The Grotto's Secret: A Historical Conspiracy Mystery Thriller (21 page)

84

Although Zelda had tipped him off that Kelby was home recuperating from her car accident, Barker hadn’t been able to find her.

The cat incident had forced her underground. He had searched her house again with no sign of her or her security guard. Then he’d called Zelda, demanding more information. Despite her snooping on Jimmy’s calls, she hadn’t found anything. Kelby had disappeared.

A loud buzz brought Barker out of his thoughts. He grimaced at his phone. ‘Yes, Gorden, what can I do for you?’

‘The tables have turned.’

‘What?’

‘I know you’re after rizado, but Jurgen has Olaf on the case too.’

‘Why?’

‘He doesn’t think you’ll find it.’

Barker put his phone on loudspeaker so he could sip his camomile tea.

‘He knows your source.’

For a moment, sparks fused Barker’s anger. He had seen this coming. When he’d told Gorden about rizado, he realised Jurgen would stick his kraut nose into his plans. But he had expected to find it before that happened. He took another sip of camomile and said in his calmest tone, ‘What’s Olaf going to do that I can’t?’

‘Think this through. Olaf has resources that belong to the devil.’

‘What tag is he implementing?’

‘Two.’

At that level of priority, Jurgen had taken over. ‘Why did you let him get involved? You know what happened to Wade.’

‘Wade was another story. He knew about the lab’s body count.’

Barker stared at his phone.

‘Besides, he threatened to take MG’s secrets to the press. We couldn’t let him stop our research.’

‘You shouldn’t have snuffed him.’ Barker wondered whether he shouldn’t have got Gary the job at MG. ‘Well.’ he continued, ‘I couldn’t tell you this before, but Wade was the source of the sample.’

‘What?!’

‘He had an accident on that training thing he did in Spain. He came back with a small scar on his arm and said it had slit open and someone had given him this stuff which healed the wound. It sounded like puffery to me, but we got our scientists onto the sample he brought back.’

‘Did you find out where he got it?’

‘No, as much as Olaf tried, he couldn’t find a thing. We had people there doing the same route Gary did, but nothing.’

‘Did he go with anyone? Maybe they know.’

‘Tried that too. We offered his cycling mate the world to let us in on the secret, but he played dumb.’

Barker sighed; he had liked Kelby’s brother. The guy had been young and energetic and ready for anything.

‘You there?’

Barker heard the panic in Gorden’s voice. ‘Why are you telling me this?’ He didn’t trust the runt. He wouldn’t be surprised if Gorden was playing Jurgen. And vice versa. Cheats, he hated. Playing them at their own game, he loved.

‘I think Jurgen will order Olaf to go straight to a three, so I wanted to see what you could get first.’

‘Let me get this straight. You want me to find rizado before Olaf does.’

‘That’s what I said.’

‘Why, Gorden? Don’t you trust Jurgen to share it with you?’

Silence. Ah, ha. As he suspected.

‘If you want me to beat Olaf and Jurgen, you need to come clean.’

‘About what?’

‘Where are your scientists doing the rizado tests?’

Silence again.

‘Gorden, think about this. You work with Jurgen because you have to. Your new drugs have to pass through his agency. Whether you want to get rizado onto the market or stop it doesn’t matter to me. I will find it anyway and do what I want with it.’

‘Your point?’

‘Jurgen is a powerful man. Possibly more powerful than you. You said a few minutes ago that Olaf has the devil’s resources. Those resources don’t come easily, even to paid thugs. They come from Jurgen, buying in whatever is needed to get the job done.’

Barker waited for his words to sink in.

Losing sight of Kelby, he hated. Keeping people at his fingertips,
he loved.

‘If you give me everything you have on rizado, I will find it quicker. And you can tell Jurgen to go fuck himself.’

Barker enjoyed hearing Gorden clearing his throat. The fat runt was squirming. He had him where he wanted him.

Another ace in his game plan.

If he found out their rizado secrets, he could decide where to take the stuff when Kelby found it. If they were genuinely interested in keeping it on the market, he could name his price. If they weren’t, he’d suck them dry of information and find a buyer. Even if it meant taking it to the black market.

Gorden hesitated and said, ‘Okay.’

Barker smiled inwardly. It was about time Gorden revealed his part in the closely guarded conspiracy.

85

Kelby’s hand clutched her mouth to stop herself inhaling the pond’s fishy smell. ‘This is rizado?’

