Chapter 19
The silence did not last. As soon as they stopped for the equipment they would need for their next excursion, Jade and Saul had both raised questions, particularly when they saw what Dane and Bones were renting.
“All right,” Jade said. “You’ve kept us in suspense long enough. Where are you going and why do you need diving gear?”
Amanda glanced at Bones, then to Dane. Seeing him nod, she began her explanation.
“I know that at one time you considered the possibility of the shape on the breastplate being more than just a symbol — that it could be overlaid on a map and give you the locations you sought.”
“We tried that,” Jade protested. “It didn’t work. Some places were nowhere near any ruins.”
“I know,” Amanda said, her voice calm and patient. There was no sign of her usual annoyance at Jade’s interruption. In fact, the longer the conversation stretched out, the longer it would be until she was forced to reveal their next destination. “When you lay it out over a modern map, it doesn’t work. But…”
“But Fray Marcos didn’t have a modern, scale map.” Jade’s voice was little more than a whisper, and her eyes faded into a distant gaze as she sunk into thought. “So if it were an overlay, it would be for a map from his day. What an idiot I am!” She snapped out of her reverie as quickly as she had faded into it. “You found a map from Fray Marcos’s time?”
“A reproduction,” Amanda said. “I wasn’t even looking for one. I spent the morning in the library searching for hints of old legends that might give us a clue, but no luck. I gave up and was on my way out the door when I looked up, and there on the wall was a reproduction of a very old Spanish map of the region. There was a brass plate on the frame indicating it was a reproduction of a map that had been drawn by… wait for it… Fray Marcos de Niza. Best of all, there were symbols sketched all over it, including those from the breastplate.”
“And they let you examine it?” Saul asked. From the tone of his voice, he seemed genuinely interested, and not the least bit annoyed that he had neither made the discovery himself nor been let in on it earlier.
“Yep,” Amanda said. “I showed the librarian my press credential and a few bits and pieces of the research I had with me. I told him I was looking into Spanish contact in the region, and he was happy to take it down for me and let me examine it. Of course, he kept looking down my shirt the whole time I was examining it, so it wasn’t like he was just being helpful.”
“You should have punched him,” Jade said.
“Hey, it got me the chance to look at the map and…” she dug into her bag and withdrew a rolled paper, “he made a copy for me. It’s not to scale, but it’s a pretty decent size.” She unrolled the paper to reveal the map she had described.
Dane leaned forward as if drawn by some magnetic force toward what could be the key to the mystery. He reached out a hand toward the moonlike sketch of Pueblo Bonito that he had first recognized. He hesitated before his finger touched the paper, remembering that it was only a copy. Amanda had traced the outline of the shape on the breastplate, and he followed it from place-to-place until it stopped on their next stop.
“Rainbow Bridge,” Amanda said. “Fray Marcos had all the right places on his map, but his distances and relative locations were way off. That’s why the overlay wouldn’t work on an accurate map.”
“That’s very, very good work,” Jade said, her tone indicating a newfound respect. “But I still have two questions. Is there a solstice marker at or near Rainbow Bridge, and why do we need dive equipment?”
“There’s no solstice marker,” Amanda replied. “But once I knew we were looking at Rainbow Bridge, I found that, years ago, the shadow of the arch pointed directly into the window of a nearby ruin on the day of the summer solstice.”
“But there aren’t any ruins in that direction,” Saul said. “I checked into that a long time ago. There’s only…” his voice trailed away as the color drained from his face.
“Lake Powell!” Jade shouted. “That’s brilliant! When the lake was created the water covered countless ruins. No one really knows how much history lies beneath the water.” She turned to Saul. “I’m feeling dumber today. How about you?”
“I couldn’t believe they were able to find diving gear out here. I never even thought of Lake Powell.”
“But why all the cloak and dagger?” Jade asked. “Why not just tell us?”
“I wanted the chance to explain it to you,” Amanda said. “You know- tell you the story, show you the map. If I had just announced we were headed to Lake Powell to find a submerged ruin, what would you have thought?”
“That you were wrong,” Saul said. “It makes sense, though, the way you explained it.” He turned to Jade, who nodded.
Dane glanced at his cell phone, ostensibly to check the time. He was pleased to see he had no coverage, as was the case in most of the places they visited. He’d have to keep an eye on Saul as they drove, but hopefully there wouldn’t be many opportunities to contact the outside world.
Rainbow Bridge stood in stark relief against the cornflower sky. More than three-hundred feet high, and nearly as wide, it was the largest natural bridge in the world. Dane had never heard of this marvel of nature, but now he wondered how it was he had never learned of it. It was somehow magnificent in its simplicity. He continued to be amazed that someone who loved the water as much as he did could be charmed by this parched land.
“Sort of makes you homesick for St. Louis,” Bones said, sidling up next to him and admiring the giant stone arch.
“How can you be homesick for somewhere you’ve never lived?” Dane asked, not taking his eyes off the bridge.
“Same way you can call a girl a ‘friend’ who was obviously much more.”
“What?” Dane turned and looked at Bones in genuine puzzlement. “I don’t get it.”
“I’ve just realized how big a mistake you made with Kaylin,” Bones said. “Don’t get me wrong. Jade’s hot and smart and feisty, but that’s what you’ve got me for. Kaylin’s the girl for you. You should call her.”
“Besides the fact that this is a weird time to be talking to me about this,” Dane said, “do you really think you’re qualified to give me relationship advice when you’ve never stayed with the same woman for more than four months?”
“Exactly,” Bones said. “I know more about women than you do because I’ve had relationships with about a hundred times more women than you. And my record is seven months.”
“So tell me; exactly how long was your second-longest relationship?”
“Nine and-a-half weeks,” Bones said. “But we packed a lot of living into that time, so it really counts as about four months.”
Dane shook his head. He wouldn’t even have this conversation with anyone else, but Bones had long ago earned the right to say whatever was on his mind. Of course, Bones said what was on his mind whether he had the right or not.
“Look, Maddock. You and I both know that the only reason it didn’t work with Kaylin was because she was the first one after Melissa.”
Dane was proud of himself for not wincing at the mention of his deceased wife’s name.
“But why the hell are we having this conversation here and now?”
“Because it needs to be said and I might forget to say it later. You know how distracted I get sometimes. Seriously, I see there’s something between you and Jade. Might just be potential, but it’s there, and that’s cool. But she’s not the port where you want to drop anchor.”