O’Rourke moved along the main perimeter wall shining his flashlight at each name on the tombstones, searching for the secret access. He stopped at a gravestone bearing a single last name and a family crest. No one was buried under that marker. It was a full-length gravestone engraved with the name “O’Brien” but bearing the O’Rourke escutcheon inlaid in the stone. O’Rourke brushed away the pebbles next to the stone, revealing two narrow three-foot-long stone strips that extended perpendicular to the gravestone.
The stone was designed and built by the friars to conceal the entrance to the tunnel. O’Rourke leaned over the stone, placing his hands firmly on the golden O’Rourke crest. The locking mechanism required a ninety-degree counterclockwise turn followed by a clockwise turn of one-hundred-eighty degrees, the same sequence as the banqueting hall entrance. The crest barely moved.
“What’s the matter?” the Persian asked.
“It’s just stiff, probably hasn’t been used in thirty or forty years. It most likely has some sand and pebbles jamming the mechanism.”
He heard a click and the blade of a knife flashed in O’Rourke’s face. He jumped back and stared at the Persian.
“My patience is wearing thin,” the Persian said. “Here, use this to dig out around the edges of the crest.”
O’Rourke took the knife. “Dammit, you scared the devil out of me.”
“It will take more than a knife to exorcise you.”
O’Rourke smiled and then used the blade to clean around the crest. He leaned onto the headstone again, placing as much of his body weight as he could onto the crest. He turned the crest slowly to the left until he felt it catch, then as quickly as he could back to the right. When the crest reached the right spot they heard a muffled thump. The gravestone moved slowly across the thin stone strips, grinding as it inched across.
Then it stopped. It had opened a space only eight inches wide when it ground to a halt.
O’Rourke moved to the side and pushed on the gravestone. The heavy stone slid ever so slowly onto the narrow perpendicular stone strips. Below him were stone steps leading down into a dark, dank abyss.
“Hurry, we don’t have much time. It will be light soon,” O’Rourke said, motioning the Persian toward the opening.
Nasiri grabbed his backpack and descended the steep stone steps.
He followed the Persian into the stairwell. A four-inch diameter stone protruded from the wall of the stairwell. He pushed hard against the protrusion and it slid into the wall. The gravestone slowly slid itself back into place, plunging O’Rourke and the Persian in total darkness.
A beam of light shot forth at the click from O’Rourke’s flashlight. “It’s a long way from here. Maybe half a kilometer, but it’s narrow and cramped and wet — it’ll seem more like two.”
“Laurence, if this isn’t everything you’ve claimed, you’ll never see the light of day again.”
CHAPTER 70
Jake and Kaplan scaled the twelve-foot stone wall with relative ease.
They landed hard and fell to the ground next to each other.
A stabbing pain shot through Jake’s side. “Ouch, son of a bitch, that hurt.”
Kaplan groaned, holding his side. “I know. That hurt me too.”
“Not a word to Hunt. Deal? She already thinks we’re a liability.” Jake grinned.
“Deal. Now lead the way, Navy boy.”
Jake heard the sound of Sterling accelerating the car to catch up with O’Rourke. He thought he heard another car drive by slowly.
His research had indicated that the O’Rourke Banqueting Hall, built beside the River Bonet, was believed to be part of a 10ththrough 13th-century castle complex. The fortified walls were built from limestone that came from quarries outside of Dromahair, creating a central stronghold surrounded by defensive walls. Walls that were now rubble.
Jake and Kaplan moved slowly through the ruins, looking for any sign of an entrance. Vines of ivy covered most of the remaining structures. Collapsed stones outlined the exterior walls of the main hall.
“Anything yet, Gregg?” Jake asked.
“Not yet. Just a bunch of broken rocks.”
“There must be a hidden access panel to a chamber beneath the hall, or all of my research was incorrect and we’re on a wild-goose chase.” Jake said.
“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been on a wild goose chase courtesy of Uncle Sam.” Kaplan laughed.
Castles and other structures of that time period were well known to have had secret chambers built below them for storage or as a means of escape in the event of an attack. The remains of the arched doorways still stood on the north and south walls. The other walls, destroyed by time, were piles of rubble.
Jake’s headset filled with the voices of Hunt and Sterling.
“Blast, he’s turning around,” Sterling whispered.
“Pull over. When he passes, let me out. I’ll run over to the abbey, you follow O’Rourke and Nasiri. Whatever you do, don’t let them get away,” Hunt ordered.
She continued, “Jake, are you getting this? The son of a bitch doubled back on us. He may be coming toward you two now.”
“Yeah, we got it. The hall is a mess. Almost leveled by time. Just a few stone ruins, mostly piles of rubble. This may take longer than I anticipated. Daylight would help but we might not have that long—”
“There has to be an access of some kind,” Sterling said. “We have had visual contact of O’Rourke going into the hall and not coming out. Sometimes for hours, sometimes for a day or two at a time. It’s there. Keep looking.”
Jake looked at Kaplan. “You go clockwise, I’ll go counterclockwise. Holler if you find something.”
“Right. I’m looking for a secret passage in a pile of rubble. Should be a piece of cake.” Kaplan said.
Jake paced around the ruins scanning every detail, every fallen stone, every opening.
Jake’s headset came alive again with Sterling’s voice. “I found O’Rourke’s car. He’s parked at the Abbey Manor Hotel. It looks like they took the footpath up to the abbey. Isabella, are you in position?”
“Yes, I’m in position but I don’t see anything yet,” she replied.
Jake noticed the largest structures still standing in the banqueting hall were the stone fireplaces. They were also the only structures large enough to conceal an access to a tunnel or chamber below. That was where he and Kaplan concentrated their attention.
“Jake, over here — I think I found what you’re looking for.”
Jake moved quickly, stepping over boulders and remnants of stone walls until he reached the fireplace where Kaplan stood. “Where?”
Kaplan pointed to the north wall fireplace. Ivy had completely covered the stones. A hidden protrusion had pushed the ivy out at one spot. As he separated the curtain of ivy with his hand he found an inlaid crest six inches below a stone mantle. Kaplan shone his light onto the crest. The gold inlays glistened in the light.
“That it?” “Gotta be. It’s a coat of arms inlaid into the chimney.”
Jake pushed on the crest.
It moved inward.
Nothing else happened.
Jake grabbed the crest and tried turning it to the right. It turned but without results. Jake then turned the crest to the left. Nothing. He turned the crest further to the left until it stopped, then back to the right until it stopped again.
Still Nothing.
Kaplan moved closer to Jake. “Hurry up, Jake. We’re losing precious time here. What’s the problem?”
Jake shot Kaplan a look. “If I knew, we’d be in already.”