‘Yes. I’m quite confident it did.’
‘Why are you so sure?’
‘Because we found it,’ Boyd claimed.
‘You found the Mercado treasure?’
‘Yes.’
‘When?’ she demanded.
Boyd glanced at his watch. ‘About twenty hours ago.’
Jones joined the conversation. ‘Then what in the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be rolling around in piles of gold?’
‘I wish I could,’ Boyd admitted. ‘Unfortunately, it’s not that simple for a man in my position. If I were to stake a claim in this treasure, the first thing I would be required to do is notify the CIA of my involvement. From that moment on, the Agency would take an active interest in the acquisition process — the thought of which is something I dread. Although I’m a company man, the last place I want a treasure of this magnitude to end up is in some bunker in Langley, Virginia. Instead, I want it to be studied by scholars from around the globe, academics who are searching for answers to the mysteries of the Aztec and the Maya. I want this treasure to be displayed at the Ulster Archives.’
Ulster nearly fell off his chair. ‘Are you serious?’
Boyd nodded. ‘Quite.’
‘But, wait, you want me to, I mean, you’re giving me … really?’
‘Yes, really. That is, if you’re willing to accept the terms of my proposal.’
Ulster leaned forward. ‘I’m listening.’
‘First of all, I want Terrence to be listed as the co-leader of the team that discovered this treasure. Without his insight into the Maya and his connections in the Yucatán, I would still be searching.’
Ulster nodded. ‘Done.’
‘Secondly, I want Maria to be listed as the other co-leader. Instead of me, she will be given credit for my half of the discovery.’
Maria baulked at the idea. ‘No way! Not a chance! I didn’t do anything to find this treasure. There’s no way in hell I want my name associated with it.’
Boyd stared at her. ‘Don’t worry, my dear, your job is yet to come.’
‘My job? What job is that?’
‘A moment ago, I mentioned that Terrence and I had located the Mercado treasure. In reality, we have discovered the location of the treasure, not the treasure itself. The hoard itself still needs to be claimed. To do so, one final piece of the puzzle still needs to be solved — a piece that happens to fall into your area of expertise: Christianity.’
‘How so?’
‘It seems that Mercado knew of the so-called “death relic”. He even mentions it by name in his diary, and describes the impact it had on the Maya and the Aztec. To keep their treasury from being invaded, he writes that the location was protected by the death relic itself.’
Maria returned his stare. ‘So you need me to figure out what the death relic is? If I remember correctly, Christianity happens to be your area of expertise as well. Of course, it’s been so long since we’ve talked, I might be mistaken.’
He smiled, trying to ease her anger. ‘No, my dear, you are correct: it is my area of expertise. However, as I outlined in my proposal, I cannot afford to be a part of this claim. Therefore, I will not be joining you on the next leg of this mission. When you make the discovery — and I know you will — I will be at a meeting in Washington DC, with plenty of witnesses.’
‘Why me? Why not someone else?’ she demanded.
‘Because I trust you,’ he said sincerely. ‘In my world, that’s the highest compliment I can give. Not love, not admiration, but trust. And the truth is that I trust you implicitly. I trust you to solve the puzzle, I trust you to honour our agreement and I trust you to hand the treasure over to the Archives. Of all the people I’ve ever met, I trust you the most.’
‘Me?’ she said, surprised.
He nodded. ‘In addition, I also trust your friends.’
‘My friends?’
He pointed at Payne and Jones. ‘I’m confident that David and Jonathon will get you to where you need to go. That is if you gentlemen are willing to accompany her.’
Jones glanced at Maria. ‘Of course.’
Payne shrugged. ‘Got nothing better to do.’
Boyd smiled. ‘Wonderful. Then it’s time for me to bid you adieu.’
‘You’re leaving?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘No, my dear, it is you that is leaving. There’s a plane outside. It’s fuelled and ready to take you to where you need to go.’
‘Which is where?’ Payne wondered.
Boyd grinned as he answered. ‘Cholula.’
71
Boyd had proved to be a master strategist during the past few days, but one thing he had failed to take into account was Payne’s physical stature. Used to the spacious legroom of a military cargo plane or the first-class accommodation in his company jet, Payne felt like a sardine in the fixed-wing aircraft that flew them from Mérida to Cholula. Forced to sit next to Maria, who was half his size and the only one able to squeeze into his cramped row, conversation was limited for the first hour. Maria passed the time by reading a file that Boyd had assembled on the history of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, while Payne stared out the window at the Gulf of Mexico below.
To get from the northern end of the Yucatán to their destination in central Mexico, they flew over water for most of the trip. In many ways it helped Payne understand why Marcos de Mercado had used a ship to move the Maya treasure westwards in 1574. Not only did he shave several weeks off the travel time by charting a sea route, he also avoided hundreds of thousands of natives who might have intercepted the fortune in the desert or the mountains.
Maria closed the file and tried to stretch. It was tough to do in the limited space.
Payne smiled at her attempt. ‘Sorry.’
‘For what?’
‘For taking up half the plane.’
She laughed. ‘Now that you mention it, things are kind of tight. Remind me to complain to the flight attendant the next time she comes by.’
‘When you do, tell her I’m still waiting for my drink.’
She licked her lips at the thought. ‘Actually, I could go for a drink right about now. A pitcher of margaritas would definitely take the edge off.’
‘A whole pitcher?’ Payne said, surprised. ‘In my experience, if a woman drinks a whole pitcher of margaritas, she usually takes off a lot more than her edge.’
She laughed at the joke. ‘In your experience, huh? Out of curiosity, how many times has that happened to you?’
Payne flashed a devilish grin as he pretended to count the answer on his fingers. When he reached double digits, she grabbed his hands to make him stop.
‘Forget it. I don’t want to know.’
‘Good. Because I don’t want to say.’
Boyd knew the building in Mérida had to be ‘cleaned’ before he left Mexico. To accomplish the task, he hauled a 5-gallon can of gasoline from his SUV to the makeshift classroom, then splashed the accelerant on the walls, the furniture and the floor. By the time the fire department arrived to put out the blaze, every shred of forensic evidence would be reduced to ash and he would be on his way to America.
Tiffany, however, had other ideas.
She had wanted to confront Boyd about the photos ever since Chichén Itzá, but had decided to wait until Payne and Jones were out of the equation. Now that they were gone, it was time to make her move. She raised her weapon and entered the classroom while Boyd worked with his back to the door. She called his name to get his attention.
Boyd turned and saw the gun. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Getting some answers.’
‘Answers? To what?’
‘Stop talking. I’m asking the questions here.’