and the paid workers.
"You can go for today on full pay. I'll take responsibility for the
early finish."

"We'll have another short council of war
outside," said Alicia to Frank. "Let's clear up first but you make
sure neither Manjy nor Alan slip away. I'll catch Gill and
Steve."

Frank nodded.

"Right," said Alicia when they were all
comfortably settled on the grass. "First, the professor. Steve. Did
you go to the hotel?"

Steve explained his conversation with the man
at the hotel reception. "I doubt if they'll discover the body
today," he said. "Somebody might find it by accident but I doubt
it. Personally I think they'll start looking tomorrow and find the
body about noon."

"OK. Second thing. Did you find out anything
about those other two?"

"A Mr. and Mrs. Ian Davies from Warwick. The
Post Office thought the professor arranged for them to rent the
farm we have our power line from. I'll wander over later today on
some pretext and see the lie of the land."

"Right. Third thing. The briefcase. For the
moment I'll look after it. There's nothing to identify it as
belonging to the professor. Next thing is the ring."

"Let's say it was stolen," said Frank " We
can report the theft and get rid of it safely at leisure. If it
goes to the university anyone so minded could get hold of it."

"We'll have the 'busies' all over the dig if
we report it stolen. The briefcase won't be safe and neither will
I," said Steve.

"You have a point," said Alicia.

Frank suggested an alternative. "Okay," he
said, "Tell them Professor Harrington took it and ask for it
back."

"That sounds better."

"Right," said Alicia again. "Now the
professor's papers. There's a couple of rituals there. I'm no
occultist, but I think one of them relates to sending the objects
into the future. Sounds fantastic and I can't believe it
works."

"He did it, didn't he?" asked Manjy.

"So he claimed."

"Can I see them?" asked Alan. "I'd like to
read through them later."

"I didn't know you were into that sort of
thing," said Alicia.

"And the big question?" asked Frank.

"Yes," said Alicia, "Where did he hide the
other rings? The photographs are of Roman remains at a place called
Boloña in southern Spain. They the remains of a roman town called
Bella Claudia. No great difficulty in identifying them - it's
written on the back of some of the photographs themselves. What's
more they are taken over a number of years. The years are on the
back of the ones he wrote on. They were probably in the briefcase
because there's a magazine article about the excavations.
Unfortunately it's in French. My French isn't very good but I
recognize a few names and there's a photograph."

"Are you suggesting that's where he hid the
other rings?" asked Frank.

"No. Not yet anyway. There was one letter
addressed to him among his papers. I've put that on top of the
filing cabinet with the airline tickets because I don't want
anything in the briefcase which would relate to the Professor."

"The letter is from an 'abogado' - a sort of
Spanish solicitor. It's in English and confirms purchase of a house
in southern Spain at..." Alicia glanced at her notebook, "Vejer de
la Frontera, wherever that is. I know it's southern Spain because
the post code is Cadiz and that's the south."

"We need a map of Spain," said Frank. "You've
a load of maps Steve."

"Can't help you there, I'm afraid," said
Steve, There's dozens of maps in my room. But not of Spain. I could
tell the woman from the Post Office where Warwick is though, if
that's any help!" He ducked as Alicia threw the notepad at him.

"I think we'll leave it for the moment," said
Alicia. "It's too hot to think it all out now and anyway there's
other lines of enquiry to follow up." She got to her feet. "Let's
enjoy the afternoon like the rest of them."

The others got up from the grass, dusting
themselves off. Steve said he would wander over to the farm they
had the power line from and Gill wanted to go with him. Manjy went
to reread her letter and write home yet again. Alicia and Frank
both fancied a swim and Alan went off to join the volunteers.

"Do you think the rings are in Spain?" Gill
asked Steve, as he led the way to the edge of the field following
the cable. It was suspended from the Portacabin roof to a tree at
the edge of the field, where it went over the hedge.

"It's a long way round by the road," he
explained, and then thought about Gill's question. "Manjy's story
must have been somewhere that way but he's turned up in France and
southern England as well. And according to what he said, he's
turned up in Egypt as well. Why not somewhere like the pyramids.
Through here." he led the way through a gap in the hedge.

"But he'd want somewhere reasonably
accessible in medieval times."

"That part of Spain wouldn't be very
accessible. Wasn't there a longish period of Arab control?"

"I think so, but he said he was a Moor in one
of his incarnations."

"Well ... ," Steve sounded doubtful. "...
Spain wasn't very friendly to the English for several centuries.
And then there was the civil war. A bit dodgy, I would have
thought. Apart from that it would have been decidedly dangerous to
carry out an occult ritual during the Spanish Inquisition. Over
here."

They had crossed a small second field and
Steve now climbed over a gate.

"Anyway," he said, "the rings could be in
five different places or have been moved five times to places which
were suitable at the time."

Gill followed him over the gate. They were in
a small farmyard. The cable came over the roof of a barn and down
to the woodwork of a door which was closed but not locked, where it
went inside. The wire was plugged into a socket just behind the
door. The barn was dim and dusty but empty. Steve shut the door
again.

"The house looks shut up," said Gill.

"They're obviously out," Steve responded. "It
was a woman who was here when I set up the cable. I just thought
she was local. Still, the house does look a bit shut up."

"It feels as if they've gone altogether.
Look, all the windows are closed on a day like today."

"Well, you were right about the amulet.
Perhaps you're right about this. There's nothing for them to stay
for, I suppose. If they came by car perhaps they took the vehicle
ferry from Lowness. I wouldn't have seen them leave this
morning."

"There's no sign of the Professor's car. They
probably took it back like Frank suggested."

"Well," said Steve, "I don't think there's
anything for us here." He tried the door. It was locked. They
walked all round the house and tried the front door too, but that
was locked. Nobody answered their knocking and there was no one
about.

"Let's wander down to the beach and enjoy the
rest of the afternoon," he said at length.

Gill objected. "I'm enjoying the afternoon
anyway. Not that I mind going down to the beach or anywhere you
want go."

"We can get down to the beach over this
field," said Steve, and took her by the hand.

"I think I must be a very dependant person,"
said Gill. "I seem to need somebody loving me all the time."

"I'm not sure that's true. You need to love a
lot and of course you want someone to respond to you, but that's
not the same thing really."

The field petered out in sand dunes. Standing
there they could see Alicia and Frank and some of the others
splashing about, but once they sat down they were not only out
sight but they couldn't hear them either.