CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

The clouds refused to clear, and December 27 was wet and cold atop the mountain. The ruins of Monte Alban were shrouded in heavy mist, and the wind was biting as it cut through jackets and jeans. Taylor tucked her long hair up into her hat and pulled it down over her ears. Hardly the same Mexico she knew from lying on warm sandy beaches at the coastal resorts.

They walked abreast across the long open stretch of anemic grass and rocky outcrops, past the ancient structures built to appease the gods through human sacrifice. As an occasional whisper of wind sliced through the narrow cracks in the rocks, Taylor envisioned dying men and women, their voices crying for mercy as their captors disemboweled them on the cold slabs. Mercy that never came. Just death. The ruins took on a very different look when one actually thought about the horrors inflicted on helpless victims so many hundreds of years ago. Perhaps their spirits still clung to the rocks. Perhaps not.

The trio reached the massive South Platform at the far end of the complex. They peered over the edge of the plateau toward the valley floor. The mountainside was rugged, with giant slabs of stone jutting from the steep embankment. There were many places where a wrongly placed footstep would result in a tumble down the cliff side and certain death. Even in daylight it was treacherous. At night, with only moonlight to guide a person foolhardy enough to walk the edge of the cliff, it would be almost suicidal.

Ricardo sat on one of the exposed rocks and pointed at the edge. “That’s a nasty drop.”

“Fatal,” Kelly agreed.

“And this is where you want to light the fire to distract the guards,” he said.

“Yes. It has to be down at this end of the plateau. That will give us five or ten minutes to give Brand a quick look in the cave and for him to make the call.”

“Who is going to light the fire?” Ricardo asked. “Adolfo will be with Edward Brand and I at the cave. My other man will still be in Puerto Vallarta. He needs to stay until Brand is on the airplane to Oaxaca. And, Kelly, you’ll be at your desk in Washington. That leaves us one person short.”

“I’ll still be in Oaxaca,” Taylor said. “I can light it.”

Kelly shook his head immediately. “No way. It’s too dangerous. Once you light it, you’ll have to duck over the edge and make your way back to the north end by skirting the plateau. The side of the mountain is covered with rocks, and lots of them are loose. If you miss one foothold you’ll die.”

“Who else do we have?” Taylor said. “Ricardo is already here, not in Mexico City. He doesn’t know anyone in Oaxaca City well enough to bring them in. Unless we want to put things off by a week or two, I’ll have to light the fire. And every delay we have is more time for Brand to pull anchor and sail out of the marina at Puerto Vallarta. I don’t want to risk losing him.”

Kelly was silent. Ricardo said, “Taylor’s right. She’s the only one we’ve got if we want to stay on any sort of schedule.”

“Keeps her close to you as well,” Kelly said to Ricardo.

“Anywhere in Oaxaca is fine with me,” Ricardo replied evenly. “She doesn’t need to be at the ruins. But this makes sense.”

Kelly shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

Ricardo was silent, giving Kelly’s last statement the consideration it deserved. Then he said, “Is there cell phone service up here?”

Taylor shook her head. “No. We already thought of that and asked at the local phone provider. The only way to take a call or place a call from on top of the plateau is by satellite phone.”

“Do you have one?” Ricardo asked.

Taylor nodded. “We had them set up an account.”

“I’ll need the number,” Ricardo said.

Taylor nodded and started walking north, toward where she and Kelly had found the hole in the side of the mountain. “Let’s have a look at the cave.”

They walked the six hundred yards from one end of the excavation to the other in relative silence, alone with their thoughts. This was where it would play out. This was the place they had chosen to go up against Edward Brand. The plan was fraught with danger, especially considering Brand’s tendency to violence. An FBI agent had stood in his way and he’d had her murdered—shot to death in her own bathtub. Killing a couple of people who were trying to rip him off would be nothing to this man. And he would probably be armed. Brand was coming into Oaxaca from Puerto Vallarta, and that meant he didn’t have to cross an international border. Whatever weapons he had aboard the Mary Dyer would undoubtedly be with him. Nothing about the upcoming venture was very comforting.

They reached the far end of the plateau and skirted the museum and Tumba 7 before making their way to the edge of the cliff. Kelly led the way along the thin path carved into the mountainside by countless bare feet over thousands of years. Moving in single file, they reached the section of the cliff where Kelly and Taylor had found the hidden cave. Kelly got down on his belly and crawled into the dark space, Ricardo immediately behind him. Kelly flipped on the flashlight he had brought, as did Ricardo, the beams of yellow light playing off the walls and the floors. It was rugged inside the cave, the walls jagged with exposed rocks that hadn’t been worn smooth by water or wind. The floor was slippery and uneven, treacherous footing even with the flashlights. Ricardo nodded his approval as they moved from the main cave into the smaller ones deeper in the mountain.

“This is perfect,” he said. “Very believable. We just need to put a few pieces of treasure in here and cover the opening.” He allowed himself a small smile. “This might work.”

“It better,” Taylor said, venom in her words. “He’s a prick. He deserves this.”

Kelly shone his light into the smaller spaces to the rear. “This one is good,” he said. “The opening is tiny. It’ll be difficult for Brand to get inside and have a good look at the treasure. But your government official has got to get him in and out of here fast. Very fast. If he has any length of time to look things over, he’ll know he’s being scammed.”

“Adolfo will keep things under control. I trust his abilities.”

“Good,” Kelly said. “Have you seen enough?”

“I’m fine. Let’s get a rock to cover that hole. Then we need to pick up some Zapotec and Mixtec masks and goblets that we can gold plate.”

“You don’t think we could just paint them?” Taylor asked.

Ricardo shook his head. “No way. If you paint directly on top of ceramic and he touches one of those pieces he’ll know. If it’s gold plated, it’ll feel real.”

“Where the hell do we get something gold plated?” Kelly asked.

Ricardo smiled. “This is Mexico, amigo. With the right connections, anything is possible.”

“You have the right connections?”

“Of course.”

They crawled back through the tiny opening and went in search of a stone to jam in the hole. It took the better part of two hours to find one that fit, but once it was in place it was almost impossible to see anything but a slight fissure in the rocks. They tried prying it out once to see how long it would take. Six minutes, just to get the stone out and rolled a few feet down the path. They replaced the rock and returned to the parking lot. Their driver was asleep, the windows rolled down to keep some air moving through the parked car. Ricardo rattled off some staccato Spanish, and the man jerked awake and started the car. The first few turns down the windy mountain road were interesting as he continued to wake up. They reached Oaxaca City without incident and split up. Ricardo went in search of a local craftsman to take care of the gold plating, and Kelly and Taylor scoured the local shops for pieces of Zapotec art.

Time was moving ahead, closing in on the day when Edward Brand would arrive at Monte Alban. With each passing hour, the tension was mounting. They could still back off, let the man go. But to Taylor Simons, that wasn’t an option. Edward Brand was going down. She was willing to risk her life on that. Her involvement in the scam had just gone from one of observer to that of active participant. Her role was not only crucial, it was dangerous. She felt a shiver of anticipation creep down her spine as she picked up a Mixtec mask and felt its coarse texture against her skin.