The Prophecy

63

A few hours later, after dining on a gourmet meal in their suite, Ulster and Jones had fallen asleep in opposite corners of the room while Payne and Megan stayed awake, talking on the couch. Their conversation had covered a wide range of topics but had slowly shifted back to the events of that day, particularly the time they had spent in Lausanne.

Megan said, ‘The thing I don’t fully understand is Keller’s role in this.’

Payne shrugged, still not sure about several things. ‘The guy was good with numbers. I guess he was picked to work out the combination, so he could show us how the puzzle box worked.’

She shook her head. ‘That’s not the part that bothers me. I want to know why Nostradamus asked him to do everything else. Remember what Keller said? Nostradamus was explicit with his instructions. Before giving us the box, Keller was supposed to tell us about his bank vault and explain what he did on December the first. Why was that stuff important?’

‘You know what? That’s a good point. I think I overlooked the first part of Keller’s instructions because I was focused on the box and getting us to safety. But now that you mention it, there has to be a reason he explained everything to us.’

Megan leaned forward and touched the puzzle box. ‘If I had to guess, it has something to do with this. I’m not sure what, but something.’

Payne rubbed his eyes, trying to remember everything Keller had told them. Replaying the conversation in his mind, he focused on something Ulster had said while describing the history of puzzle boxes. Some of them were so complex they required over 200 moves to open. He even mentioned they had got off easily, opening the box in only four. ‘What are your thoughts on Keller?’

‘In what sense?’

‘How he acted today. His overall state of mind.’

‘I don’t know. He seemed kind of burdened, as if all of this was weighing him down. He definitely has some father issues. That much is certain.’

‘Did his mood change during the course of our conversation?’

She nodded. ‘He was much happier at the end. He couldn’t wait to give us the box and get us the heck out of there.’

‘Yeah, I noticed that, too.’

She glanced at Payne. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘Don’t worry about it. It might be nothing.’

‘Jon,’ she said sharply, ‘what are you thinking?’

He smiled at her. There was something about her feistiness that he really liked. ‘In my opinion, there are three likely scenarios in play. We just need to decide which one makes the most sense.’

‘Okay. What’s the first one?’

‘Keller did everything he was supposed to do, and the box is actually your treasure.’

‘I guess that’s possible. What’s number two?’

‘Keller couldn’t wait to get the box out of his life, so he stopped studying the numbers after he figured out the first combination. Remember what Petr said? Some puzzle boxes utilize hundreds of moves. What if there’s more than meets the eye to this contraption? What if there are several hidden compartments?’

She pondered his comment. ‘Maybe that’s why Nostradamus asked Keller to tell us everything he did, so we could figure out what still needs to be done with the box.’

Payne smiled. ‘Or something like that.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘Call me cynical, but I’m still not sold on the whole Nostradamus thing and I probably won’t be until Petr verifies the age of your letter and the origins of the box. Actually, I take that back. Even then, I’ll still have my doubts about Nostradamus.’

She laughed. ‘O ye of little faith. I can’t believe you’re doubting my grandfather!’

‘Your grandfather? I think you better take a closer look at your family tree. You missed a few dozen generations.’

‘Maybe so, but you have to admit this stuff is pretty mysterious.’

‘Mysterious, yes. But we’re still a long way from factual.’

‘Anyway,’ she said, not wanting to argue about it, ‘what’s scenario number three? Or have you forgotten it already?’

He shook his head. ‘Nope, I haven’t forgotten. In fact, of the three choices, this is the one that worries me the most.’

‘It worries you? What is it?’

‘What if Keller conned us?’

‘In what way?’

Payne explained. ‘What if he figured out multiple combinations and unlocked parts of the box we haven’t seen yet? Who knows what he might have found? It would certainly explain why his mood brightened at the end of our visit. He wasn’t thrilled the box was out of his life; he was thrilled that we were out of his life.’

‘But he willingly gave us the box.’

‘True, but it’s a small price to pay if he removed the description of the actual treasure and its location. Remember, the best con jobs are the ones where the victim doesn’t even know he’s been conned. What if he sacrificed the box to remove us from the equation?’

‘Why would he do that?’

‘Simple. Now he has all the time in the world to go after the treasure himself.’

Louis Keller never even heard them coming. One moment he was sleeping peacefully in his bedroom, the next his hands and feet were being tied to his bed frame. He tried to scream, but their gag prevented it. He tried to see, but their flashlight blinded him.

He was completely at their mercy.

A few minutes earlier, he had been dreaming about the profits he would make from the sale of the items. He felt the money was rightfully his — no matter what the letter had claimed. Fuck his father, and fuck Nostradamus. They had put him through hell over the past thirty-two years. In his mind, the cash was compensation for all the suffering he had endured.

Then again, suffering was a matter of perception. For all he knew, the next few minutes might be far worse than the last three decades combined.

The mere thought of it made him wet his bed.

Although he couldn’t see them, Keller knew they were hovering nearby. There were at least two people, maybe more. They moved round the room with unbelievable agility. Like ghosts. Keller closed his eyes, trying to block the potential horrors out of his mind, but that didn’t last for long. One of them tapped Keller on the bridge of his nose with the flashlight. Not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to get his attention.

‘Listen to me,’ a deep voice growled. ‘I’m about to remove your gag. If you scream, you’ll regret it. Understand?’

Keller nodded enthusiastically. As soon as the gag had been removed, he sucked in a gulp of air, praying it wasn’t the last breath he would ever take.

