“Ok, ignoring the fact that these locations are much further apart, before one clue led to the next one. You’re making it sound like there is no order to it this time.”
“I thought about that too. This new riddle is different. Even though the location perimeter might be similar, the way to get there doesn’t have to be. From what I can tell, you don’t need to visit the spots in any order this time. Well, except the last one. Plus, you will need to find three items. They should look like leaves. We are still working on the third location. I’ll let you know if we find it.”
Sean smiled. He realized that Adriana had already found one piece of the puzzle. “We already found it, Mac.”
“Really?” Joe sounded amazed. “How’d you do that?”
Sean looked into the back of the cargo area. A towel lay on the floor, bundled as if it was wrapped around something. “It’s a long story. I’ll explain when we get back.”
“We?”
“I’ll explain that too.”
Adriana swerved onto a side street then another, trying to lose their followers.
“Thanks, Mac. I gotta go.”
“No problem, Sean. I’ll let you know if I can figure out any other part of this thing.”
Wyatt hung up the phone as Adriana pulled the car into an alley between a pawn shop and a tattoo parlor.
“What are we doing?” He asked.
She glanced over at him. “Giving them a chance to lose us.”
A few tense minutes went by as they waited to see if the people chasing them would appear. The only thing that cut the quiet in the air was the easy hum of the engine and the gentle blowing of the air conditioner.
Adriana turned to Sean. “Who was that on the phone?”
“My friend Joe. He’s an expert in Native American history. Says we should go to The Grand Canyon.” She looked uncertain. “He said he thinks that Eagle Point is where we can find another clue.”
“Is he sure? That’s a few hours from here,” Emily asked.
“I wondered the same thing. Joe said he thinks that’s it. I trust him.” He paused. “You ever been to The Grand Canyon?” Emily shook her head. “What about you?” he asked Adriana.
“No,” Adriana answered bluntly.
“Oh,” he smiled. “Now there are two reasons for us to go.” A cute grin crept onto the side of her mouth as she eyed him.
She didn’t say a thing as she stepped on the gas and steered the Audi back out onto the road towards the interstate.
Chapter 26
Tommy and Will had taken the agency jet from Atlanta to the desert southwest a few hours before. Will had gotten clearance from the boss to provide police protection for Tommy, which meant he had to go wherever the archaeologist went. The pilot was not exactly happy about having to file a flight plan on such short notice but then again, he knew the deal when he signed up for the job. It was good pay and really very few hours. The only catch was that sometimes Schultz or Wyatt needed to fly somewhere on short notice. It was early in the afternoon when they had landed in the high desert. The sun beat down warmly on the tarmac as they’d exited the plane and hopped in the car that had been made ready by agency connections at the airport. Nothing fancy but it would do the job.
Tommy guided the gray Chevy Cruze down the highway leading out of Santa Fe towards Bandelier National Monument. He had been paranoid, constantly checking in the rear view mirror to see if they were being followed. There hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary, though. The craggy desert mountains that had lingered in the distance were now surrounding them as the straight road became curvy, weaving in and out of the dry terrain. Cypress trees dotted the landscape along with some Schultz didn’t recognize, their pale-green foliage splashed a contrast of color onto the natural canvas setting. The drive up had been somewhat silent. Both men were tired from the events of the night before and didn’t feel much like talking. Tommy was okay with that. He didn’t like forced conversation anyway.
“That the place?” Will broke the long silence.
Up ahead, the tourist and information center for Bandelier National Monument appeared in a clearing situated in the middle of a rocky canyon.
Tommy eased the car into an empty parking spot in front of the tourist information building. The air was cool and dry, fairly typical for the high desert during that time of year. In the winter, temperatures could reach zero at times while the summer sported highs in the 100s.
Will took a deep breath. “I love the air out here. Clears up my sinuses,” he said with a big smile.
Tommy laughed. “Well, we do live in one of the worst places in the world for allergies.”
“I think I remember reading about that.”
The two men closed the car doors and made their way into the wooden structure and over to an information desk. There were only a few tourists milling around inside, probably belonging to the two other cars that were in the parking lot.
Behind the desk, a happy looking Native American woman stood next to a computer checking something on the screen. As they approached, she turned and greeted them with a robust and genuine smile. Her round face and long, black hair framed the squinting eyes and huge grin. She was fairly short, but stood proudly in her park ranger uniform. “Welcome to Bandelier. Can I help you, gentlemen?” She asked in a perky tone that surprised both men. Apparently, she liked her job.
Schultz returned the smile. “Yes, we are doing a little research on ceremonial artwork of Native Americans from this region, and we were wondering if you could show us where the stone lion sculptures were located.”
“Actually, we have a replica of the sculpture right outside that door over there if you would like to see it. It was cast directly from the original.” She pointed past some display cases to a door off to the side of the large room.
“I don’t mean to be rude but would it be possible to see the originals? I’m kind of a history buff.”
She opened up a drawer and pulled out a small piece of paper with a little map on it. “The original site is right here,” she pointed to a spot on the map that had a drawing in the likeness of the sculpture. “Just take this trail to get there. It’s only a short walk. “We do ask,” she added, “that you treat the location with care. It is a sacred site for our people and should be treated with great respect.” Her smile had been replaced by a solemn look.
“Understood,” Tommy replied. “We will leave no evidence we were there. Thank you so much.”
The two men walked out the door and found the prescribed trail.
“What was that all about?” Will asked. “Sacred site?”
“Ancient Native locations are all some of these tribes have left of their ancestors or their traditions. Most Native Americans had everything taken from them in one form or another. The last few spots they can cling to must be respected by all since they are their only direct link to the past.”
Will nodded silently, understanding the gravity and implication of Schultz’s words.
The path was actually well maintained, evidence that the place they were going was still visited consistently. There weren’t a lot of sounds along the desert path that wound through the canyon. An occasional bird would chirp for a minute or two in one of the scattered trees nearby. Tommy wondered if they might see any snakes. He and Sean both had a healthy fear of that particular reptile, venomous or not. In the area they were walking through, rattlesnakes were common. Even though they had their patented warning sound that resonated from their tails, rattlers didn’t necessarily use them all the time.
The two men plodded their way through the warm air until they came around a small curve in the trail and found themselves entering a small clearing. The scent of sage filled their nostrils. It seemed the plant grew vigorously in the high desert. Then up ahead they noticed a circle of large stones. Each rock was laid on its end as if pointing to the sky and they were all packed in tightly next to each other. In the middle of the stone circle, two ancient pieces of what appeared to be boulders lay side by side. As the men drew closer they began to see clearer, the design of the ancient sculptors.