"Janet," Sean said in as calm a tone as he could muster, "I was hoping you could tell me about some of the items in the display cases."
"Certainly," she said and led the way into the room at the other end of the hall.
Tommy breathed faster. He finished cleaning up the debris as best as he could and then put the brick back in its place.
Now the problem wasn't the mess. It was the missing grout around the brick. And there was no way to replace it.
He stood up and looked around. Then he realized his heels were pressing into an antique area rug. He raised his eyes and glanced down the hall. Sean was listening to the woman talk about a flag in one of the cases.
Without a moment to lose, Tommy bent down at the knees and grabbed the rug with two hands. He tugged it, putting his weight into it, and found that it moved easier than he expected. He pulled again and let it fall. The fabric covered half of the brick.
One more pull, he thought to himself.
He gripped it again and leaned back. The rug budged again, but this time two of the bed's legs came free and clacked on the floor.
Tommy shuddered. He let the rug fall and looked back down the hall.
"Is everything okay in there?" Janet said. She appeared at the opposing doorway a second later.
"Yes," Tommy said, red-faced. "Everything's fine."
She frowned, dubious about his answer. "Why's your face so red all of a sudden?"
"My face? Oh. Because I just banged my knee on the corner of the bed. I'm terribly sorry."
He reached down and grabbed his kneecap, feigning injury.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Janet said.
"It's okay. I'm such a klutz. I don't think I hurt the bed." He limped out of the bedroom and into the hall. "I'll be fine." He bent the knee and kicked a couple of times like he was testing it.
"Are you sure? You want me to get some ice or something?" Janet asked.
Tommy almost felt bad for lying to the nice woman. "No, really, it'll be good. Just have to walk it off. I think I'll head outside and walk around a bit."
"I'll come with you," Sean said.
"Oh." Janet seemed disappointed her tour had come to a sudden end.
"Thank you so much, Janet. I really appreciate you taking the time to show me some of these wonderful antiques you have. It's always great to experience real history like this." Sean passed her an almost flirty smile.
The grin broke down her defenses completely, and she blushed. "Well, you are so welcome. Come back anytime you like."
Tommy walked tenderly down the stairs, partly to keep up the act with his knee and partly so he didn't jostle the potentially priceless document in his coat.
Once they were outside and the front door closed behind them, Tommy picked up the pace, walking briskly back toward the car. He didn't dare turn around for fear of Janet looking out a window and seeing them.
When they were almost to the car, Sean ticked his head to the side. "Did you find it?" he asked through barely parted lips.
"I found something," Tommy said.
"Is it the map?"
"Don't know. Didn't really have time to open it up and analyze it, you know, with your new girlfriend coming up the stairs and all."
They hopped into the car, and Sean started the engine. Tommy carefully unzipped his coat as Sean backed the car out of the parking space and steered it out toward the road.
Tommy pulled the rolled vellum out of the pocket and held it out for Sean to see.
"Nice," Sean said. "Good work, my friend."
Tommy breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Now let's see what secrets Mr. Surratt was hiding in his bedroom."
Chapter 29
Sean guided the car along the busy county road. Other vehicles filled the oncoming lane as people hurried home after a long day of work. Most of them probably had jobs in Washington, a few on the outskirts in some of the newer corporations that took root during years of prosperity and development.
The yellow-orange sun blazed just over the horizon, fading rapidly toward the hills and ridges to the west.
"That looks like a good spot," Sean said, pointing at a pull-off near the river.
There were picnic tables under huge oak trees, a loading ramp for boats, and a few charcoal grills permanently fixed in the ground.
"Yeah, that's fine," Tommy said. He still cradled the rolled vellum in his lap.
Sean pulled off the road and onto the gravel parking area. He left the engine running so they'd still have heat.
Tommy took the letter they found in the cave and set it on the seat next to his leg. Next, he took out his laptop and placed it on his lap. The computer made for a decent makeshift desk given the circumstances. Then he began peeling back the vellum scroll. Every move he made was full of nauseating trepidation for fear of tearing it or ruining the integrity of the map.
Tommy spent a full five minutes unrolling since rushing might have meant disaster. As he pressed down the corners of the vellum sheet, the two friends stared in disbelief.
The document was blank.
"I don't… I don't understand." Sean said. "Why would they go through the trouble of hiding a blank piece of vellum? Did the ink fade?"
Tommy shook his head. He felt the heat coming out of the car's vents. "No, it didn't fade. And I'm pretty sure it's still there."
He held the laptop up close to one of the vents, pinning down the top corners of the map with his fingers.
"Turn the heat up as hot as you can," Tommy said.
Sean reached over and twisted the knob. The temperature of the air pouring out of the vents increased immediately.
The two watched for a moment, waiting for the chemicals in the ink to activate. At first, nothing happened. But as the heat continued to flow and warm the entire document, lines began to appear. Soon, words came to light along with different designs representing mountains, islands, the ocean, and rivers.
Sean and Tommy stared with wide eyes at the map.
"You know, I've seen invisible ink before," Tommy said, "but every time I see it appear I am kind of amazed."
"No kidding," Sean agreed.
The map depicted a highly detailed map of Alaska, for the time period. Most modern cities there today weren't listed because the drawing had been created before they'd been founded.
"Now," Tommy said, “let's see if we can find what all the fuss is about."
He picked up the letter next to his leg and opened it, spreading it over top of the map with the greatest of care. He flattened it as much as possible, pressing firmly while making sure the edges and corners lined up.
"You got a pencil or a pen in here?" Tommy asked.
Sean reached into the center console and produced a pen. "You're going to draw on what might be one of the most valuable American artifacts ever found?"
Tommy snorted. "You got a better idea? We need to mark the location."
Sean shook his head. "No, just making sure you understood the gravity of what you're about to do."
"Oh, I understand. Don't think I'm happy about it, either."
Tommy removed the pen's lid and held it over the letter. He continued to press down on the two sheets, keeping them as flush as possible. Then he took the pen and held it over the hole in the letter. He paused for a second, probably to reconsider what he was about to do. After a moment's hesitation, Tommy pressed the pen through the hole and wiggled it around, making a dot.
He swallowed and started breathing again. He handed the pen back to Sean like a doctor passing a scalpel to a surgical technician. After another deep breath, Tommy lifted the letter off the map and stared at the new ink spot.
The dot was located beside two words the two hadn't expected.
Bolshaya Gora.
"Russian?" Tommy asked.
"Looks that way," Sean said, leaning over the center console to get a better look. "It means 'big mountain.'"