‘What do you want from me?’ he said meekly.

‘The truth. As long as you tell us the truth, you will not be hurt.’

‘Anything! I’ll tell you anything! Just don’t hurt me!’

‘Where’s the box?’ the voice growled.

‘I gave it away! I gave the box away!’

‘To whom?’

‘I don’t know their names, but there were four of them! Three men and a woman. I swear, I don’t know their names! They showed up this afternoon!’

‘Describe them.’

‘Two Americans. One was big, and one was black.’

‘And the other man?’

‘He was fat.’

‘And the woman?’

‘She was young. And thin. She had brown hair.’

‘Where are they now?’ the voice demanded.

Keller paused, trying to remember. ‘London! They were flying to London!’

‘And they have the box?’

‘Yes! I gave them the box.’

‘Shit!’ the man cursed. ‘What about the other items? Did you give them everything?’

‘No! I still have them!’

‘Where are they?’ the voice growled.

‘Behind you! In a plastic case on the shelf!’

‘Check it out.’ Footsteps moved across the room in the darkness. Suddenly, a second flashlight was turned on. The beam bounced from shelf to shelf in the interior of the closet until it settled on the top shelf. A moment later, the light clicked off. ‘Well?’

‘Got it,’ the second intruder replied. ‘One item.’

‘I told you,’ Keller blurted. ‘See, I was telling you the truth!’

‘Keep it up, and you’ll be fine,’ the voice whispered.

‘I will! I promise! Ask me anything!’

‘Does the box have multiple combinations?’

‘Yes! It has two!’

‘What are they?’

‘They’re dates! One is December the first. The other is the day he died!’

‘The day who died?’

‘Nostradamus!’

The voice paused. ‘Where are the other items?’

‘There were only two! And you have one!’

‘What’s the other item?’

‘A letter of instructions! It was written to me!’

‘Where is it?’

‘A friend has it at work. I’m supposed to pick it up before my flight!’

‘Your flight? Are you meeting the Americans?’

‘No! I told you, I don’t know them!’

‘Then where are you taking it?’ the voice snarled.

‘I’m taking it to Bruges!’

‘What’s in Bruges?’

‘A buyer! I found a buyer in Bruges! He’s a Nostradamus freak! Totally obsessed!’

‘What’s his name?’

‘François! His name is François!’

‘What’s his last name?’

‘I don’t know!’ Keller whimpered. ‘I swear I don’t know.’

‘Bullshit! How can you meet him if you don’t know his name?’

‘He sent me a phone! He said he’d call with directions once I landed!’

‘Where is it?’

‘Behind you on the shelf!’

‘Take a look,’ the voice ordered.

Five seconds later, his partner responded. ‘Got it.’

‘See!’ Keller said. ‘I’m not lying. I swear I’m not.’

‘What time are you expected?’

‘Seven. He’ll call tonight at seven.’

‘He’d better. If he doesn’t, we’ll come back and finish the job.’

‘He’ll call! He’ll definitely call! He wants the item badly!’

The voice paused. ‘What aren’t you telling us?’

‘What?’ Keller asked, confused.

‘You’re hiding something from us. What is it?’

Keller shook his head furiously. ‘Nothing! I swear on my life!’

‘That’s exactly what you’re doing!’

His eyes widened. ‘I swear, there’s nothing else. You know everything!’

‘If you’re lying, you’ll see us again real soon. Do you understand?’

Keller nodded, terrified of that possibility.

‘Time to go,’ his partner whispered. ‘The camera’s in place.’

‘Good,’ the voice said. ‘Cut him free so we can leave.’

‘Camera?’ Keller asked. ‘What camera?’

The voice explained the device as his partner worked on Keller’s hands. ‘We’ve placed a wireless camera in your room. It is very small but very powerful. It works in darkness and in light. Our associate will be monitoring the feed from nearby. Until midnight tonight, you are to remain in this room at all times. If you leave, he will visit you. If you call or signal for help, he will visit you. If you do anything to piss him off, he will visit you. And trust me, that is something you do not want. We are gentle compared to him. Do you understand?’

‘I understand, but…’

‘But what?’ the voice growled.

‘What if I have to use the bathroom?’

‘You already pissed the bed. One more time won’t hurt it.’

Payne and Jones crept through the woods near Keller’s house. They had managed to get him to talk without roughing him up or threatening specific acts of violence. They might have insinuated it, but the threats had not been defined. Instead, they had threatened ‘to return’ or ‘pay him a visit’, instead of saying they were going to kill him. Early on, they even promised he wouldn’t be hurt if he told the truth, yet they never said they would hurt him if he had lied.

It was a fine line, but they had done their best not to cross it.

In reality, even if they had roughed him up a little bit, it would have been understandable. Criminals were trying to kill them, and Keller had stolen an item from them that might help solve their problems. Of course, they wouldn’t fully understand the item’s significance until they reached the SUV, which had been parked a quarter of a mile away. Megan and Ulster were patiently waiting for them, not really sure what Payne and Jones had planned for Keller, although they had been promised he wouldn’t be harmed. A promise the duo had kept.

As they slipped through the night, Payne cleared his throat. Disguising his voice for so long had made it sore. ‘Do you think he believed the stuff about the camera?’

Jones laughed. ‘Definitely! I bet he’s shitting his bed right now. I’ll be shocked if he calls the cops or tries to warn anyone. You bought us all the time we need.’

‘Did you like my questions about the Americans?’

‘Those were sweet! There’s no way he’ll ever suspect it was us.’