Tommy reached the end of the file and sighed. "I don't understand," he said, frustrated. "It should be in there."
"Maybe she took it with her," Reece offered.
Tommy considered the idea for a brief second and then shook it off. "No. According to what we know about Annie, she wouldn't dare take something out of the building, no matter how interesting or tempting it might have been. If she found the paper here, then it must still be here."
"Maybe there is another room," Adriana suggested as she approached.
"That's possible," Tommy said.
"Then perhaps I should ask your friend there if there is anywhere else we should check."
Sean gave up on his file and moved back over to Tommy's. "Mind if I go through this one, you know, just in case?"
"Be my guest," Tommy said. "Maybe you'll have better luck."
Sean didn't respond. He stepped between Tommy and the row of papers and folders. Then he wedged his hands between two random sections and pulled the two ends apart. There were good amount of files on either side, but Sean was able to get enough space between the two to see down to the bottom of the drawer.
Lying there — inconspicuous beneath the other folders and files — was a single sheet of drab paper encased in protective plastic. Sean's lips creased on the right side of his face. He turned his head to the museum director, who was busy pecking away at the keyboard. "Mr. Kurt?"
The man looked up from his computer.
"Do you happen to have a pair of handling gloves?" Sean asked. "It's wrapped in plastic, but better safe than sorry."
Tommy moved close and stood on his tiptoes to see over Sean's shoulder. He sighed. "Always gotta show me up, huh?"
Chapter 9
"Mr. Wyatt, I really must insist…" Wilbur was beyond irritated at this point.
After the museum director brought Tommy a pair of white gloves, he stepped back and watched as his American hero pulled the plastic-covered paper out of the drawer and placed it on the work desk.
If that had been where the saga ended, he would have been okay. It was what happened next that drove him up a wall.
He stood by and watched as Sean and Tommy stretched out the paper and pressed it hard against the surface of the work table.
"Wilbur," Sean said, "I appreciate the concern… and the lack of trust, but I'd appreciate it if you'd not bother me while I'm working with a potentially priceless and most certainly delicate document."
The two friends finished pressing the paper out flat and then covered it with a thin plastic film Wilbur had provided.
"I just think perhaps maybe you should let Mr. Schultz… I mean, Tommy… handle this sort of thing. It isn't the kind of work…" He stopped himself.
Sean finished the thought for him. "The kind of work grunts like me should be doing?"
Wilbur twisted his head to the side and backed down. Before he could say he didn't mean to offend, Sean cut him off.
"None taken, Wilbur. You're right. This sort of thing isn't usually my bag, but I'm better than nothing."
"Plus he's done this with me dozens of times," Tommy added amid an extremely concentrated stare. He'd not taken his eyes off the document during the entire process of the transfer.
Tommy's comment eased Wilbur's mind somewhat. "Just be careful. I can't believe Annie didn't tell me about this."
Sean leaned over the table. "Well, I'm sure she had a good reason for what she did."
Before Wilbur could rebut, Tommy stood up straight. "All done. Now it's protected from the air. Hopefully it hasn't sustained much damage."
Wilbur couldn't remove his gaze from the old paper. "I apologize, gentlemen, but what exactly were you trying to understand about this document?"
Tommy kept up the charade to keep Annie out of any sort of implication. "You see here," he pointed at the paper. "It's talking about some Aborigine treasure. Apparently this treasure is not insignificant."
Wilbur's reaction was dubious. "I've never heard of any Aboriginal treasure. They typically aren't a people who care for such things."
"Right," Tommy said. "That's what we figured too. That's why it must not be just a financial sort of treasure. Whatever this is, it must have some kind of spiritual meaning to them."
"Of course, something like that would be worth a lot of money," Reece added. "It'd be like the King Tut's tomb of Australia."
Reece's comment lit up Wilbur's eyes again. The visitors could see his mind racing with the possibilities. They knew what he was thinking as soon as the words dripped out of Reece's mouth.
"Incredible," Wilbur whispered. "And… and you think if I help you with this… I mean if you find this thing… would you be willing to let me display it here for a short time?"
Tommy's eyes narrowed like he was about to share a personal secret. "Let me put it this way, Wilbur. I won't forget your help, and I'll make sure the guys at the national place get in line behind you."
Wilbur could barely contain his excitement. The visitors half expected him to squeal. "So what do you think it all means?" He looked back down at the Mathews paper.
The visitors huddled around and read through it again. None of them needed to. They'd pored over it a dozen times already before arriving. Their show was for Wilbur's benefit, and Annie's.
The Americans had another reason for wanting to see the original copy. They hoped there was something else the digital version wouldn't show. As they stood around — gazing at the document — they realized it had nothing left to offer.
"Well," Tommy finally answered, "we're not entirely sure. These directions are fairly vague. It sounds like we should visit this Baiame place."
"Baiame? Like the ancient Aboriginal god?" Wilbur asked. "There's a cave to the north of the city where some cave drawings feature that deity. Do you think maybe that's what the document is talking about?"
The visitors had already surmised that was the next place they needed to visit. No need to cut the act now.
"How far away is this place?" Sean asked.
Wilbur shrugged. "Depends on how fast you drive, traffic, that sort of thing. But not too far."
They'd seen and heard enough. Sean, Tommy, and Adriana badly needed some rest. Reece's eyes were starting to get droopy as well. Time to wind it up and head to the hotel.
"What about this mention of forty-five suns?" Wilbur said.
"It's the way they tracked time in the ancient world," Tommy answered. "Remember, everything was based on the movement of the sun, moon, and stars back then. These circles are suns, as best we can figure. And they stacked them this way to demonstrate multiple days."
"Of course." The museum director almost smacked his forehead with his hand for not thinking of it.
Tommy still wanted to know about one other possibility. They needed to search the desk where Annie found the document. It might still contain something useful. "Wilbur, you don't know where Annie found this thing?"
"No," Wilbur answered. "I haven't the foggiest." Then it hit him. "Wait, you said you'd obtained something about that information prior to coming here."
Tommy beamed as if he was about to reveal a big secret — a continuation of the act. "That's right, Wilbur. You want to know what's been right under your nose this whole time without you knowing?"
The museum director nodded eagerly.
"Perhaps you could save us some time. Do you happen to have any antique desks sitting around in here?"
"As a matter of fact, we do have one. It's on the other side of the room. Follow me."
Wilbur led the way by the row of boxes and the other six rows filled with all sorts of trinkets and precious items from yesteryear. He turned the corner and pointed at a large wooden desk down toward the other end of the row.