A Moore from the lost bloodline of his first wife.
Jones grinned in triumph. ‘Not too shabby, huh?’
Payne nodded. ‘Not bad at all.’
Jones turned his attention to Megan. ‘Of course,
Megan shrugged as she read the line. ‘I have absolutely no idea. My adoptive parents were high-school sweethearts, so they weren’t married beforehand. And as far as I know, neither were my biological parents. Then again, I never met either of them. My mom died in childbirth, and my father split right after conception. At least, that’s what I was told.’
‘Although you never met them, do you remember their names?’
She nodded, as if the memory was a painful one.
‘Then I can probably help. Let’s go into the other room and run some data searches on my laptop. I’ve tracked down several deadbeat dads over the years. If we’re lucky, we’ll find something useful.’
She stood from her chair. ‘Sounds good to me.’
Jones walked towards the door. ‘Please tell me their names weren’t Jesus and Mary. Because if this is some kind of
She laughed at the suggestion. ‘I drink water. I don’t walk on it.’
Payne knew Jones and Megan didn’t need his help, so he sat behind the desk and used his encrypted cell phone to contact the Ulster Archives. Even though it was night time in Kusendorf, Petr Ulster answered the call in his private office.
‘I’m so glad you called,’ Ulster said. ‘I was beginning to worry about your safety.’
‘Don’t worry. We’re fine.’
‘No more run-ins with gunmen?’
‘Only one, so it’s been an easy day.’
Ulster laughed at the comment. ‘Oh, Jonathon, you slay me!’
‘Ironically, that’s what he was trying to do to us. I’m not quite sure where they’re coming from, but they’re persistent.’
‘So,’ Ulster said, ‘we’re you simply checking in, or did you need further help?’
‘Believe it or not, I was calling to give you an update. We put our heads together and figured out these poems. As you suggested, the author was pretty clever.’
‘Did you say
Payne rubbed his eyes. ‘That’s right. I haven’t
He took a few minutes to explain everything to Ulster, starting with Megan’s text and ending with the solutions to the puzzles. During the explanation, Ulster said very little, but he wrote all the deciphered codes in a notebook so he could re-examine them later.
‘What about the letter? Did you find the original letter?’
Payne nodded. ‘Sorry, I should have mentioned that, too. I’m looking at it right now.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Ulster said excitedly. ‘What type of paper?’
‘I don’t know. I’m not an expert. Some kind of parchment, I guess.’
‘Does it look old?’
‘Yep. Pretty fancy, too. It’s held up well over the years.’
‘Tell me, do you have a black light on your person?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘A device for seeing bloodstains and such.’
Payne laughed at the possibility. ‘Why in the world would I have a black light? I
‘Yes, of course, how silly of me. In that case,
‘A discotheque? No, Petr, we’re at an airbase, not Studio 54. Why?’
‘An airbase might work! Do they have war planes? Perhaps something from the forties?’
Payne furrowed his brow at the line of questioning. ‘Police stations? Discotheques? War planes? What in the heck are you rambling about?’
‘Your letter,’ Ulster explained. ‘I have a theory about its author, but I need a black light to prove my hypothesis.’
‘Tell me what you have in mind, and I’ll see what I can do.’
Ulster leaned back in his office chair. ‘Since 1282, papermakers have been using watermarks to identify their products. The first technique was called the Dandy Roll Process, a pressure roller developed in Bologna, Italy. In time, governments started protecting their products as well, using special paper for stamps and currency in order to discourage counterfeiting.’
‘And what does that have to do with the letter?’
‘Eventually the art world followed suit. Painters protected their works by using special types of
Payne grabbed the corner of the letter and held it up to the light, searching for a watermark of any kind. ‘Sorry, Petr, this letter is watermark-free.’
‘Wonderful! Just wonderful!’
‘Are you being sarcastic?’
‘No, Jonathon, not at all. In fact, I’m thrilled with the news. As I mentioned, I have a theory about the puzzle maker. If the author is who I think he is, the only way we can be sure is with a black light.’
‘Wait. Who do you think it is?’ Payne wondered.
Ulster shook his head. ‘For the time being, I’d rather not say. But if my hypothesis is correct, I can understand why people are willing to kill for that letter.’
50
While Ulster waited on his cell phone, Payne used the office telephone to call the base commander. The grey-haired supervisor answered on the second ring. After a moment of small talk, Payne got right to the point.
‘Let me apologize in advance, but I need to ask you a strange question.
The commander smiled. ‘You mean stranger than being smuggled into Willow Grove and setting up shop in a back office?’
Payne laughed. ‘Well, when you put it like that…’
‘What can I do for you, son?’
‘I was wondering if you had a black light anywhere on the base.’
‘As a matter of fact, we do. Hand-held and battery-powered.’
‘Seriously? Why in the world do you have one?’
‘Every year we have one of the biggest air shows in the country. Sometimes we get in old bombers from World War Two. The type we built
‘Sir, I’m confused. What type of panels are you talking about?’
The commander grunted. ‘How disappointing! I figured an academy man like you would know this stuff. You soldiers nowadays need to learn your history.’
‘You’re right, sir. If you have a moment, please fill me in.’
The commander smiled, happy to impart his knowledge to a younger generation. ‘Back in the old days, the bright glow of our instrument panels used to give away the position of our planes during night raids. During the war, we experimented with UV-fluorescent dials and black lights. We even printed charts in UV-fluorescent inks and designed special UV-visible pencils and slide rules for the navigators.’