‘Maybe.’

‘But I thought rizado was a herb. Isn’t this moss?’

‘No. Moss grows best in damp places. But it’s a simple plant with no root.’ He dangled the weedy thing in the air, his usually spotless fingers caked in mud. ‘See, this has a root. It’s a herb, smell it.’

Kelby leaned over and inhaled deeply. The herb’s pungent scent filled her head with crazy thoughts of staying right here in this secret grotto with him.

‘Remember rizado’s full name in the journal?’

‘Yes, Marina said rizado meant curly.’

‘Uh, huh. It also means frizzy, see the leaves.’ Roy spread the tiny fronds apart and rubbed each one between his fingers. ‘Feel it.’

Kelby followed his example and groaned, ‘Eeuw. It’s sticky as hell.’ She bent down and wiped her fingertips on the grassy bank.

‘The rest of its name is
pícaro
. That’s Spanish for “rogue”.’

‘You don’t expect herbs to grow on rocks.’

‘Exactly! Marina searched to see if there was anything like rizado growing anywhere else in the world. And there isn’t.’

Kelby dipped her hands in the pond to get rid of the awful stickiness. She glanced at her hand in the cool water and cried out, ‘Yuck!’ Yanking them out, she pointed to a slick of slime clinging to the rocks. ‘Look!’

Frowning, Roy leaned over and ran his hands through the water. Each time he lifted a wad of the algae, most of it slipped through his fingers, leaving a frothy slime in his palms.

With both hands leaning on the pond’s stony bank, Kelby angled closer to get a better look. Shoulder to shoulder with him, she asked, ‘What’s that?’

‘I’m sure it’s plankton.’

‘I thought plankton only lived in the sea.’

‘No, they can thrive in any surface water.’ He held her gaze. ‘Some rare varieties make the water green because of the chlorophyll in their cells.’

Kelby flicked a piece of slime off his palm.

‘They get their energy through photosynthesis and need a well-lit surface layer. The organic pigments give it colour.’

‘So?’

‘The pigmentation nutrients are the medicines! It’s the colour in the plankton that has the most potent medicine.’

Kelby nodded thoughtfully, ‘Okay, what’s this got to do with rizado?’

‘Maybe the rizado has fed off the plankton for centuries. And phytoplankton is such an important source of oxygen,’ his voice rose with excitement,
‘¡Por dios!
By God, of course! It could also protect human life!’

‘What do you mean?’ Kelby coughed to force the huskiness out of her throat. She wasn’t sure if he could sense the air prickle as much as she did. Being up against him and discovering a secret that could change the world, turned her insides to mush.

‘Phytoplankton bypasses the body’s essential energy currencies, so you feel a lift almost immediately on ingesting it. This is probably rizado’s secret.’

Kelby’s eyes were glued to him. The combination of his presence, the herb’s heady scent and their incredible discovery was impairing her attentiveness. ‘I don’t get it.’

Still fondling the slimy plant, Roy explained, ‘The plankton releases key nutrients into the water, so maybe the rizado can only live in this one pool.’

‘What if it was planted into another plankton source?’

‘Not sure if it needs these conditions to thrive. Scientists say that phytoplankton is one of the world’s most important plants. They’re even saying it’s the future for pharma.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it provides the earth with over ninety per cent of our oxygen.’ He shifted on his knees. ‘And it’s got every mineral needed by us mortals. It’s a power house of healing.’

Kelby sat up straighter with a sharp intake of breath.

Roy said, ‘It could even cure cancer!’

86

Kelby stared at Roy. ‘Cancer? This slimy green stuff could fight cancer?’

‘It’s got to be tested first, Kelby,’ Roy said, ‘But plankton contains hundreds of potent phytochemicals that work in synergy to protect the body’s tissues. So it’s possible.’

The corner of Kelby’s mouth tugged into a smile as she watched him use slimy green fingers to count the benefits.

‘It cleans the blood and removes toxins.’ He tapped another finger. ‘It also enhances oxygenation and circulation.’ Another slimy finger flicked up. ‘It reverses abnormal cell division that can lead to cancer.’ Roy stopped talking and waited for his words to sink in.

‘How do you know this?’

He slipped off his shoes, rolled up his trousers and waded into the middle of the pond. ‘I did my thesis on the use of traditional herbs in modern medicines.’

Kelby raised her eyebrows. No wonder he raved about herbs. None of the doctors she had encountered before, had approved of natural treatments.

