“So, where is Dr. Gould, Mrs. Beach?” he growled softly.
“I have no idea,” she replied, knowing in her heart that it was the worst answer she could give, but it was the plain truth. Her eyes teared up as she tried to say it another way, but her tongue would not move. In her peripheral vision she could see the huge man tense up and it scared the poor frail Sylvia to death.
“The next time you say that,” he said calmly, tightening his fingers against her scalp, “I will snap your neck before you even breathe out.”
She knew he was serious. He had too much on the line to be bluffing.
Chapter 11 — Reunion
While Purdue was stuck in traffic on his way to JFK, Nina was on a plane that was just about to land in Nova Scotia.
As she was crunching down on peanuts, her only savory treat in-flight, Nina was utterly oblivious to the fact that she was a missing person. Blissfully unaware of the silent war that waged in her wake, she looked forward to seeing Joanne Earle again after so many years. She remembered the rocky start to their friendship where Nina's intolerance for self-conscious girls made her a super bitch in the eyes of the Earle-girl, as she called Joanne back then.
It was only after the plump, but attractive Joanne punched Nina's roommate in the gut for sleeping with Nina's boyfriend that the historian and the Earle-girl became close companions for the latter part of their graduate year. They were two very different women, yet they got along swimmingly after the historical punch in the main dormitory of the university, something Nina was happy to rekindle.
On top of the reunion, Nina was extremely curious about the possible find that could point to an obscure legend that Alexander the Great had sent various armadas out during his respective campaigns to hoard most of his plunder. Although he was not exactly a persona grata to her, he was still one of the most powerful figures prevalent in history. She had even published a thesis during her second year at Edinburgh University analyzing the mighty Alexander's psychological vehemence toward military greatness. Other than that, the man was not all that great in her opinion. As a matter of fact, Nina had once stated that, like Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great was only a few chalices of apathy away from Galigula, leaving the son of Olympias on the less-than-great scale.
“Dr. Gould, we should be touching down soon,” the attendant told Nina.
“Thank you,” Nina replied, closing her edition of Ghostly Tales and Legends of Newfoundland and Labrador. “Do you know how long the flight to Goose Bay is, by chance? I'm not sure if it would be better to stay in Halifax overnight before flying through.”
“Oh, that flight is less than two hours, but,” she looked at her watch, “given the hour, I would personally wait until morning. Unless someone is waiting at the airport there?”
“No,” Nina smiled. “I think I'll take your advice and head on through tomorrow morning. Ta.”
It was a good idea too, for back at Goose Bay things were getting tense as well. The annoying know-it-all gym teacher had a hundred-and-one opinions as to what had happened to the poor woman who's remains Lisa had happened upon.
“Oh God, shall we call CSI?” Joanna mumbled to Pam as he laid out yet another theory of how the woman must have died. “I'm sure they are missing important clues that Sherlock here could fill them in on.”
Pam just shook her head and sipped at her too hot coffee. Lisa was still in shock, sitting quietly next to the two female teachers and, of course, the loudmouth Nathan who had a plethora of metaphors to joke with. The body had been collected by the coroner after the local police had secured the crime scene. The teachers correctly estimated that the corpse was quite old, although only missing persons research would be able to reveal her identity and the circumstances of her disappearance.
But their long weekend had otherwise gone on unperturbed by any further grisly mysteries, and fortunately for the teachers, the holidays were due and they could relax. Joanne had already contacted the principal to notify him that she would be staying on in Goose Bay for the rest of the holidays to meet an old friend with whom she wished to catch up. She effectively made it sound innocent enough that nobody would give her decision a second thought.
Only she knew that she endeavored something far bigger, far more monumental, and she was going to do it along with a world-renowned historian she knew would not accept anything at face value. If Nina Gould declared the gilded piece genuine, you could bet your life that it was so. In her excitement, Joanne wished she could tell Pam, but the truth was that Pam simply would not appreciate the magnitude of the matter. It wouldn’t be a big deal to her, sadly, and Joanne was left to keep her own secret — at least until Nina arrived.
She could not contact Nina since the last time they’d spoken, having gotten in touch purely by a stroke of luck. But after she had given the successful historian all the details of her position, Joanne knew Nina would keep her word and get there as soon as possible.
By the next day she was not disappointed. After the school group and the detestably annoying Mr. Spence had departed, Joanne rented her two-bed cabin for another three days at double rates to accommodate Nina too. Being left alone in the peaceful ambiance of the lake was blissfully lonely. It played on Joanne's emotions between feeling abandoned here in the wilderness and favoring the solitude away from constant questions and having to maintain composure at all times.
Quiet, apart from the bird songs and occasional call of wildlife, draped itself over Joanne where she sat near one of the boat houses. In her hand she had the golden medallion she’d unlawfully procured from the dead woman. Perplexed by how she’d found it, Joanne tried to figure out what would have made the woman swallow the piece. There was only one clear reason for such a desperate act, in Joanne's opinion, and that was for it not to be found on her person at any cost. This item was so important that the woman would rather choke on it than deliver it. Teachers and prison guards knew these things better than anyone.
Countless times she herself had had to search students for weapons or suspected stolen items which would be hidden in the oddest places; and the more desperate the holder, the more elaborate the hiding place.
Nina touched down at Goose Bay Airport in the late morning and headed to the holiday camp where Joanne Earle was waiting anxiously to let her in on something amazing. Even among all the zeal of the history teacher from Labrador City, Nina tried not to set her heart on it being a prize from the Macedonian warlord's personal chest of treasure. She had been disappointed before by relics that had seemed like dead ringers for the real deal and was then left feeling foolish and empty when they were proved false. So this time she elected to remain skeptical until she could find proof to feel otherwise.
“Nice outpost, Grizzly Adams,” Nina remarked as she came strolling up behind Joanne's crooked frame, hunched over to wash the coin in the lake. Joanne was sitting on the jetty with her bare feet dangling in the water as she scrutinized her prize. When she heard that heavy Edinburgh accent behind her, her heart jumped and she swung around with a huge grin. “Nina Gould! I can’t believe you actually made it!” She pulled her feet out of the water and tucked the coin back into her jeans pocket to give the petite historian a proper hug.