[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Adam held back a little as the rest started to disperse slowly toward the cars, watching as
some of the attendees plucked grass and cast it behind them. Several more paused to set
small stones on the grave, bowing their heads in what Lawrence had told him was an
Israeli custom, asking forgiveness for any injustice they might have committed against
the deceased. Bowing his head, Adam added his own silent promise to Nathan to
persevere in the task set before him, even though it seemed overwhelming at present. He
had just turned to join the rest, heading toward the car in which he had ridden with
several of Nathan s distant relatives, when Peter Fiennes detached himself from the
immediate family, leaving his mother in the care of his brother, and came to fall into step
beside Adam.
 Thank you again for being here, he said quietly. He hesitated slightly, then added,  I
didn t realize you were so familiar with Hebrew ritual. Your accent is almost better than
mine.
 I owe my instruction to your father, Adam said with a faint smile.  When he and I
were both at Cambridge, a close friend of mine was drowned in a boating accident, and I
asked your father to teach me to pray Kaddish in Hebrew for him. It s one of those
universal prayers that speaks from the heart of mankind. Nathan always maintained that
a common thirst for communion with the Divine was what united all truly spiritual
people, whatever their formal religious affiliations might be.
Peter accepted this tribute with a wan smile.  That sounds like Dad, all right. He was
lucky to have you for a friend. If anyone can recover the Seal for him, I know you can. I
wish there were more I could do to help, besides just drive you to the airport in a couple
of hours.
 Just pray for our success, Adam said,  and I mean that quite literally. He smiled and
added,  Actually, there is one, more concrete thing you could do, and that s to let me take
the rest of your father s notes away with me for further study. It s beginning to look like
we need to speak with Henri Gerard, but we still don t know exactly what we re up
against. Also, if anything else should turn up in the next few days, or you should think of
anything that might have bearing, please let me know.
ABC Amber LIT Converter
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
ABC Amber LIT Converter
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
 I ll do that, of course, Peter agreed.  And do take the notes, by all means.
In your hands they may do some good.
 I devoutly hope so, Adam said. In his own mind was the thought that if Nathan was to
rest easy in his grave, he and McLeod were going to have their work cut out for them.
Back at the Fiennes home afterwards, where many of those present at the funeral had
retired to offer their condolences and share a light repast of bagels and coffee, Adam
excused himself to go upstairs and pack, then moved into Nathan s study where, after
packing up the rest of Nathan s notes in a briefcase he found there, he rang McLeod at his
office, charging the call to his home number.  Hullo, Noel, he said without further
preamble.  Any progress on Gerard?  A bit - for all it s worth, McLeod said without
enthusiasm.  The address and telephone number we found for him are good, but Gerard
isn t there. To make a long story short, he s supposedly gone off to Cyprus on a four-
week camping holiday.
 That s convenient.
 Yes, I thought so, McLeod agreed sourly.  According to my friend Treville, our boy
purchased a round-trip air ticket to Nicosia and picked it up from the travel agent s on
Monday of last week. He paid for it with a credit card. His bank records show that he
drew a substantial amount of money from his standing account the selfsame day.
 How substantial?
 Nearly ten thousand pounds - more than he d need for any camping holiday, McLeod
replied.  But Gerard is known to be a collector of antiquities. It could be argued that he
simply wanted to have sufficient cash on hand, in case he ran across any irresistible finds
while on holiday. Treville s men are still trying to find out if he bought any camping gear
recently, but again it could be argued that he already had what he needed in the way of
kit. So you be the judge.  If it s a cover story, it s a reasonably useful one, Adam
allowed.  I wouldn t fancy having to track down the whereabouts of a camper on the
move. Has anyone verified that Gerard actually made the trip?
 Treville had Interpol check it out, McLeod said,  and they checked with the Cypriot
authorities. Both the airline and the passport-control people show in their records that on
Wednesday the eleventh, a Monsieur Henri Gerard got on the plane in Paris and got off
again in Cyprus. But you and I both know that doesn t necessarily mean anything. With
enough cash and a forged passport, our boy could have bought another ticket out to
London within hours of his arrival on Cypriot soil, and departed thence without anyone in
Nicosia being the wiser.  So much for that lead, then, Adam replied.  What next?
 Oh, I m not finished, McLeod said.  Bearing in mind what Peter Fiennes said about
Gerard being something of a nutter, I asked Treville if he d get somebody to look into
Gerard s psychological background. He made the inquiries himself, and it turns out that
ABC Amber LIT Converter
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
ABC Amber LIT Converter
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
our boy has a history of emotional instability. His colleagues in French antiquarian circles
say that Gerard s interest in the Knights Templar amounts to something of an obsession;
he s fanatically convinced that all the charges laid against them were true, and has set [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]