“Yeah, but who found the journal?” Maddock retorted, then immediately kicked himself for stooping to Bones’ level.
“Fine. You’re both very talented.” Isla reached over and patted Maddock’s thigh. He didn’t miss how long her hand lingered there before she removed it.
They parked the car in the lot closest to the Well of the Dead and began the short walk to the site. They hadn’t gone far when Isla let out an audible gasp.
“What is it?” Maddock asked.
“Looks like the Tuatha got here first.” She pointed to a group of four standing a hundred or so yards ahead of them. “You see the tall man with the long gray hair? That’s Michael Fairly, an old friend of my father. He’s obsessed with the history and legends of the Tuatha de Dannan. On more than one occasion, Dad hinted that Michael was one of them.”
“What about the others?” Maddock asked.
Isla squinted. “I can’t tell. It’s too far and they’re all facing away. None of them look familiar.”
As they watched, one man slowly turned around.
“Unless I’m mistaken,” Bones said, “the guy on the far right is Brown, one of the guys I caught at Dunstaffnage.”
“You’ve got sharp eyes,” Isla said.
“That’s only one of the many services I provide,” Bones said. “By the way, at least one of them is a woman. She’s wearing a suit, but it’s definitely a chick. Can’t tell about the other.”
“What do we do?” Isla asked.
“I don’t want a confrontation if we can help it,” Maddock said. “Bones and I have two pistols and sixteen bullets between us. We should assume all of them are armed, and that they have backup in the area.”
“I’m a good shot if you want me to take one of the guns,” Grizzly offered.
“I don’t,” Maddock said. “You guys go back to the car. I’ll see if I can sneak up on them. If they find something down there, we might have to take steps. If it proves to be a dead end, they’ll have done our work for us.”
“I’m better at blending into the landscape,” Bones said.
“That’s debatable, and in Scotland, you stand out a lot more than I do. Hell, you stand out anywhere. Now, let’s move before they see us.”
Maddock made a quick sprint for the nearby tree line. The forest was sparse but provided sufficient coverage for one as experienced as he was at hiding behind cover. He quickly closed the distance between himself and the four members of the Tuatha, and shadowed them until he ran out of forest. He watched as the group stopped at a stone marker. He knew from photographs that this was the site of the Well of the Dead.
Lush grass, knee high in places, ran from the forest to the well. “I guess it’s basic training all over again,” Maddock said. He chose his spot with care, dropped to the ground, and crawled forward until he was within earshot of the foursome. A low stone wall, buried in the same deep grass, stood between Maddock and the Tuatha, and ran all the way down to the small pool of water that was the well itself. If Maddock wanted to, he could crawl within arm’s reach of it unseen. At the moment, there didn’t seem to be any need to get closer.
He peered through the lush greenery, and managed to get a good look at his quarry. Fairly, the gray-haired man whom Isla had identified as a friend of her father, stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at the stone marker. Brown stood twenty paces away, staring out at the parking lot. Maddock could tell by the lump inside the man’s jacket pocket that he’d replaced the weapon Bones had taken from him. The other two were middle-aged, one a tall and distinguished-looking woman with gray-streaked auburn hair, knotted in a bun. The other was a rail-thin woman with short, red hair and a permanent scowl. Both wore expensive-looking suits, tailor made by Maddock’s estimation.
His eyes moved to the triangular stone marker at the edge of the pathway that ended at the well. A message was engraved in the surface in rough text:
WELL OF THE DEAD
HERE THE CHIEF OF THE MACGILLIVRAYS FELL
The Tuatha stared at the marker, then moved along to the small pool.
“I don’t see how this could possibly be the place,” Fairly said. “I’ve checked the geological surveys and there’s nothing down there. I think this is a dead end.”
Maddock had to agree. The Well of the Dead was not his idea of a well. It was just a very small hole from which water bubbled up. Back in the states it would have been called a natural spring.
“I thought you said your man, Meikle, was reliable,” the older woman said.
Maddock’s fists clenched at the mention of Isla’s friend. Rather, the man she thought was a friend. So that’s how the Tuatha had managed to dog their trail.
“Brigid, we’ve been through this,” Fairly said. “Meikle is competent and dependable, but there are bound to be occasional mistakes in his work. He’s decrypting codes that have withstood translation for years, centuries even. Sometimes there’s a certain amount of guesswork involved.”
Brigid rubbed her chin, nodding thoughtfully. “He was correct about Dunstaffnage. And no one would have suspected the existence of the cavern found by Isla and her people. Perhaps this is a similar situation?”
“You mean there’s a cavern deep underground?” Fairly gave a shake of the head. “I doubt it.”
“We should have the area excavated, just to be safe. Or at least drill down and check for open spaces.”
“That could be a problem,” Fairly said.
Brigid quirked an eyebrow. “Not for me.” She took out his phone, but before she could punch up a number, Brown hurried forward.
“I apologize for the interruption,” he said quickly. “I think there’s a problem.”
Brigid froze, slowly raised her head. “Go on,” she said, not looking at Brown.
“I just saw the big Indian who…”
“The man who single-handedly neutralized you and Campbell?”
At that, the thin, red-haired woman let out a harsh laugh.
“Where did you see him?” Brigid asked.
“In the car park. I couldn’t tell who else his is with him, but I assume one of them is,” he hesitated, “Isla Mulheron.” He swallowed hard. “What do you want me to do?”
Brigid exhaled slowly. “Isla is here, which means we are no longer one step behind her. Her companions can safely be eliminated.” She turned to the red-haired woman. “O’Brien, go with him and make sure he doesn’t make a botch of it. And no witnesses.”
O’Brien drew her pistol and grinned.
“I can do it,” Brown said hurriedly. “Please let me take care of it.”
Brigid looked at Fairly, who nodded.
“We don’t know how many men she has in her employ. Campbell’s sweeping the area, but he could be a long way away. It might be a good idea to keep O’Brien with us.”
Brigid finally looked in Brown’s direction. “Fine. Make it quick and clean.”
Heart racing, Maddock took out his phone and fired off a quick text message to Bones.
Tuatha coming. Get out of here.
The reply came a few seconds later.
Roger that. What about you?
Maddock tapped a quick reply.
I’ll catch up.
He put away his phone and assessed the situation. He was confident there was nothing to be found here at the well. Either Jimmy had made a mistake in the translation or the clue was a false lead. He had a pistol with eight shots. Brigid and Fairly were completely unaware of his presence, but now that they knew Bones was in the area, O’Brien appeared to be on high alert. She still had her weapon drawn, and her eyes swept the grassy area where Maddock was concealed.
Maddock had no idea of O’Brien’s level of skill, nor how close by Campbell might be. It was too risky to try and take all three of them out. Besides that, Maddock was no assassin. Yes, Brigid had ordered Brown to eliminate Bones and Grizzly, but none of the people standing before him posed an immediate threat to Maddock. The rationalizing required to turn three murders into an act of self-defense was too much for him. He’d simply have to get away.