‘I know. I saw their reply.’
‘Before she met Henry, this was her obsession. She wanted to retrace Tobias’s steps, rediscover whatever wonders he’d found in the cave. Now it seems like… unfinished business.’
‘That I might be able to finish for her.’
Olivia smiled. ‘You are the world’s most famous archaeologist. If anyone can bring our family’s history full circle, it’s you. It deserves to be you.’
‘And if I do, what’s in it for you?’
That finally drew a startled response. ‘That’s rather cynical.’
‘Born out of experience,’ Nina replied. ‘Painful experience, sometimes.’
‘So I gather. But all I want is to know that Laura’s work wasn’t for nothing.’
‘So if I find the Midas Cave, you don’t want to know where it is?’
‘Well of course I want to know where it is,’ Olivia said, a little condescendingly. ‘It’s a family mystery we’ve been trying to solve for generations! But if you’re concerned that my goals are solely financial, I can assure you that, like you, I don’t need money. I have enough to see me through. Actually, considering my age, more than enough!’ A chuckle, then she became more contemplative. ‘You completed your parents’ work when you found Atlantis. It would mean a great deal if you could complete your mother’s work too.’
‘It would,’ Nina said quietly.
‘I’ll let you decide what to do, then.’
Olivia stood and they said their goodbyes, then the elderly woman left.
Now it was Nina’s turn to stare at her mother’s notes. She composed her thoughts, taking a moment to reach a decision, then picked up her phone and made a call.
6
‘Nina,’ said Oswald Seretse, greeting her with a smile. ‘Always a pleasure.’
‘Likewise,’ Nina replied, shaking the diplomat’s hand. ‘You’ve got a new office. Nice.’
‘Yes, the benefits of a promotion.’ The windows looked out across Manhattan from the Secretariat Building’s thirty-fifth floor. When Nina had been the director of the International Heritage Agency her view had been similar, but in a smaller office several storeys below. ‘I now act as UN liaison for four other agencies in addition to the IHA.’ After an exchange of pleasantries about each other’s families, he asked: ‘Now, what may I do for you?’
Nina took a breath. ‘I’d like a favour, Oswald.’
She was not surprised when he didn’t immediately offer his assistance. ‘What is it?’
‘I want access to the IHA’s files on the Secret Codex.’
He gave her a curious look. ‘I thought you already had it.’
‘Only the abstracts. Lester decided I wasn’t worthy of full access for security reasons.’ She tried not to make her disdain for her successor too clear. ‘I’d like to see everything.’
‘For what purpose?’
‘A personal project. I’ve come across something that might be linked to one of Talonor’s expeditions, but I’d need to see the raw text to be sure.’
Seretse sat back. ‘As you are aware,’ he said carefully, ‘I am not actually an archaeologist myself. A decision like that, especially considering the security implications, really needs to be made by the IHA’s director.’
‘Right.’ Nina’s disappointment was plain in the single word.
‘While my personal instinct would be to say yes, I am sure you remember how you would have felt if I had made such a decision over your head when you were running the agency,’ he said drily. ‘But Lester is here today, so we can ask him in person if you wish.’
She nodded. ‘That’d be great.’
After checking via Seretse’s secretary that Blumberg was available, they took an elevator down to the IHA’s offices. At the reception desk was a familiar face, who reacted to Nina’s appearance first with surprise, then delight. ‘Well, hell-o, stranger!’ said Lola Adams. ‘I haven’t seen you for a while!’
‘I know, Lola, I’m sorry,’ Nina told her friend and former assistant. Their once-regular meetings for coffee had become less frequent of late. ‘But you know what it’s like when you have a kid. How is Gino, by the way?’
‘He’s great, thanks. He’s at pre-K now — he’s getting big! How about Macy?’
‘The same. At the rate she’s growing, she’ll be taller than me by the time she’s about eight!’
The big-haired blonde smiled. ‘Dr Blumberg’s in his office. You can go right in.’
‘Thank you,’ Seretse replied. ‘Nina?’
She followed the diplomat into what had once been her own office. The decor had completely changed since her last visit; unsurprisingly, since she and Eddie had crashed an airship into the building’s side while averting a poison gas attack on a meeting of world leaders, necessitating considerable refurbishment. But the layout was also different. She had positioned her desk facing the door, back to the windows to minimise the distraction of the view across Manhattan, while the new occupant had placed his workspace at one side of the room to give himself an uninterrupted outlook.
‘Ah, Oswald,’ said Blumberg, getting up to greet them. ‘And Nina Wilde too! This is a surprise. Especially after our last meeting.’
‘Hello, Lester,’ Nina replied, staying polite; after all, she wanted something from him. ‘How are things going?’
‘Very good,’ said the Minnesotan. ‘We’ve made several impressive new finds along the route of the Exodus through Egypt and Israel.’
‘Thanks to your discovery of the Ark of the Covenant,’ Seretse added to Nina.
Blumberg nodded — a little testily, she thought. ‘But we’ve made our own discoveries, too. We have a new dig in Armenia that seems very promising, and we’ve also got operations pending at Calakmul and Xi’an.’
‘Sounds like everything’s under control,’ Nina said with a small smile.
‘I like to think so. What brings you here?’
She glanced at Seretse to prompt him, figuring her request would have greater weight coming from Blumberg’s superior. ‘Nina was hoping to be granted access to the classified files relating to the Secret Codex,’ he said.
‘The Secret Codex?’ Blumberg echoed, nudging his glasses higher on his nose. ‘Like I said last time you were here, those files are classified for a reason. We don’t want treasure hunters and tomb raiders tearing up Talonor’s sites.’
‘I’m well aware of that,’ said Nina, annoyed at being patronised. ‘But I’d hope you trust me not to drop the whole thing on to Wikileaks.’
‘You are of course beyond reproach in that regard,’ said Seretse, moving smoothly to calm the waters. ‘Perhaps if you explain to Lester your interest, he may see no harm in granting your request.’
Blumberg gave her an expectant look. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘I’ve received some research relating to a find made in the nineteenth century, in Nepal. It may be connected to Talonor, but without being able to read the Secret Codex, I can’t confirm that.’
‘Talonor certainly travelled through what is now Nepal, according to the Codex,’ said Blumberg, nodding. ‘Whose work are you basing this on?’
‘Someone I hold in the highest regard — an unimpeachable source.’
‘I’ll need a little more than that.’
Nina narrowed her eyes. ‘Let me put it this way. If it hadn’t been for this person, I wouldn’t have found Atlantis, and we wouldn’t be standing here in this room, because the IHA wouldn’t exist.’
‘I see,’ said Seretse, with an understanding tip of the head. Blumberg appeared confused, so he added: ‘Surely you have read In Search of History by now, Lester?’