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Don Ho College was a small, picturesque campus on the island of Maui. The neatly landscaped grounds were thick with palms, lush grass, and bougainvillea in full bloom. They quickly found the Natural History Building and located Jade’s office.
“Doctor Jade Ihara, Professor of Archaeology,” Bones read aloud. “Can you imagine having her as a professor? Get an answer wrong and she’d probably...”
Before Bones could finish the sentence, the door swung open to reveal an attractive woman with brown eyes, lustrous black hair, and no discernible smile lines.
“Hello, Bones,” Jade said flatly.
“Hey, Jade,” Bones said, unabashed. “Thanks for helping us out on short notice.”
Maddock thought that might be the most civil exchange he had ever seen between the pair. The two had been allies at times, but never friends.
“What happened to you?” Bones pointed to Jade’s left foot, which was in a walking boot.
“Climbing,” she said in a tone that indicated that was all she had to say on the matter.
“Climbing or falling?” Bones quirked an eyebrow.
“Screw you, Bones.” Jade glanced past Bones and her eyes flared. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing him along.”
Here we go, Maddock thought. For all her good qualities, Jade could hold a grudge like no other. “I didn’t have anything to do with this,” he began.
Jade turned toward him, an expression of surprise on her face.
“Oh, Maddock. Sorry, I didn’t notice you. This your girlfriend?” She reached out and shook Spenser’s hand. “I’m Jade.”
“Spenser, nice to meet you.” Spenser appeared to be almost disappointed in Jade’s bland reaction. Doubtless, she had been working herself up for some sort of confrontation, or at least an exchange of thinly veiled jibes.
“Sorry if I’m abrupt,” Jade said. “I just didn’t expect that moron to show up at my door.” She jabbed a finger in Grizzly’s direction. “He’s been trying for years to get me to work on his idiotic ancient mystery shows. I’m a scientist, not a bimbo.”
Spencer turned a delicate shade of pink and cleared her throat. Maddock gave a quick shake of his head. She made a face at him but kept her silence.
“Grant, I don’t appreciate you using these assclowns to try and rope me in,” Jade turned toward Grizzly and raised her voice. “And I really don’t like you showing up where I work.”
“Who’s an assclown?” Bones asked. Jade ignored him.
“That’s not the way it happened, I swear.” Grizzly raised his hands in mock surrender. “I just helped with the escape.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Bones said. “We’re here because once again, Maddock has stepped in it.”
“This can’t be good.” Jade folded her arms. “I’m listening.”
“You know about the Sisterhood?” Bones asked.
Jade’s eyebrows shot up. “They are involved?” She gave a shake of her head, took a step back, and swung the door open wide. “I was going to ask if you were keeping this pair out of trouble,” she said to Spenser, “but I think that question has been answered. You’d all better come inside.”
Jade’s office was decorated with Polynesian art and artifacts and weapons. Her diplomas and awards hung on the wall behind her desk. Books were stacked two high and two deep on every shelf of the bookcases that lined one wall. The subject matter was varied, reflecting Jade’s wide-ranging fieldwork. There were no photographs, no personal mementos. Typical Jade.
“Is it okay if I come in, too?” Grizzly asked from the doorway,
“Sure,” Jade said. “Fair warning, if you pitch me another project while you’re here, I’m going to punch you in the tackle.”
“I think I almost like her,” Spenser whispered in Maddock’s ear.
“She’s okay as long as you’re on her good side.”
Jade limped over to her desk and motioned for the others to sit. Several folding chairs stood in one corner. They all grabbed one and arrayed themselves opposite Jade.
“Not the most comfortable seats,” Bones said.
“That’s by design. I like to keep my meetings as short as possible. Now, tell me your story.”
Bones began to fill her in. When he described Maddock’s escape, Jade held up her hand to stop him.
“You took someone’s Bronco without asking?” she said to Maddock. “I thought you disapproved of such things.” Jade had once taken Maddock’s vehicle in a moment of ned.
“Touché,” Maddock said.
