Tommy stopped moving and listened carefully, trying to hear if his target was shifting in a similar fashion, but he heard nothing except the raging storm outside. He wanted desperately to say something, but he risked giving away his location if he did.
The lights flickered for a moment, and then began to burn steadily once more. Tommy brandished his weapon to the right and left, making sure Dufort hadn’t somehow snuck around to his flank. The room to the right, however, was empty. The three companions were all alone. Sean lay on the floor, looking around, then he got up and hurried over to Adriana as Tommy stepped over to her as well and kept watch of the intersecting corridor.
Dufort was gone.
“Are you okay? Can you move?” Sean mouthed to Adriana in a quiet whisper. She nodded, but winced as she did so.
The two men helped her up, and she shook the cobwebs from her head. Sean noticed her gun lying on the ground and bent down to pick it up. He offered it to her, but she waved her hand dismissively. “Keep it for now,” she said. “Let’s just get out of here.”
“What about them?” Tommy motioned toward the two bodies.
“Screw ’em,” Sean answered callously. “Let the Danish police take care of it.”
“Where do you think he went?” Adriana wondered in a hushed tone.
Sean looked around, his chest still aching. “He might have used the dark as a chance to escape. Or he might be waiting to ambush us.”
“So we’ll need to keep a close eye and move slowly.” Tommy cleared up the assessment.
“Exactly.”
They started making their way through the castle cellar in a methodical fashion, checking every cell, every stall, and every room before moving forward to the next area. Nearly thirty minutes passed before they reached the stairs leading to the first floor of the palace.
Dufort had disappeared.
Sean stowed the weapon inside his jacket before leading the way up the stairs. He reasoned that the Frenchman wouldn’t start a firefight in the middle of the palace. There would be security cameras in place as well as the potential for other tourists milling around. No, Gerard Dufort had escaped.
“Where do you think he went?” Tommy asked as they ascended the staircase. He had also tucked his weapon away in his damp coat’s inner pocket.
“I don’t know. But we’ll find him,” he said confidently.
The three crested the last step and turned the corner back into the courtyard. The rain was pouring steadily, but seemed to be slowing down, and the skies in the distance displayed a lighter shade of gray. Around the corner, the entrance to the palace remained open.
Sean pointed to the doorway. “Might as well hang out in here until the rain stops.”
Tommy stared at him with a go-screw-yourself look. “Really?” He put his hands out to display his soaked clothing. “Afraid of a little rain?”
Adriana laughed. “You must be freezing,” she said, trying to sound sympathetic over her laughter.
“I am, actually. I need to find some dry clothes.”
Sean led the other two through the open door and into the first room of the palace. The room stretched at least fifty feet in one direction and thirty feet across. The old, dark wooden floors creaked from their weight as they moved. Enormous tapestries hung from the walls, featuring faded images of Renaissance nobles and ladies on horses, surrounded by the banners and flags of their family names. Long, thick drapes of deep reds and forest greens hung from the tall windows. At the far end of the room, a fireplace was nestled in the wall. It was empty, which disappointed Tommy. He could have used the warmth, but wagered the fireplace hadn’t been used in a hundred years.
The three huddled around and watched out the windows as the storm slowly passed.
Sean stared straight ahead as he asked his friend, “Did you really find a burial mound out there?”
Tommy nodded, also not turning his head to the side, looking out at the raging sea beyond the eastern ramparts. “Yep. Pretty sure that’s the one we’ve been looking for.”
“Did you get inside it?”
He shook his head. “Going to need some equipment to move the stone. It was too heavy for just one person.”
Adriana was wondering something too. “I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but you went to find the grave before coming to our rescue?” She turned her eyes slowly toward him, genuinely confused by his actions.
“Well,” Tommy stammered, “I thought since I was outnumbered that if I could find the grave and recover the clue, I would have a bargaining chip with Dufort. You know…trade him the next golden coin for you guys.”
Sean turned his head toward his friend now. “That would have been a good idea except for the fact that A: you couldn’t get into the grave to recover whatever was there and B: Dufort would have killed us as soon as you gave it to him.”
Tommy didn’t look at either of them, instead continuing to look out the window. “I know. Believe it or not, I actually ran through that scenario in my head, which was why I decided to ambush Dufort’s bodyguards the way I did.” He paused for a second before saying, “By the way, you’re both welcome. Just saved your lives, and you’re complaining about my timing?”
There was a moment of quiet before Adriana and Sean both broke out into laughter. They simultaneously put their arms around Tommy and gave him a firm hug, but quickly let go after realizing how wet he really was.
“First order of business,” Sean said, “getting you some new clothes. Then we’ll take a look at the burial mound.”
Chapter 41
Sean and his two companions got out of the black sedan and stood on the sidewalk, staring at the building.
The modest museum had been set up as a tribute to local history by grants brought in by several wealthy philanthropists from the region, as well as a few from abroad.
Tommy had been right.
When the clouds had parted and daylight returned to Helsingor, the three companions made their way over to a mall on the north side of the city. They purchased some new clothes for Tommy, then found a hardware store where they procured some digging equipment and crowbars.
Tommy made a few calls to some of the local authorities and worked out a temporary dig permit for the historical site. It was approved on the proviso that a native historian observe the dig, and that all findings be donated to Kronborg Castle’s gallery of artifacts.
It took a few days for the permit to come through, which meant that Sean and company had to find lodgings in the small town. Fortunately, they were able to get a quaint little apartment through an Internet website that rented rooms and entire homes to tourists all over the world for an affordable price.
While they waited, Sean and his companions explored the shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, and specialty stores that Helsingor had to offer. Tommy was in heaven at the cheese maker, a shop that offered hundreds of different cheeses for the discerning palate. A few doors down, the smell of freshly baked bread wafted out of a bakery. Loaves of wheat, rye, sourdough, white, Italian, and French bread lined a glass case just inside the window. Behind the counter, a blond man in his midfifties, wearing a white apron, smiled as people came and went, eagerly spending their currency for a taste of the best bread in town.