“It’s a thank you gift for acting as caretaker,” she explained to the other two.
At that moment a younger woman appeared from the opposite side of the house carrying a tray.
“That’s her youngest daughter,” Elle said.
The girl set down chilled glasses of a frothy white beverage.
Handing them around, the sentinel said, “This is called dadiah. Fermented water buffalo milk. Think of it as Sumatran yogurt. I’ll warn you it’s an acquired taste.”
“After yak butter tea, I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble adapting,” Cassie mumbled under her breath.
The matriarch’s daughter also set out small dishes of what appeared to be fruit covered by scoops of a frozen white substance.
“That’s es campur, Elle explained. “It’s a coconut slushie with chunks of fruit. They eat it for dessert here.”
The visitors sampled the refreshments and gave wide smiles to indicate their pleasure.
Their hostess beamed at them, clearly delighted by their reaction. Once they had all finished and the dishes were cleared away, the matriarch picked up the box Elle had given her. When she raised the lid to view the contents, a string of phrases erupted from her mouth that continued for a full minute. It didn’t take a translator to understand that she was impressed by the gift.
She called her daughter back into the room and held the object up for her to see.
Both Griffin and Cassie gasped audibly when they saw it too.
“It’s a crown,” the pythia blurted out.
“More like a tiara,” Elle corrected. “It’s part of the traditional Minangkabau ceremonial headdress.”
Unlike a circular crown or a tiara, the headpiece was flat. It was held in place by a gold headband which fitted the wearer’s temples. The design was an ornate gold filigree of flowers and leaves. The scalloped edges rose to a peak half a foot high. At its apex, the headdress contained a large jewel.
“That can’t be a diamond,” Cassie whispered to Griffin. “It’s huge!”
“Given the value of the rest of the crown, I hardly think it’s cubic zirconia,” the scrivener retorted dryly.
The matriarch and her daughter avidly examined the gift, making comments to one another as they pointed to various features of its design.
Elle leaned over to say, “It’s meant to be a family heirloom. When the next daughter gets married, she’ll wear this.”
Griffin remarked, “It must have cost you a fortune.”
“Not me, sport,” she retorted archly. “I’m sticking you with the bill. All part of my master plan. I set this in motion the minute I knew our rendezvous at Lugu Lake was in the stars.”
The scrivener blinked once in shock before he immediately conceded. “Very well.” Reaching into his shirt pocket, he removed a business card. Handing it to the sentinel, he said, “You may send an invoice to this address. I assure you, it will be paid promptly.”
Elle gave a satisfied nod. “A pleasure doing business with you.”
The matriarch directed several questions to Elle and continued to exclaim over the beauty and expense of the gift.
While the others were speaking, Griffin leaned over and whispered in Cassie’s ear, “We shall be very lucky if Maddie doesn’t have a seizure over our expense report for this trip.”
Cassie smiled brightly so as not to give her hostess cause for concern. “Maybe we can slip some tranquilizers into her coffee before you show her the bill for the crown.”
Small talk continued until the two main participants had chatted for a suitable interval. After that, Elle rose signaling the visit was over.
The matriarch escorted them to the door, bowing with great ceremony and once more expressing her thanks.
The three climbed back into their hired car. The trip back to their hotel seemed much shorter than the outbound journey.
As they stood in the hallway in front of their rooms, Elle reached into her messenger bag and handed the artifact to Griffin. “Well, it’s been a slice. See you guys around.”
“Are you leaving?” the scrivener asked in surprise.
“I’m out of here on the first flight that will get me to New York. I did my part. You two are on your own.”
As Elle turned to go, Cassie called out, “We owe you a lot. Thanks for everything.”
“Absolutely,” Griffin concurred.
The sentinel wavered and then spun around to face them. Her typically fierce expression softened. “You helped me out too, so I guess we’re even.” Then, with a wry smile, she added, “I hope those bad guys with guns are terrible shots. I’d hate to see three thousand years of sentinel work go down the drain. You two watch your backs.” She gave a small wave, swiped her key card and was gone.
Chapter 32—Termination Benefits
Joshua Metcalf and Chopper Bowdeen waited in the darkened corridor outside Abraham Metcalf’s office. Both men were armed with pistols and silencers. It was nearly midnight. A light glowed through the crack at the bottom of the door, indicating that the diviner was still busy doing paperwork. With the exception of the guards at the front gates, the rest of the brotherhood and their families had retired for the night. No one disobeyed the ten-thirty curfew without express permission from the diviner.
Bowdeen glanced nervously at the surveillance camera suspended from a corner of the hallway ceiling.
Noting his gaze, Joshua whispered, “Don’t worry. I disabled it. The guards are watching looped footage of an empty corridor. I also disabled the cameras in my father’s office.” Warily, he added, “Are you clear on what needs to happen tonight?”
The mercenary nodded. “I’ll go in first and take the shot. You back me up in case anything goes wrong.”
The spymaster added, “You understand why, don’t you? I can’t be the one to kill my own father. If one of my brothers should ask, I couldn’t lie about a thing like that.”
Bowdeen placed a reassuring hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “I understand, son. You
