"Yeah," Reece agreed. "Plus that direction is a little vague. Northwest?"
Sean pointed at the phone. "It says to begin with Baiame." He closed the picture on his phone and pulled up a map. A moment later, they were looking at the town of Milbrodale. "So we start there and have to figure out the distance."
"On average, I'd say people walk around three miles per hour, give or take," Adriana said. "If we figure that each of these circles represents a twelve-hour period of time for walking—"
"Why twelve?" Reece asked.
"Because that's the average length of a day over the course of a year."
"Oh right." The Aussie took another bite of his burger.
"So if we take twelve and multiply it by three, we get thirty-six. Then multiply that by forty-five, and we get 1,620." She glanced at Sean's phone and realized the task would be simpler with a real map.
"Babe, would you mind going over to that rack by the door and taking one of the maps?"
Sean grinned at her. "Sure." He got up and walked away.
Tommy's eyebrows furrowed. "Babe? What is it with you two?"
"What?" she said. "We haven't seen each other in a while." Adriana popped a fry in her mouth and grinned innocently.
Sean returned and plopped the map down on the table. While Tommy unfolded it, Sean finally had a chance to eat a little.
"Okay, we're here," Tommy pressed his finger to the map. "Milbrodale is up here." His finger traced up to the town they'd passed through earlier. He placed his phone on the chart near the bottom that showed two lines measuring scale to distance, and then pinched the edge of the device to mark it.
Sean realized what he was doing. "Very scientific," he said and took another bite of the burger.
"It doesn't have to be," Tommy defended. "Remember, we aren't sure 1,620 miles is the right distance. But it might be close."
"Fair enough."
"So, we take this and extend out until we get to sixteen hundred miles." Tommy moved his phone, held a point with his finger, moved it again, and repeated the process four times until he reached the point he believed represented the distance. "Any of you got a pen?" Tommy went from one blank face to another until another voice spoke up.
"You can use mine," the waitress said, hovering over Sean's shoulder.
Tommy looked up, momentarily surprised. She smiled down at him, holding a pen out.
"Thank you," Tommy said. "I appreciate it."
He took the pen and then drew a rough arc around the area to the northwest of his starting point.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing with that map?" the waitress asked as she watched with keen interest.
"Looking for buried treasure," Sean said.
"Like a bunch of pirates?"
"Yeah, except without the boats," Reece added.
The woman seemed to accept the answer and walked away to tend to other customers.
Tommy was deep in thought, gazing at the map.
"You okay, buddy?" Sean asked.
Tommy's eyes blinked rapidly. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. It's just…" His voice trailed off.
"Just what?"
His finger was planted on a spot on the map just beyond the curved arc he'd drawn a moment before.
"It's Uluru," he said.
Adriana didn't understand. "What?" Adriana asked. "What's Uluru?"
"For a long time it was called Ayers Rock," Reece answered. "Though most of the locals knew it by its Aborigine name, Uluru. It and Kata Tjuta are major tourist attractions."
"Kata Tjuta?"
"Yeah. It's like the sister rock formation not far from Uluru. There are these three massive sandstone rocks the size of mountains. Each one's got a ravine separating it from the others."
"Wait," Sean stopped him. "What did you just say?"
"It's the sister rock formation?"
"No. No, the other thing — about the ravines."
"Oh. Yeah, there are three big rocks and a ravine between each one."
Sean pulled Tommy's phone close and went back to the email. He read through it again until he found what he was looking for. "The northern chasm of the three. That's what Mathews was talking about. The next place we have to go is in one of those ravines at Kata…" He struggled with the name.
"Tjuta," Reece finished the sentence for him.
"Thank you, Reece. Kata Tjuta."
"Okay," Tommy said. "I don't mean to be devil's advocate here, but let's break this down for a minute. Are we really sure that's the place to go? I mean, we're assuming someone was walking thirty-six miles a day for forty-five days. That's more than a marathon a day."
"They'd have to use horses or some other kind of pack animal," Adriana said. "Tommy's right. That kind of mileage would be nearly impossible under perfect conditions."
"And conditions are rarely perfect in the outback," Reece said.
"Hey, if you have any other ideas I'm listening." Sean finished the last few bites of his burger and took a sip from his beverage.
After a minute of consideration, Tommy put his phone away and looked hard at the map. "Right now it sounds like the only possibility. If you look around this whole area," he traced an imaginary line with his finger around a broad space, "there's nothing but wilderness and small outpost towns."
"Alice Springs isn't far from the park. Nice resort town," Reece said.
Sean dabbed his lips with a napkin and then set it on his lap. "So you're saying we're going to Uluru?"
"Yeah," Tommy said with a sigh. "We're going to Uluru."
"I knew you'd come around. I just wish there was a faster way to get there."
Chapter 15
Annie stared at the floor. She'd not slept well since being thrown into this prison, or whatever it was. The mattress on the floor was soft enough. That wasn't the problem. Who could sleep when they were being held against their will?
She heard the floor creak just outside the door. It was a sound with which she'd become familiar. The noise came every time someone arrived to give her a plate of food or ask if she needed to use the bathroom. This visit wasn't one of the regularly scheduled times, so she wondered what was happening.
The door opened a moment later, and a man in a tight navy-blue suit with an emerald-green tie walked in. Based on the attire alone, she judged him to be wealthy. Who he was, however, remained a mystery. Something about his face was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it.
"Who are you?" Annie asked. Her defiant tone did little to keep the man away.
He pulled up a wooden stool and sat down, resting his arms on his knees. She remained on the bed, leaning her back against the wall.
"I'm the one who is deciding your fate, Annie."
Every ounce of her being wanted to jump out of the bed and strangle him. That would do no good. There was a guard at the door who would be on her in a heartbeat. All it would do is make things worse for her. Up to this point, she'd been imprisoned, but not tortured. That could change.
"I've already told your men everything I know. I don't know where any treasure is. I'm just a museum curator." Tears welled in her eyes, and she rubbed them back with her forefinger.
"Now, now, don't cry. There's no reason to cry. I'd prefer it if I didn't have to harm you, Annie. After all, I'm no monster."
"Then why are you keeping me here?" she pleaded. "I've given you everything I know. Just let me leave, and you'll never see me again."
"Soon, Annie. I promise." He looked around the sparse room. A few clothes were strewn about. The television remote was sitting on the floor next to her. "I'm just wondering, Annie, have you watched the news today?"
She eyed him with suspicion. "No," she muttered. "I haven't watched much television since your men brought me here."
He pouted his lips and gave an understanding nod. "Well, I recommend you watch the news today. Very interesting developments going on in the city."