Ah, the game is afoot, I thought as Doc began stroking Mendez’s ego. Mendez puffed up a little more and said, “Thank you, Senor Greene; we are very proud of the wines we produce. Now, Senorita O’Reilly, please tell me of your confrontation with Captain Montego. I never got the chance to hear the first-hand account on your last visit.”
O’Reilly obliged and delighted Mendez with her blow-by-blow description of their encounter and her subsequent commandeering of the helicopter.
“By the way,” she asked, “I thought Tex might be joining us this evening?”
I saw Mendez tense up as his smile faded slightly. He immediately regained his jovial host appearance and said, “I am sorry, but Tex had other business to attend to and was not available.”
Sure, I thought. Mendez eliminated what he saw as competition for O’Reilly’s attention. I could see by the team’s expressions they were thinking the same thing. But O’Reilly was smooth as she said, “Too bad, I had a question about the helicopter I hoped he could answer for me, but no matter. Please, tell me about your beautiful home; it is quite exquisite.”
That did it… hook, line, and sinker; she had him as Mendez spent the next 30 minutes regaling her with information about the estate and his family. I do believe we could have left and come back later, and he wouldn’t have noticed. The butler returned with another bottle of wine and refilled everyone’s glass, and I took the opportunity to move in on Mendez.
“Senior Mendez, you are very well connected in this city; I was wondering if you had heard of any groups of travelers being accosted by local thugs or bandits? I’m sure you heard about our altercation at the restaurant on our last visit.”
He seemed slightly annoyed that he had to move his attention to me but said, “Yes, I did hear about it. That was terrible; I’m glad no one was seriously hurt. Tourists are too often accosted by local thieves looking to make quick money stealing valuables from visitors to our city. Have you heard anything from the police concerning the matter?”
“No, nothing. It was rather unnerving, though, and I worry about our future explorations in the area.”
“Ahh, so, you are going back into the mountains?”
“Yes, we are. In fact, we’re heading out Wednesday or Thursday once we complete the necessary preparations.”
Dimitri jumped into the conversation, “Once we decide if we need to hire more men.”
“More men?” Mendez asked.
I realized Dimitri had just set the stage for our new bad guys revelation, so I said, “Yes, it has come to our attention that a group of non-locals, perhaps Europeans, have been persistently, but somewhat discreetly, asking questions about us and our activities. After our last incident, it is a little disconcerting.”
“I see,” Mendez said, now leaning toward me with a furrowed brow. I saw O’Reilly had a slight grin on her face and a slight nod said it all; we had him hooked.
“Yes, we think they are Italian and have no idea what their interest may be in us unless they are up to no good.” Now, he was very interested.
“Italian, you say.”
“Our contact said he heard them speaking together in Italian after asking some shopkeepers about us speaking perfect Spanish, but they were overheard saying they were tourists from Rome. We think there are five or six, maybe more in their group.”
“That is concerning. Are you sure they’re not just fans, maybe hoping to meet the great American treasure hunters?”
“No, I don’t believe so,” I said. “Our informant said they carried themselves like professionals, maybe military or ex-military types, so I don’t think they are fans,” I said with feigned concern. Now, he was the one that looked concerned as he pondered this revelation.
He sat back and slowly said, “This may be something worth looking into,” while staring into the fireplace and then quickly turned and said, “on your behalf, of course.”
“Of course,” I said, “we would appreciate any help you could give us.”
Doc jumped in and said, “It would be a relief to know we are not being targeted by these men,” also sounding very concerned.
“Absolutely, I’ll have my people look into it for you and let you know what I find out.” Moments later, the butler entered and announced that dinner was served.
The meal was a seven-course delight, and the conversation was general and somewhat subdued. Mendez kept his happy face on, but it seemed a little more strained than before. He had our earlier discussion on his mind. As we were finishing our dessert, Mendez turned to me and said, “So, Dr. Burnett, do you have any fresh leads to follow in your search for the library?”
Now to the meat of things, I thought. “Not really; we will continue following up on some rumors we heard on our last visit—something about an abandoned village in the mountains. We’re not sure if it has any significance, but who knows?” I said rather casually. I hoped I portrayed the casual adventurer rather than the hard-core treasure hunter. The big question was, would he buy it?
We adjourned to a large library after dinner for a choice of more wine or an outstanding cognac. Ceiling to floor bookshelves were filled with very old leather-bound volumes. It even had two of those sliding ladders on each side so that you could reach the top shelves. At each end of the room were shields decorated with coats of arms, and underneath hung a variety of crossed swords and spears. A large portrait of a distinguished-looking man was hanging amidst them. A massive mahogany desk, deep burgundy leather furniture, and a huge world globe in an ornate carved wooden base rounded out the accouterments of the room. Of course, there was another large fireplace giving off a comfortable level of heat. Entering the room gave you the feeling of entering a museum, with its exquisite furnishings and appointments. I looked at the portrait and saw the family resemblance
