“Nice one.” Dane winked at her. “Sleep well.”
Jade looked at him for another long moment before opening the door. “Goodnight, Maddock.” She stepped outside and closed the door.
Dane stared at the door, fighting an irrational urge to go after her. What was his problem? He was in a good relationship with a girl he’d known forever. Why would he even consider throwing that away?
He turned out the light, yanked the covers over his head, and, when Bones returned a few minutes later, pretended to be asleep. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 42
“According to Krueger, Pierre-Charles L’enfant, who designed the master site plan for Washington D.C., also known as the ‘L’Enfant Plan,’ was a French architect and Freemason handpicked for the job by George Washington, who was also a Freemason. L’Enfant’s original design incorporated Freemason, Egyptian, and even Atlantean symbolism.” Avery had spent the flight from Miami to Washington devouring all of Krueger’s research on the Templars’ connection to the capital city, and supplementing it with her own research. The more she learned the more fascinated she became. A scholar could devote her entire career to studying the connections between the ancient world, secret societies, and Washington D.C. Now, as their driver, a government agent driving a boring, gray sedan, drove them to their destination, she shared her findings with Tam.
“Skip to the part we care about.” Tam was checking email on her phone, but seemed to be listening intently.
“Just like the labyrinth Maddock and the others found at Giza, a network of passageways runs beneath the national mall and all the major structures in the vicinity. Somewhere amid this warren lies a vault containing the accumulated treasures of the Templars in America. Beginning in the late 1930s, the Freemasons constructed a new passageway to the vault, and hid the entryway beneath a memorial that incorporated both Templar and Atlantean symbology; the symbols to serve as a sign to the initiated.”
“Tell me about the symbology.” Tam pocketed her phone and gave Avery her undivided attention.
“Look at this aerial photograph.” Avery laid Krueger’s notebook between them. “See how the entablature is a perfect circle?”
“I’ve been there before, and I can see how it’s reminiscent of a Templar church. But I don’t see Atlantis here anywhere.”
“Look outward from the memorial. What do you see?”
Tam stared for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. “Rings of concentric circles on a piece of land surrounded by water.”
“Is that Atlantean enough for you?” Avery could have gone on, but she could tell Tam was convinced.
“We’re here, Ma’am.” The driver stopped the car and opened the door for them. “Shall I come with you?”
“Remain here with the car. I’ll call if I need you.”
Bathed in moonlight, its interior lights glowing, the Jefferson Memorial stood enshrouded in the ethereal curtain of fog that rolled in off the Potomac. In the silence of the midnight hour, the place had a ghostly quality to it.
Tam made a beeline for the monument, and Avery hurried to keep up. As they drew closer, she noticed yellow tape encircling the monument and signs reading, Temporarily Closed.
“Uh oh. I wonder why it’s closed.”
“Are you kidding?” Tam gave her a quizzical look. “I closed it. Rather, a friend closed it for me. And there he is. Hey, Tyson!”
Daniel Tyson was a tall, dark skinned man who appeared to be about the same age as Tam. Light from the memorial reflected off his shaved head, and he greeted Tam and Avery with an easy smile and bone crushing hugs. His tailored suit was cut to accentuate his athletic figure.
“Tyson is a friend and former colleague,” Tam explained. “He used to be FBI, now he’s with the NPS and calls it a ‘step up.’ He’s also a Lakers fan, which tells you he knows nothing about basketball.”
“Please.” Tyson’s speech was flavored with a light touch of the Caribbean, adding to his aura of congeniality. “You’ve never balled in your life, Broderick.”
“Not on the court, anyway.” Tam gave him a wink.
"My court is always open if you ever feel so inclined to brush up on your…skills!"
Tam gave his arm a squeeze. “Thank you for doing this for us. We’ll try to make it quick.”
“Not a problem. Do you need anything else from me?”
“Just keep prying eyes away.” Tam thanked him again, gave him another hug, and led them into the memorial.
“I found pairs of numbers, get this, written in the margins in invisible ink. I think they correspond to words in the various inscriptions on the walls.”
“Invisible ink? How’d you know to check for that?”
“My father was obsessed with pirate treasure, legends, and secrets. I picked up a few things here and there.”
“Good job. Let’s get to checking the panels.”
“No need. I looked up the various inscriptions online and worked on it during our flight. I think I’ve come up with something that makes sense.” She opened the notebook and read aloud.
“Progress of the human mind. Enlightened discoveries. Truths remain ever in the hand of the master.”
“Under the master? You mean Jefferson over there?” Tam assessed the bronze statue. “He’s big, but I don’t think there’s a tunnel in his hand.”
“I’ve got an idea about that.” Moving to the statue, Avery climbed up onto the pedestal. There was little room to stand and the surface was slick, but she clung to the president’s cloak for balance.
Ever in the hand of the master.
In Jefferson’s left hand, he clutched a scroll. Avery wasn’t tall enough to get a good look, but, if she stretched, she could just reach it. She ran her fingers across the top and found what she was looking for. A pyramid-shaped indentation.
“It’s here! Give me the crystals.”
Tam, looking bemused, handed her an envelope in which she’d put one each of the crystals Maddock and Bones had recovered in Japan. The first crystal was not a fit, nor was the second, but the moment the third crystal slid into place, the empty rotunda echoed with the thrum of cogs turning somewhere below ground. The statue lurched and Avery leapt off the pedestal, not quite pulling off a clean landing. She sprang to her feet, but Tam hadn’t noticed. She watched as the statue slid to the side, revealing a stone staircase.
Tam looked at Avery and smiled.
“Who needs them boys? You did it!”
Avery couldn’t help but blush a little at Tam’s praise. She had to admit she was more than a little proud to have done all of it: tracking down Krueger, finding the connection to the memorial, and deciphering the clues, without her brother’s help. Okay, a lot of the credit went to Krueger, but she was still going to enjoy the moment.
“You coming?” Tam was already ten steps down the staircase, flashlight in one hand, Makarov in the other.
“Yeah, sorry.” Avery took out her Maglite but left her 9 millimeter in her coat pocket. She couldn’t imagine encountering anything down here that would require a weapon. Head buzzing with the thrill of discovery, she followed Tam down into the darkness.
The air grew damp and musty as they made their way deeper. After a long descent, they reached a level passageway. At first, Avery was taken aback at the relative modernity, but reminded herself that this tunnel had not been built by the Templars, but was a twentieth century link to the Templar vault. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and thin sheen of dust coated everything. No one had passed this way in years, maybe decades.
Minutes later, they found themselves facing a dead end.