“There’s a crack in the wall. It’s pretty narrow, but if we can squeeze through here, it looks like there’s another room we can check out.”
Maddock and Dima joined him and inspected the opening. Maddock shone his light up and down, frowning.
“I think I can get through. Not sure about you, though.”
“Let me try. I’m smallest.” Dima’s face was pale but resolve firmed her tone. “I’ll slip in and see if there’s anything back there.”
“If you’re sure,” Maddock said.
She looked at the opening, swallowed hard, and nodded. “May I borrow someone’s flashlight?”
Bones handed her his. “Don’t worry. We’ll call the fire department if you get stuck.”
“Nice.” She took a deep breath, exhaled, and slid sideways into the passageway.
She needn’t have worried. Her lithe form slipped through with ease. As soon as she had entered the next chamber she let out a cry.
“Oh my God. You guys have got to see this.”
“You go, Maddock. If I get stuck in there we’re screwed.”
Maddock didn’t have quite as easy a time as Dima had, but with only a little more effort he soon found himself standing beside her in the next chamber. He didn’t need her to point out what it was she wanted him to see.
The frozen body of a man clad in a brown habit lay curled up in the fetal position. He was remarkably well-preserved, so well, in fact, that it was difficult to guess how long he had lain here. He had light colored skin, dark brown hair, and a bushy unibrow. His frozen lips were drawn back in a deathly rictus, revealing yellow teeth.
“This must be the monk Robert was searching for,” Maddock said. He knelt beside the body and ran his light up and down it.
“Do you think he found the fragment of the book of Noah here?” Dima asked.
“Definitely. Look at the monk’s hand.” Maddock trained the beam of his light onto the monk’s clenched fist. Ragged shards of paper stuck out where the man’s fingertips met his palm.
Dima sucked in her breath. “Do you think we can get the rest of the fragment?”
“Maybe. Robert must have tried and failed.”
“True, but you don’t know Robert. He would’ve found a frozen body unnerving. I imagine he didn’t try very hard before he took what he could and left.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Maddock began working the frozen fingers, trying to pull them apart. They didn’t budge.
“Too bad there’s nothing here we could use to start a fire,” Dima said. “Maybe we could thaw him out.”
“Seriously?” Maddock cocked his head and appraised her. “You’re lot more hard-core than I gave you credit for.”
She shrugged. “Just trying to solve the problem.”
“What’s going on in there?” Bones asked through the narrow opening.
“Not much. Just trying to pry something from a dude’s cold, dead hands.”
“Just break the fingers.”
Maddock slapped himself on the forehead. “Bones, sometimes you’re a genius.”
“I don’t think I can watch this.” Dima turned her back on Maddock.
Forcing down the revulsion that was already rising within him, Maddock set his jaw, took hold of one finger, and began to pull. With a sharp crack, the finger snapped.
“Gross,” Dima groaned.
“Only three to go.” Maddock continued the grisly work until he had bent back all four fingers, revealing the monk’s frozen palm. There lay the remainder of the document. He took hold of one corner and gently tugged. It was frozen solid.
“Bad news. It’s stuck.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Dima whirled around, eyes alight with anger. “All that work for nothing?”
“Maybe not nothing.” Maddock took out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures of the exposed portion of the document. “Maybe you can make something of that.”
A dull, distant popping sound reverberated through the passageway. And then another.
“What is that?” Dima asked.
Maddock came to his feet slowly. They were in serious trouble.
“Hey Maddock,” Bones said, “do you think I can fit through there?”
“I think you’d better find a way,” Maddock said. He turned to Dima. “Those were gunshots.”
Chapter 26
“Come on, Bones. You can make it,” Maddock urged.
“If I get stuck in here and get shot in the butt, I’m going to haunt you in the next life.” Bones turned sideways and forced his bulk into the crevice. Slowly he inched forward, grunting with the effort.
“Maybe if you sucked in your gut?” Dima asked.
“I… don’t… have… a… gut.” Bones said through gritted teeth. He stopped and for a moment Maddock feared his friend was indeed trapped in the narrow passage. “I’m okay,” Bones said. He then closed his eyes and slowly exhaled with a hiss like the last dregs of air leaving a deflating tire. He reached out his hand and Maddock took it.
“On three. One… two…” Voices rose in the distance, coming closer. “Three!” Maddock heaved with all his might. For a moment, Bones didn’t move. But then, with agonizing slowness, his body slid forward. Maddock braced a foot against the cavern wall and pushed. Like a cork out of a champagne bottle, Bones suddenly flew out and landed in a heap on top of Maddock. Maddock’s head hit the cavern floor with a crack and red light flashed across his vision.
“We have got to stop meeting like this,” Bones said. He clambered to his feet and hauled Maddock up. “Now what?”
“We go deeper,” Maddock said, pointing to the back of the cavern where he had spotted another small passageway. “You go first,” he said to Bones.
“No way. If I get stuck, the two of you are dead.”
“Trust me. I have a plan.” He fixed Bones with a determined look. His friend knew right away that Maddock would not be moved. As Bones and Dima rushed to the back of the cavern, Maddock took hold of a frozen stalagmite and wrestled with it until it broke free with a sharp crack. Holding it like a baseball bat, he moved to the edge of the narrow opening that led back to the ice cave.
He listened intently as the voices drew closer. He could make out only snatches of conversation, enough to know for certain that there were at least two men out there and they were looking for someone. He stood there, body coiled like a spring, waiting. The icy stalagmite sapped the warmth from his hands. You idiots need to get here before my fingers grow numb, he thought.
He got his wish. He heard a scuffling sound and then a grunt as one of the pursuers began to work his way toward the small cave where Maddock waited. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours, and then a hand holding a gun appeared.
Like a man splitting wood, Maddock brought the stalagmite down onto the exposed wrist. The man cried out in pain as bone and ice shattered and his pistol went clattering to the cave floor. Maddock sprang out in front of the opening and raised the remnants of the stalagmite. He had a moment to take in the sight of a man with dark skin and amber eyes wide with shock, before he brought his makeshift weapon down on the man’s head. The man slumped, his limp body now firmly wedged in the rock.
“Good luck getting him out anytime soon,” Maddock said. He snatched up the fallen pistol, a Glock similar to the one Bones usually carried, and headed for the back passageway.
He dropped to his knees and plunged into the low, narrow lava tube. After a few minutes of rapid and sometimes painful crawling, he heard Bones and Dima up ahead. He called out to let them know he was all right and they waited for him to catch up.
“Wonder how far this goes?” Bones said. “If there’s no way out, we could be in trouble.”
“At least we have a fighting chance now.” Maddock held up the Glock and Bones grinned.