Kelby focused on the undiscovered plant resting in his palm. This could help sick people. Those who spent so much time living in and out of hospital. They needed to find a way to make sure it reached the right people. Not just those who wanted to make money from it. It could mean a breakthrough in medicine.

Roy stood and ambled around the pond, calling over his shoulder, ‘It’s like a whole food medicine.’

‘Food medicine?’ Kelby tried to absorb the medical facts. This kind of techno jargon wasn’t her bag.

‘Yeah, because it contains hundreds of vital nutrients. They work together to alkalise the system, nourish the cells and strengthen the immune system.’

After a few paces, he dropped to his knees again and dangled his hand into more green sludge. Kelby followed and used a broken twig to poke at the algae.

‘I’ve read that if we took one teaspoon of phytoplankton a day it would save us from degenerative diseases. And yes, it could be the cure for cancer!’ He threw his hands in the air and shouted with joy, ‘
¡Cáspita!
Imagine what rizado could do!’

Kelby enjoyed watching how his body became animated, like a boy with a new toy.

‘This is amazing, Kelby.’ He yanked more rizado out from under another rock. Kelby watched as he smeared the frizzy leaves across the top of the rock turning it into a sticky paste. He turned to her and smeared the paste between his hands and opened them to her.

‘Kelby, this could help Annie. Phytoplankton helps with asthma and skin disorders.’

Her eyes widened. ‘Really?’

‘But I mustn’t get too excited. It hasn’t been tested.’ His gaze fixed on Kelby. ‘I want to take some rizado home to test it. I also need water samples to check the plankton.’ He suddenly stopped wading and cursed, ‘Damn!’

‘What?’ She thought he had stubbed his toe.

‘I didn’t bring a test tube.’

‘Oh, wait.’ Kelby scrambled around and dug in her handbag for the coffee shake bottle. She dipped it into the pond at a spot where the algae wasn’t spreading across the top and rinsed out the dregs of the coffee a few times. Then, she held it high. ‘Ta-dah. A water sample.’

Roy guffawed. ‘You’re a great companion. You found the map, and now you’ve come up with ways to prove rizado’s properties.’

Kelby glowed. ‘It’s not sterile, but it should get you started.’ Her voice dropped, ‘I’m not sure how or why, but I feel as though this is another link in the chain at discovering what happened to Gary.’

‘Yes, I keep hoping we’ll see something that looks like the symbol he gave you.’

Kelby gazed around the secluded pond. ‘Me too. This place is amazing. I can see why it’s never been discovered.’

Roy followed her eyes. ‘It’s hidden behind the woodlands on land that’s been privately owned for hundreds of years. Can’t go wrong there.’

‘And it looks like a pile of rocks. Nothing interesting from the outside.’

‘And even if it was found, who would know that this,’ he curled his fingers into quote marks in the air, ‘“moss” could heal the world?’ Roy waded back to the grassy bank and stepped up beside her.

Kelby whispered, ‘That’s why Ana-María’s grotto has kept its secret for centuries.’

‘We found her secret. You and me. It’s taken centuries, but
we
did it. What a team we are.’

They stared at each other in silence. The thread thickened as though an invisible silkworm wove it around them, encapsulating them into their own cocoon.

Kelby pulsated with excitement. ‘The possibility of Annie and other people with long-term illnesses being healed is overwhelming. If Gary knew his death might give us a way to save his daughter —’ She choked up.

Roy dropped the rizado and stepped closer, so close that her eyes struggled to focus on his face at such close range. His breath caressed the fine hairs on Kelby’s cheek. Without thinking, she stepped even nearer to him. They stood for a moment staring into each other’s eyes. Gradually, with a shy awkwardness, Roy pulled her towards him and brushed his lips against hers. A moment later, as though suddenly realising he shouldn’t be doing that, he pulled back.

But Kelby tilted forward and nuzzled the tip of her nose along each of his eyebrows in turn. Before she had finished, his mouth met hers, this time without hesitation. They stood beside the rizado pond locked in an embrace.

And the world around them paused.

Suddenly Kelby’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She jumped and grabbed it, flinching as she read:

The rich bitch even allows a cat into hospital.

Her finger flicked open the attached image. Kelby gasped as a spasm of pain bolted through her. In the photo, Annie, still wired up through her nose, smiled at Fat Cat curled up on her hospital bed.