Scanlon answered the question. “We’ve recently become aware of findings that suggest Philip made it to the lost kingdom. And that Prester John gave him a fabulous treasure to take back to the Pope in Rome, but it was never delivered.”
Hawkins spread his hands apart. “And?”
The White House representative spoke.
“Your dossier said you have located a number of lost shipwrecks,” Hilliard said.
“That’s correct. I run a non-profit undersea exploration organization. Our goals are to expand knowledge and test new underwater equipment.”
“The U.S. government would like to enlist that expertise to find the treasure of Prester John,” Ms. Hilliard said.
“Since when has the U.S. government been in the treasure hunting business?”
Captain McCormick injected himself into the conversation. “Since the disposition of that treasure could have implications for national security, Hawkins.”
Unlike Fletcher, the navy officer didn’t use Hawkins’ military title.
“Maybe you could tell me about those implications, McCormick.”
McCormick’s face glowed traffic light red. “That’s Captain McCormick.”
“And it’s Lieutenant Hawkins, captain.”
The two men exchanged hard stares. Fletcher’s crisp voice broke the strained silence.
“Ms. Glassman, could you please explain the situation to the lieutenant?”
The Homeland Security representative said, “For some time now we have been picking up chatter about a plot against the United States.”
“What sort of plot?” Hawkins said.
“We don’t know yet. Only that it could involve even more victims than 9/11. We’re still following up every lead possible, but we’ve determined with certainty that it is the work of a splinter terrorist group which has named the plot the Prophet’s Necklace.”
“Unusual name,” Hawkins said. “Any idea what it means?”
“It’s a parable based on an Islamic morality story,” Glassman said. “In this story, a necklace given away by the Prophet’s daughter Fatima was considered blessed because it clothed and fed a beggar, bestowed means instead of helplessness, freed a slave, and was ultimately returned to its owner.”
Fletcher said, “We think that the perpetrators, a group which calls itself the Shadows, see this plot as their Prophet’s Necklace, empowering them and freeing them from the bondage of America.”
“Where does Prester John come in?” Hawkins said.
“The Shadows want to find the treasure before activating the plot. The treasure is said to include an emerald scepter that Prester John wielded as a symbol of his power. In sending it to the Pope he was saying that he was willing to join the fight to wipe Islam off the face of the earth. We think the Shadows believe that Prester John’s mystical power will flow to them in their fight against the infidels.”
“They wave the scepter around and then strike against their enemy. Not a bad display of showmanship,” Hawkins said.
“These people think in terms of thousands of years, and they are always looking for historical precedent to justify their cause. In their mind we’re nothing but re-born Crusaders. At the very least, having the treasure would recruit more fanatics to their failing cause.”
“How did the Shadows find out about the treasure?” Hawkins said.
Scanlon, from the State Department, took over.
“We suspect they heard about research being done by a historian named Cait Everson, who teaches at Georgetown University. Dr. Everson has published books and articles in which she suggests that the Prester John legend is true.”
“Did she mention the treasure in her writing?”
“Only peripherally. She was convinced that the treasure made it as far as Afghanistan. She thought State might be interested in her findings, given our country’s deep involvement in the region. She sent us a report.”
“Did the report say where in Afghanistan?” Hawkins said.
“Dr. Everson’s original letter only suggested a general location,” Hilliard said. “More recently she sent us an addendum pin-pointing the probable site.”
Hilliard rose and dimmed the lights. Using a laptop computer, she projected onto a wall screen a satellite photo of Afghanistan with a map overlay and pointed to a section of the country in the southwest.
Hawkins said, “We kept our guys out of that neighborhood. No one was really in control last I knew.”
“A drug warlord named Amir Khan controls the area, and so far he has managed to keep out both the government and insurgent factions.”
“Could you put your pointer on the treasure site?’ Hawkins said.
“Dr. Everson thinks the treasure is in this vicinity.”
She ran the pointer in a circle around a lake shaped somewhat like a lop-sided infinity symbol. The red dot landed on the edge of the lake.
“Based on what evidence?”
“A few years ago Dr. Everson was in Afghanistan doing research on ancient trade roads. She followed a little-known route to the lake and learned that before it was flooded it was called the ‘Valley of the Dead.’ According to local lore, the valley earned its name as a place where bandits entrapped caravans.”
Hawkins was intrigued. “Go on.”
“Dr. Everson researched the history of the valley and learned of an expedition back in the 1920s financed by a mining billionaire named Kurtz. He had come into possession of a fragment of a letter, purportedly written by Prester John, which mentioned a gift of a great treasure to the Pope. There was a map on the back of the letter. This is it.”
A roughly-drawn figure eight image appeared. Next to it was a drawing of what looked vaguely like an inverted U and below it, a small circle.
“What’s the significance of these wavy lines?”
“The hump shown here is an odd-shaped rock outcropping that Dr. Everson saw on her visit.” She pointed to the circle. “She thinks this represents a cave where the treasure could be.”
“It’s under water, in other words.”
“That’s right. Which is why Dr. Everson became even more excited when she learned that the Kurtz expedition had called for dive equipment and a diver.”
“Dr. Everson is a good detective. I’d like to talk to her,” Hawkins said.
“So would we. Dr. Everson vanished without a trace about a week ago.”
“Looks like someone dropped the ball at State by not getting back to her right away,” Hawkins observed.
“Wish I could say you’re wrong,” Scanlon said in a rueful tone. “The State Department doesn’t ordinarily deal with treasure hunts, but an intelligence analyst called her report to our attention and we tried to reach her. The university said she left a message that she was taking a leave of absence. No explanation.”
“No one has heard from her since?”
“We put out a trace. She flew to Zurich, but that’s as far as we were able to track her.”
“So you think her disappearance suggests that there is more to the story than legend.”
Natalie Glassman nodded.
“Dr. Everson had complained to Georgetown’s campus police about being stalked. The night before she disappeared there was an incident in Arlington, Virginia. She told the investigating officers that there had been an attempt to kidnap her.”
“And you think there’s some connection to the treasure and the Necklace plot?”
Heads nodded around the table.
Hawkins sat back in his chair and looked around the table, thinking he now knew how Alice must have felt at the March Hare’s tea party.
“Let’s see if I have this straight. You believe that if the crazies find the treasure they will pull the trigger on the necklace plot.”