“Not to worry. I can tell you exactly what’s on the other side of the building. First, there’s the Capitol grounds, where you have trolling police and politicos. And beyond that, you have the Mall. Or Museum Alley, as we used to call it in the tourist industry. And having once been an industry insider, I know there isn’t an ankh or was to be had.”
Caedmon made no reply. Instead, he grabbed her hand and set off in the direction of East Capitol Street. Making her think that he hadn’t heard a word she just said. When they reached the corner, he came to a halt. Morning rush-hour traffic was hectic, the streets congested, the sidewalks packed with worker bees late for the hive.
Releasing her hand, he raised his arm and pointed due west; to a familiar object at the far end of the Mall, more than a mile and a half away. “I just located one of Thoth’s missing attributes. Behold the was!”
Edie stared at the western horizon. “You’re kidding, right? That’s the Washington Monument.” At 555 feet, the white marble spire was the tallest structure in Washington. And, as she knew from her tour guide stint, it had the distinction of being the tallest stone structure in the world. Most locals took the odd edifice for granted. Herself included.
“That is an Egyptian obelisk,” Caedmon informed her, blue eyes excitedly gleaming. “A petrified ray of the god Aten made manifest in stone. Moreover the obelisk is where the Radiant Aten dwells as he illuminates his creation.”
She glanced back at the doors on the Adams Annex, trying to make the connection between the bronze bas-relief and the white marble monument. “And Thoth’s true power, symbolized by the was, is the illumination gained through the knowledge inscribed on the Emerald Tablet that describes the secret of Aten’s creation.” She shook her head, worried that Caedmon had veered off course. “I don’t mean to harp, but what does the Washington Monument have to do with the All-Seeing Eye?”
“Fix your gaze upon the top of the monument. What do you see?”
Edie obediently slid her gaze up the tall, gently tapered structure. “I see. . . . Ohmygosh! I see a triangle! Just like the triangle that encloses the All-Seeing Eye,” she exclaimed, the pyramidal top of the monument triangular in shape. “The Washington Monument does symbolize the All-Seeing Eye of Aten who dwells within the obelisk!”
“Thus the obelisk harkens to the power of the Radiant Aten who, in turn, bestows his power upon Thoth the Thrice Great.”
“Behold the was.” Realizing the implication of that, her enthusiasm instantly waned, Edie wishing she hadn’t made the connection. “So, what are you saying, that the Emerald Tablet is hidden inside the Washington Monument?”
CHAPTER 71
Unnerved, Edie glanced over her shoulder.
“We’re perfectly safe,” Caedmon said reassuringly, taking hold of her elbow as he steered her around a boisterous tour group.
The Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin were in graceful full bloom, which meant the Mall was jam-packed with the spillover crowds. A grand expanse of manicured grass framed with impressive shade trees, the Mall was arguably one of the most famous pedestrian thoroughfares in the world.
Despite Caedmon’s assurance, Edie couldn’t belay the niggling fear that something malevolent lurked in the shadows. Watching their every move.
“Need I remind you that we spent last night at the Willard Hotel because you didn’t think it was safe to sleep at the house?”
“It’s not safe.” Pronouncement made, Caedmon gestured to the gleaming spire at the end of the Mall. “You mentioned that Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in selecting the site for the new capital city and overseeing the early construction. Did he have a hand in erecting the Washington Monument?”
Given the overly phallic monument, the question begged a bawdy retort. Instead, Edie played it straight and said, “While Jefferson selected the location for the monument, the actual construction didn’t begin until 1848. I’m guessing that Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams figured out where they wanted to leave their signposts but left the installation to later generations. That would explain how two of the signposts, the Washington Monument and the Adams Annex, were constructed after the original Triad members had died.”
“While there’s a direct link between Thoth and the obelisk, we still don’t know if the Washington Monument is actually a signpost,” Caedmon said, taking a more measured approach. “What about John Adams? Other than the fact that the Library of Congress annex building is named after him, he seems rather peripheral to the tale.”
“Hardly.” Coming to a momentary stop, Edie removed her new cotton peacoat and slung it over her shoulder, the late-morning sun surprisingly warm. “John Adams was the first president to take up residence in the new capital city of Washington. In fact, he served the first half of his term in the old capital at Philadelphia and the second half in Washington.”
“Mmmm . . .” Hands clasped behind his back, Caedmon struck a professorial pose. “It’s conceivable that John Adams transported the Emerald Tablet from one city to the other.”
“That alone makes him a player in all of this. Although Jefferson gets top billing by virtue of the fact that he participated in almost every phase of the project. From planning the Mall to the precise placement of the Capitol and White House.” And though Jefferson never envisioned that the Mall would be lined with world-class museums, Edie suspected he’d be pleased. As she recalled, the redheaded Virginian proudly displayed mastodon bones in the entry hall at Monticello.
Caedmon jutted his chin at the Washington Monument, still several blocks away. “I’ve decided the bloody thing resembles a lone stalk of marble asparagus.”
Edie chuckled, the description humorously apt. “Once they broke ground, it took decades to complete the monument. When the Civil War erupted in 1861, it was still an unfinished stump. And you’ll find this next factoid real interesting. . . .” She paused, ensuring she had his undivided attention. “After the war, the Freemasons donated a huge chunk of cash to the construction project.”
“How ironic that a trio of Deists conceive of the idea for the monument, yet it’s the very group they wish to circumvent who finance the project.”
“Moral of the story? If you’re trying to hide a tree, put it in a forest overgrown with esoteric symbols, obelisks, and images of Thoth. That way, the Masons will never find it.”
“Indeed, they have eyes, but they cannot see,” Caedmon mused.
“Strange to think that two hundred years after Francis Bacon put an All-Seeing Eye on his unpublished frontispiece, the symbols of ancient Egypt would be placed in plain sight for all to see.”
At the Fourteenth Street traffic light, they came to a standstill. Straight ahead, one block away, Edie sighted the fifty undulating American flags that encircled the base of the Washington Monument. As they stepped off the curb, the enormity of their task suddenly hit her with gale-force intensity.
We don’t even know what we’re looking for!
“It’s gigantic,” she muttered, seeing the Washington Monument as though for the very first time.
From her tour guide stint, she knew a good many of the facts: There were 897 steps to the top; the exterior blocks were quarried marble, the interior commemorative stones a varied mix, including a few jade stones from the Orient; nearly thirty-seven thousand blocks had been used in the construction; and the tip of the monument was aluminum, making it an excellent lightning rod.