Nikos continued his account. “They spoke of Linear B and the granite key. I followed them. At one point, I brushed close enough to see the papers they were all looking at. Each one had a copy of the symbols on the key.”
“How can that be?” Daniel’s voice was shrill with panic. “Nobody had that information.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, son, but somebody did. That antique dealer who I got the key from in the first place.”
“You?” Daniel gave him a puzzled stare.
“Guess your daddy didn’t tell you all the odd jobs I done for him, huh? Well, sir, I’m the one he sent to find that doodad in the first place. It come from a fancy antique store. Lady who ran it had herself a terrible accident. Bumped her head and didn’t get up no more. Left behind a little sister. Gal named Cassie.”
“This can’t be happening,” Daniel murmured. His pasty complexion was ashen.
Ignoring the young man’s distress Hunt addressed Nikos. “So, what else you find out?”
Nikos stared worriedly at Daniel for a moment before transferring his attention to Leroy. “I do not believe they found anything at Knossos. I followed them for the rest of the day. They went to a vineyard in the hills and stayed there for two hours.”
“My kinda folks. Civilized,” Hunt said approvingly. “They know when it’s time to take a break and sip somethin’ in the shade.”
“After that, they returned to their hotel in Heraklion.”
Leroy felt an adrenaline surge. “Then you know where they’re stayin’?”
“Yes, I can take you there in the morning.”
Hunt rounded on him. “Boy, we ain’t got that kind of time!”
Daniel was sitting with his head in his hands, moaning an inarticulate prayer.
Leroy shook him roughly by the shoulder. “Listen up, son. I need you to get on the horn with your boys. You got anybody else on the island, you call out the reinforcements. I need them brethren to take turns watchin’ the hotel through the night. Keep tabs on these folks.”
“Why?” Daniel bleated
“Son, you ain’t seein’ the big picture here. You think they’re gonna steal your thunder and get them Bones before you do. That ain’t gonna happen.”
Daniel gaped at him dumbly.
“Don’t you get it yet, boy? They’re gonna do your work for you. All we got to do is stay out of sight and have your crew follow ‘em around awhile. Odds are they’ll head straight to your buried treasure.”
Leroy withdrew the SIG Pro pistol from its holster. He checked the magazine. “Brother Nick, you think maybe you could scare me up some extra .357 bullets for this thing?”
Chapter 35 – Psychro
The following morning found Cassie and Griffin well rested and ready to continue their search. The same could not be said for Erik. He’d arrived late the night before, and his surly mood hadn’t improved much after a few hours’ sleep.
The trio met for breakfast where the security coordinator was briefed on everything the other two had discovered. They outlined their plan to search the Lasithi Plateau for symbols from the key.
Erik listened in silence during their lengthy summation. When they were done speaking, he nodded curtly. “OK, I’ll rent us a car.”
“Why?” Griffin asked in surprise. “Xenia drove us around yesterday.”
“No need to bother her. She’s probably got better things to do that chauffeur tourists.”
Cassie opened her mouth to offer a sarcastic retort, but Griffin laid a warning hand on her forearm. His gesture seemed to imply that locking horns with Erik so early in the day wasn’t a good idea.
“We should really go with someone who knows the area,” the scrivener suggested tactfully. “Someone who speaks the language.”
Erik gave no reply but instead gestured to the waiter. In flawless Greek, he asked for more coffee.
“Show off!” Cassie muttered under her breath.
Grinning impudently at them both, he explained. “I ran security for quite a few recoveries in this part of the world. Learned to speak like a native, and I know my way around the island pretty well. Like I said, I’ll rent us a car.” Without warning, he rose and walked out of the dining room.
His companions stared at one another uncertainly.
“Be ready in half an hour,” Erik called over his shoulder. “I’ll pick you up at the front door. And bring jackets. The plateau can get cold in the evening.”
“He’s been here less than twelve hours, and he’s already ordering us around,” Cassie commented acidly.
“On the contrary,” Griffin countered. “I think we just saw his cooperative side.”
***
As promised, Erik arrived at the hotel entrance in a BMW sedan. He insisted that Cassie take the back seat because he said he didn’t want to shout to carry on a conversation with Griffin.
“At least he’s decided to talk to one of us,” Cassie thought to herself.
The trip from Heraklion to the plateau was more than fifty miles. For the first half of the journey, Griffin and Erik exchanged shop talk about matters back at the vault. Cassie took the opportunity to sightsee—watching as vineyards, orchards, and farms drifted past her window.
When she began to feel the car climbing steadily, she knew they were heading up into the mountains. Realizing that they were nearing their destination, she sat forward and tapped Griffin on the shoulder. “Tell me about the place we’re going to see.”
Griffin swiveled around in his seat to address her directly while Erik did his best to ignore them both.
“It’s a fascinating bit of geography,” the scrivener began. “Quite unlike anyplace else on the island. Lasithi is a flat table of land about seven miles wide and four miles long that sits at approximately three thousand feet above sea level.”
Cassie found herself laughing. “It amazes me how you can rattle off statistics like that without even pausing for breath.”
“I did a great deal of research in preparation for this trip,” Griffin said defensively. “It isn’t my fault that I can recall nearly everything I read.” He cleared his
