‘Fine,’ Jones relented. ‘If that’s the case, how come no one has found the treasure? Orvieto isn’t a big place. I mean, if there was gold in them there hills, someone would’ve found it.’
‘No! The land beneath town is illegal for shovels. No digging allowed. Not for treasure seekers. Not for anyone. If you caught, you go to jail. You see, big hill is like old mine, filled with many caves. People is worried if someone dig in wrong place, then all of Orvieto go splat!’ He slammed his tiny hands together. ‘And that would suck big one, no?’
Payne laughed until he realized Jones wasn’t. ‘You OK?’
Jones blinked a few times. ‘You know how there’s been a hole in this case, something out of our grasp? What if this turns out to be a treasure hunt? It would explain Boyd’s presence in Orvieto and the CIA’s interest. If the Feds were able to get data with a few trinkets, imagine what they could get for an entire site.’ He paused, thinking things through. ‘Furthermore, a jackpot of this size would explain the Italian authorities. I mean, there’s no way a local bureau could’ve pulled the cover-ups that we’ve witnessed. To hide a helicopter crash and manipulate a bus wreck, you have to have the backing of some very serious people.’
‘True, but where do we fit in?’
‘Our friends at the CIA must’ve known Boyd was onto something. That’s why they panicked when he disappeared. They knew if the Italians found him first, they’d be screwed out of everything they’d been financing for years. That’s why they came to us. They needed to find him ASAP and thought we could do the job.’
In Payne’s mind the theory made sense. Of course, he realized it might make even more sense if he knew more about the Catacombs. ‘Hey Frankie, tell us about the treasure.’
‘My people say that Clement VII feared for Church’s wealth. Even when pope return to Vatican, he still be scared for it. That is why people say he leave the best things in Orvieto.’
Jones whistled softly, thinking of the Vatican’s treasure. ‘Frankie, if we wanted to dig in Orvieto, who would we have to talk to? Is there a local bureau that could give us permission?’
‘No, there is nothing like that in all of Umbria… But in Rome, yes, there is an office. It is called Department of Antiques, and it be very high power in government.’
Payne assumed he meant the Department of
‘The minister of antiques is named Benito Pelati, and he very important man. He is very old, very well- respected throughout Italy. He is done so much to save our treasures, our culture, that people line up to kiss his feet.’
‘This Pelati guy, would he have the authority to let someone dig in Orvieto?’
‘
Payne nodded in understanding. ‘Out of curiosity, how does Mr Pelati prevent illegal digs?’
‘He has special team who live in Orvieto and watch everything. Many people sneaked into town to find the Catacombs and many people not come back. In time, people no longer look for treasure… Myth not worth dead.’
‘Hypothetically,’ Jones said, ‘if someone wanted to dig there, what would it take?’
Frankie shrugged. ‘Permission from
Payne and Jones continued talking with Frankie until he was called back to the library on business. They stayed in the photo lab, though, using a work-table to examine the photos of the crash site. Each of the pictures had been taken atop the plateau. The initial shot revealed a panoramic view of the landscape, followed by several of the wreckage itself, concentrating on Boyd’s truck and the left side of the helicopter. Most of the chopper’s rear section was scorched, but not enough to obscure the last three digits of its serial number.
‘That’s about all I found, unless you count these,’ Payne said.
Oddly, the final two pictures of the roll were taken from the opposite end of the ridge, which meant Barnes walked several hundred feet to film the reverse angle of the crash. To Payne’s eye it seemed like a huge waste of time, because they didn’t reveal anything of value — mostly scorched grass, huge rocks, and chunks of burnt metal. ‘So, what did we learn?’
‘We learned that Barnes was telling the truth. The helicopter crashed on top of the truck, even though the truck wasn’t mentioned in the newspaper. That seems strange to me.’
‘Maybe it has something to do with the truck’s location,’ Payne suggested. ‘There isn’t a road at the bottom of the plateau, which tells me that Boyd went way out of his way to get down there. Why would he do that? If he was a thief like the CIA claims, why would he risk driving down there unless it was necessary? If he wanted to blend in, he would’ve parked in the lot where we parked then walked into Orvieto like a tourist.’
Jones nodded. ‘Furthermore, if Boyd was there for an illegal dig, there’s no way he would’ve parked at the bottom, not with Pelati’s men running around. They would’ve spotted him for sure. Unless, of course, he wasn’t worried about Pelati’s men… Wait, maybe that’s the thing we’ve been missing. Maybe he wasn’t hiding from Pelati because he was working for him?’
‘Doing what? Searching for buried treasure?’
‘Maybe. That would explain why Boyd’s truck was in the valley. He wasn’t worried about being spotted and wanted his equipment as close to the site as possible.’
‘And the helicopter?’
Jones shrugged. ‘Who knows? Maybe it was there to protect Boyd and some interlopers shot it down. Or maybe it belonged to treasure hunters and Pelati’s crew took them out?’
‘Or maybe it belonged to the CIA. Ever think of that?’
‘The thought had crossed my mind.’ He studied the chopper’s rear section. ‘If I had to guess, I’d say this bird was made by Bell. Perhaps part of their 206 series. Possibly an L–I.’
‘You can tell all that from one picture?’
‘Trust me, this was a Bell. Just like the chopper that Manzak and Buckner used. Same color, too. As black as my uncle Jerome.’
Payne took the picture out of Jones’s hand. ‘Probably not a coincidence, huh?’
‘Probably not.’
‘Which means one chopper was in Pamplona while a second was in Orvieto.’
Jones nodded. ‘But that’s where things get tricky. No one knows what the chopper was doing there. Furthermore, we don’t know who we talked to in Pamplona, because Manzak and Buckner are dead. Speaking of which, why kill Donald Barnes and all the people on the bus?’
‘Yeah, that doesn’t make sen — ’
The sound of ringing stopped Payne midword. He probably shouldn’t have answered it, but it was after midnight, and he was curious. Thankfully, it turned out to be a good choice because Frankie was on the line, and he sounded very excited. ‘I leaving library right now. Bring pictures and meet me in my office. I promise, you will like! This will be good!’
39
The thought of asking her father for help was enough to keep Maria awake. No matter how she rationalized it, she just couldn’t get past his basic ideology of life. Women were weak, and men were strong. God, it infuriated her. How could someone living in the twenty-first century think in such an old-fashioned way? To make matters worse, she knew if she went to him for assistance, he’d use it as proof that when the going got tough, all women turned to men for help.
Then again, what choice did she have? She realized if she wanted to go public with the Catacombs, she needed to get everything documented by her father’s office. Otherwise she and Boyd would be labeled grave robbers, not archaeologists, and they would lose the rights to everything they found. The fact that he was a blatant sexist and an asshole of a father shouldn’t factor into it. He was the minister of antiquities, and he needed to be