Bones continued on with the story. When he came to the end, Jade stared at him for a full five seconds.
“It was you who buzzed the Arizona? I should have known. What did you do with the plane?”
“Grizzly knew a place,” Bones said. “It’s hidden for the moment, but when it’s found, it won’t point to us.”
“Who will it point to?” Jade asked.
Bones covered a fake cough. Everyone turned to stare at Maddock. He suddenly felt hot and itchy.
“What am I missing?” Jade asked.
“Isla Mulheron appears to be in charge,” Maddock said hoarsely. “That’s who abducted me and we’re confident that’s who provided the plane to Grizzly.”
Jade was momentarily dumbstruck, then broke into laughter. Bones quickly joined in. Jade took a moment to compose herself, wiped her eyes.
“That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in weeks, maybe years. Your ex-girlfriend kidnaps you, so you come to me for help.”
“It wasn’t funny at the time,” Maddock said.
“You got away safely, so I’m allowed to laugh,” Jade sat up straight, suddenly all business. “You’re telling me you actually found the tomb of Kamehameha the Great.”
“I did. And he was holding this.” Maddock took the cylinder out of his backpack and handed it to her. “I think it’s a Sumerian cylinder seal.”
“What is a cylinder seal?” Grizzly asked. He was recording video with his smartphone.
“In many Middle Eastern cultures, a royal seal or some other image would be inscribed on a stone cylinder. You could brush ink on the outside of the cylinder and roll the image onto a flat surface like parchment.” Jadee held it up to the light. “It’s strange, though. There’s nothing carved on this one. And it’s much larger than any I’ve seen.”
“I’ll bet that’s the first time she’s ever said that to you, Maddock,” Bones said.
“Screw you, Bones,” Maddock said.
Jade gasped. Her eyes were aglow. She sprang from her seat, let out a grunt of pain, and sat back down. “I keep forgetting about my ankle.”
“You figured something out?” Maddock asked.
“I just realized what else is wrong. The seal always had a hole drilled down the center so a cord could be threaded through, and it could be worn like a necklace. This one is capped at both ends.”
“Let me see.” Bones snatched the cylinder and gave one end a twist. It spun free with surprising ease. “It’s not capped anymore.”
“Bones, you have got to stop doing that,” Jade said. “We don’t know what’s in there.”
Bones looked inside. “Looks like a golden scroll.”
“Give it to me now,” Jade said through gritted teeth. Bones handed it over. Jade looked inside, sucked in a sharp breath. “He’s right.”
From her desk, she took a pair of rubber-tipped tweezers, linen gloves, and a pair of reading glasses. Everyone gathered in close. Grizzly and Spenser were both recording on their smartphones, but Jade didn’t notice. She donned the gloves, then cast a challenging glance at Bones as she slipped on the reading glasses.
“They’re strictly for magnification.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Bones said.
“Are they always like this?” Spenser asked.
“Actually, this is the best I’ve ever seen them get along. Jade hasn’t thrown a single knife.”
Jade held the cylinder in the light of her desk lamp. Maddock saw a glint of gold.
“This is like National Treasure,” Spenser whispered.
“Yeah, but I’m much better-looking than Nic Cage,” Bones said. “And Maddock’s not quite as wimpy as his sidekick.”
Jade took a long look at the object inside the cylinder, touched it with the tip of the tweezers. “It’s solid.” A hush fell over the group as she used the tweezers to slide the object free and hold it out for the others to see. It was a scroll about three inches wide, covered in fine, regular rows of text.
“It’s Greek,” Maddock said. “Can you read it?”
“I could translate it, but I can’t sight-read. I do recognize a few words. ‘Alexander Zeus-Ammon.’”
Bones whistled.
“Who the hell is Alexander Zeus-Ammon?” Grizzly asked.
“You might know him better,” Bones said, “as Alexander the Great.”
Jade continued to scrutinize the golden scroll. Her lips moved as she struggled to read the ancient text.
“No way,” she finally whispered. She turned to the others, eyes filled with wonder. “I think I know what this is.”