Because they had no idea where the journal might be, Purdue suggested that he, Sam, and Nina split up so that they could explore separate parts of the cathedral at the same time. With him he carried his pen-sized spyglass laser gadget to pick up any heat signatures behind the walls of the church, where he might have to sneak in.
“Holy shit, this is going to take us days,” Sam uttered a bit too loudly as his astonished eyes surveyed the majestic, colossal building. People muttered in disgust at his exclamation, inside the church no less!
“Best get to it, then. Anything that might give us an idea as to where it might be kept should be considered. We each have visual of the others on the watches, so don’t disappear. I have no strength to look for the journal and two lost souls,” Purdue smiled.
“Oh, you just had to spin it like that,” Nina chuckled. “Later, boys.”
They split into three directions, pretending to be there for mere sightseeing, while scrutinizing any possible clue that might point to the location of the diary of the French soldier. The watches they wore served as communication implements, so that they could share information without having to regroup each time.
Sam wandered into the sacrament chapel, repeating in his head that he was, in fact, looking for something that looked like an old, small book. He had to keep telling himself what he was seeking to prevent himself from getting distracted by the religious treasures around every corner. He had never been religious and he certainly felt no connotation with anything holy of late, but he had to relent to the prowess of the sculptors and masons who built the marvelous things all around him. The pride and respect with which they were made stirred his emotions and almost every statue and structure merited a picture from him. It had been a long time since Sam had found himself in a place where he truly could utilize his photography skills.
Nina’s voice came over the earpiece connected to their wrist devices.
“Do I say ‘breaker, breaker’ or something?” she asked over the scratchy signal.
Sam could not help but giggle, and soon he heard Purdue saying, “No, Nina. I dread to think what Sam’s handle would be, so just talk.”
“I think I had an epiphany,” she said.
“Have your soul saved on your own time, Dr. Gould,” Sam joked, and he could hear her sighing on the other end.
“What is it, Nina?” Purdue asked.
“I am checking out the bells in the south spire and I got this brochure about all the different bells. There is a bell in the ridge turret called the Angelus Bell,” she answered. “I was wondering if it did not have something to do with the poem.”
“Where? The clapping angels?” Purdue asked.
“Well, the word ‘Angels’ is spelled with a capital ‘A’, and I’m thinking it might be a name, instead of just referring to angels, you know?” Nina whispered.
“I think you have a point there, Nina,” Sam chimed in. “Listen, it says ‘clapping Angels.’ The tongue that hangs down the middle of a bell is called a clapper, isn’t it? Could it mean the journal is sheltered by the clapper of the Angelus Bell?”
“My God, you’ve cracked it,” Purdue whispered excitedly. He could not sound excited among the tourists who milled inside the Marienkapelle where Purdue was admiring the Stephan Lochner painting of the patron saints of Cologne in its Gothic presentation. “I’m in St. Mary’s Chapel now, but I’ll meet you at the ridge turret base in, say, 10 minutes?”
“Right, see you there,” Nina replied. “Sam?”
“Aye, I’ll be there, as soon as I can get just one more shot of this ceiling. Fuckin’ hell!” he reported, while Nina and Purdue could hear the people around Sam gasping at his utterance once more.
When they met on the observation deck, it all fell into place. From the platform above the ridge turret, it was clear that the smaller bell could very well be harboring the journal.
“How the hell did he get it in there?” Sam asked.
“Remember, this guy Werner was a city planner. He probably had access to all kinds of nooks and crannies of the city’s buildings and infrastructure. I bet that is why he chose the Angelus Bell. It is smaller, more unassuming than the main bells and no-one would care to look here,” Purdue noted. “All right, so tonight my sister and I will get up here and you two can monitor the activity around us.”
“Agatha? Climb up here?” Nina gasped.
“Yes, she was a national-level gymnast in high school. Did she not tell you?” Purdue nodded.
“No,” Nina replied, completely surprised by this bit of information.
“That would explain her lanky body,” Sam remarked.
“That’s right. Dad noticed early on that she was too thin to be an athlete or tennis player, so he started her on gymnastics and martial arts to help her develop her skills,” Purdue said. “She is also an avid mountain climber, if you can drag her out of the archives, vaults, and bookshelves, that is.” Dave Purdue laughed at the reaction of his two colleagues. Both were clearly taken back by the thought of Agatha in a pair of cleats and a harness.
“If anyone can scale this monstrous building, it would be a mountain climber,” Sam agreed. “I’m so glad I was not chosen for this madness.”
“Me too, Sam, me too!” Nina winced, again looking down at the small tower perched on the steep roof of the enormous cathedral. “God, just the thought of standing up here had me apprehensive. I hate confined spaces, but I am developing a dislike for heights as we speak.”
Sam shot several photographs of the vicinity, more or less including the surrounding landscape so that they could plan their reconnaissance and salvage of the item. Purdue whipped out his spyglass device and scanned the tower.
“Nice,” Nina said, examining the gadget with her eyes. “What, pray tell, does this do?”
“Look,” Purdue said, and handed it to her. “Do NOT press the red button. Press down the silver button.”
Sam leaned forward to see what she was doing. Nina’s mouth opened wide and then slowly her lips curled into a smile.
“What? What do you see?” Sam pressed. Purdue smiled proudly and raised an eyebrow at the interested journalist.
“She is looking through the wall, Sam. Nina, do you see anything peculiar there? Anything that looks like a book?” he asked her.
“Not on the clapper, but I do see a rectangular object lodged right at the top, on the inside of the bell’s dome,” she described as she moved the object up and down the turret and the bell to make sure she did not miss anything. “Here.”
She passed it to Sam, who was amazed.
“Purdue, you think you can work this contraption into my camera? I could do with seeing through the surface of what I photograph,” Sam teased.
Purdue laughed, “If you behave, I’ll design you one when I have time.”
Nina shook her head at their bantering.
Someone brushed past her, unintentionally whipping her hair. She turned to find a man standing too close to her, smiling. His teeth were stained and his expression creepy. She turned to clutch at Sam’s arm to let the man know she was being accompanied. When she turned again he had somehow vanished into thin air.
“Agatha, I am marking the position of the item,” Purdue reported over his communication device. A moment later he aimed his spyglass in the direction of the Angelus Bell and a quick beep sounded as the laser marked the global position of the turret on Agatha’s screen for recording.
Nina had a rotten feeling about the repulsive man who stood against her a few moments ago. She could still smell his musty coat and the stench of chew tobacco on his breath. In the small group of tourists around her there was no such person. Thinking it an unfortunate meeting and nothing more, Nina decided to chalk it up as nothing important.