“You’re right about that. I’ve got the bit in my teeth now.” Maddock took another drink.
Maddock’s phone vibrated. He took it out and spent a minute reading the text message.
“What’s up?” Bones asked as Maddock pocketed his phone.
“After Avery and the guys had the encounter at Caesar’s rock, Nomi’s partner, a woman named Constance, ended up following Avery to work.”
“Oops. Bet Tam didn’t like that.” Tam Broderick was a babe, but she took no crap from anyone.
“Exactly. They detained and questioned her. Didn’t learn much except these descendants of Caesar call themselves ‘the family’ or ‘the cousins.’ They don’t have a name or an oranizational structure as far as she can tell; just a lot of powerful people working with or against each other depending on the circumstances. They all answer to a man they call ‘Uncle.’ Tam suspects ties to African warlords and terrorists.”
“The Trident?” Bones asked.
“No reason to think so. At least, not at the moment.”
“I assume these cousins are working together?”
“A few of them are, at least. Anyway, Avery was burglarized and the artifact stolen. She still has photographs of the code she’s trying to decipher, so that’s not a problem.”
Bones clenched and relaxed his fists. “But that means the cousins have it, too.”
Maddock nodded. “The race is on.” He looked up. “Hold on. I’m going to see if they have a phone I can borrow.”
Bones thought that was odd, but he was sure Maddock had his reasons. While his friend headed over to the bar, Bones took out his smartphone and looked up H. Rider Haggard’s burial site. The famed author was laid to rest, along with the remains of his wife and other family members, at St. Mary’s Church in Ditchingham, a two-and-a-half hour drive from London. Bones found a photograph of the grave marker, which listed the dead who were buried there. It was a close-up photo and he couldn’t tell if the remains were buried, or contained in some sort of crypt. He didn’t relish the idea of digging up a grave.
Maddock returned, the ghost of a smile playing across his face. He drained his glass and let out a satisfied sigh.
“You going to tell me what that was all about?” Bones asked.
“I just called in an anonymous tip to the Norfolk Constabulary. I wanted them to know someone is going to deface Haggard’s grave tonight.”
“What the hell did you do that for? I thought Haggard buried the ring with his “beloved soulmate.’”
“I think he did,” Maddock said. “But although he loved her, his wife was not his soulmate.”
Chapter 26
St. Mary’s Church had once been the center of the village of Ditchingham. Built in the fifteenth century, it now dominated a pastoral landscape, sitting alone in the countryside. Its hundred foot tall tower cast a long shadow in the pale moonlight. Ronald thought it might be beautiful in the daylight, but at night, it felt sinister. The weathered grave markers between which he and Cleo passed only added to the haunted aura surrounding the old church.
“Look here. This is a Haggard.” Cleo shone his torch on a grave marker that read Lillias Haggard.
Ronald shook his head. “That’s his daughter. Follow me.”
They made their way to the front door of the church. Cleo kept watch, probably unnecessarily, considering the remote location and relative insignificance of the place, while Ronald picked the lock.
Once inside, a brief search led them to Haggard’s crypt. A large rectangle of black marble marked the spot.
“O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live,” Ronald read aloud from the script ringing the slab. “The eternal God is thy dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
“Underneath are the everlasting arms?” Cleo asked. “Makes it sound like…hell.”
Ronald nodded but didn’t reply. Something else had caught his attention.
“Seven people are buried here?” Cleo asked, echoing his own thoughts. “That’s a lot.”
“Cremains,” Ronald said. “I imagined Haggard burying the ring with his dead wife but perhaps he placed it in her urn?”
“One way to be certain.”
Cleo had brought a crowbar with him, and now he knelt and worked it between the edge of the marble slab and the surrounding tile.
“Break it if you must,” Ronald said. “We’ll take the ring and leave the urn. When the damage is discovered, they’ll find nothing missing.”
Just then, the front door banged open and bright lights blinded him.
“Police!” a voice shouted. “Put your hands in the air.”
As uniformed men poured into the church, Ronald sighed and raised his hands above his head. The cousins were not going to be happy.
Chapter 27
The cool night breeze ruffled Maddock’s hair as he peered out from the copse of buckthorn that stood at the edge of the cemetery. No one was about.
“Okay, Maddock. You’ve played your mysterious act to the hilt. Tell me what we’re doing here,” Bones said.
“When Haggard was nineteen, he fell in love with a girl named Mary Elizabeth Jackson. He wanted to marry her, but her father wouldn’t allow it until he established himself in a career. He considered them to be secretly engaged, but when he finally proposed, she turned him down and married a wealthy banker instead.”
“Ouch.”
“Exactly. In his autobiography, he wrote that it was such a crushing blow, he would not have been sorry to depart the world.”
“Sounds like you on one of your emo days,” Bones said. “Never let a chick get into your head.”
Maddock smirked. “Things didn’t work out for her. Her husband was a gambling addict who lost everything. The only thing he left her when he died was a case of syphilis.”
Bones sucked in a breath between his teeth and winced. “They didn’t have penicillin back then, did they?”
“I don’t think so. Anyway, she returned to England, where Haggard secretly supported her and her family until her death. Haggard believed his love for her was eternal and that they would be united in the afterlife. A lot of people believe that the immortal queen in his novel, She, was based on his true love.”
“Holy crap, Maddock. I did not sign up for a course in British Literature. How do you know so much about this?”
“Haggard is the father of the “lost world” adventure genre. I’ve always loved his books.” Maddock didn’t have to see Bones to know his friend was rolling his eyes.
“Anyway, Haggard never got over her. He even named one of his daughters Lillias, in her honor. Of course, Lillias wasn’t a fan. She referred to the woman as ‘Lilith’ because of the destructive influence she had on her father.”
“Lillias?”
“Her given name was Mary Elizabeth, but she went by…”
“Lilly,” Bones finished. “His Lilly of the valley.”
“It was spelled with two L’s in the message he left,” Maddock said.
“Fine. You’ve convinced me you’re a freaking genius.” Bones glanced at his watch. “You think it’s late enough to get to work?”
Maddock was about to reply in the affirmative when he spotted a glimmer of light on the other side of the cemetery. A figure emerged carrying a flashlight. He recognized her immediately.
“Isla. How in the hell?” Anger boiling inside him, he stalked across the dark graveyard.
“Maddock, a little stealth?” Bones whispered.