The Lost Treasure Map Series (26 page)

“
Let
’s
clean up some of this mess
first,
”
Mortimer explained, brushing some of the dirt on the bed
inwards with his hand.
“
It really is only on the
bed.
”

“
If we can shift that block of stone
into the corner ...!
”
Bryson continued.

Mortimer went onto the bed, feeling it,
making sure that it did not collapse any further under his weight,
and he cleaned some dirt out of the hole, onto the bed.

Bryson and Merton joined in, and then
Mortimer wrapped the outer bed sheet around the block. Then they
lifted it off the bed, and shifted into the corner of the
room
–
out
of sight.

Bryson closed the door tightly shut, and
they left. He did not want to draw too much attention to it.

He tried to recall what group had been
working there.

As they walked into the dining room, Bryson
saw that most of the others were there.

And he sat opposite Inspector Bailey, and a
policewoman shifted from her distant seat to sit next to Inspector
Bailey.

“
What were you doing out
there?
”
Bryson asked Sarah, trying not to speak too loud, and only
put a slight noise into the background sounds.

“
We were looking for another
building,
”
she explained, trying not to look devious about
something.

She took a sip of coffee, and gently placed
it on its saucer, sensing some annoyance from them about it.

“
How did you end up away out there
though?
”

She shrugged her shoulders, showing that she
had no part in what had occurred, and that she did not wish to
explain any further than she had done.

Inspector Bailey seemed to realize that they
had not realized the trouble that they had caused.

He captured his attention for a moment, and
continued to digest a piece of potato. And he lifted a smoldering
cigarette from an ashtray, next to him, breathed it deep into his
lungs, and blew it away from him, in their general direction.

“
I heard that you had your detection
equipment at the tombs out there!
”
he muttered.

“
We did,
”
Merton replied first.

“
Why did you go back to the
tombs?
”

Mortimer reached into his jacket pocket, and
he removed the small tape recorder. Then he played with it,
activating it.

“
We left behind this noise-activated
recorder in the vault. We went out to collect it! There are some
sounds on it of the reporter going in there. He seems to have gone
back to the tombs after we left ...
”

“
You met him at the vault! What do you
think he had been doing there?
”

“
We don
’t
know,
”
Mortimer replied, switching on the
machine.
“
He could have been looking for the money. He
did not stay long. There
are
sounds on it of him going in, and us
arriving. After it, you
’ll
hear him returning there, before he went
to where he died.
”

Mortimer handed the machine over to him.

Inspector Bailey put it near his ear, and
listened.

“
That
’s
intriguing,
”
he muttered, handing it
back, looking slightly puzzled.

Bryson took it from Mortimer, wondering if
he would hear anything else on it. He had not heard it that well
the first time, because of its low battery power. And it clearly
did sound different.

He listened to the sounds of
James
’s
friends leaving, with a slight amusement. Then the reporter
arriving, when he had gone to the tomb. And he turned the volume up
to try to hear him. He instantly heard a noise of him shifting
something heavy, over stone. And, when he had returned after they
had left, he heard the sound again, similar to the noise, as if he
had returned something that he had altered.

“
What have you
found?
”
Inspector Bailey asked, noticing his reactions.

“
Do you want to go over there to
check?
”
Merton asked, guessing what was going to come
next.

“
If you wish ...
”
Inspector Bailey
answered.

“
He could
’ve
hidden something there
...
”

Chapter 48

Underground
Explorations

Inspector Bailey rushed down the vault
stairs, grasping his torch, as though he expected something
dangerous to leap out at him.

His reactions created a tense atmosphere
amongst them, making Bryson wonder if all the policemen were
reacting like him.

It was phenomenal, they were holding a full
murder inquiry over in the trees, with them still searching for
genetic evidence, as it grew dark.

Inspector Bailey was not stupid, and he did
not push things too far, if he could help it.

Bryson led Inspector Bailey over to
where the reporter had been standing. The place looked much
different in the bright light of all their torches, and he was now
able to see William Randall
’s
tomb properly.

Inspector Bailey moved at the ground,
shifting his light downwards, creating a bright circle of light
where he could closely examine the dirt.

Webs, pieces of vegetation, and layers of
dirt covered everything.

In the dim outer illumination, Bryson
watched Merton and Mortimer
’s
tense faces patiently waiting for the
outcome, or for something to occur.

Inspector Bailey placed the torch at his
side, rubbed his hands hard together, and moved his fingers as
though he were going to carry out delicate surgery. He eventually
shifted to another position, to allow them to see that there were
faint shoe marks on the ground near him.

He then started brushing the dirt away,
delicately removing it, and looking for traces of anything.

Bryson recognized a small hole in a
slab
–
surely designed for some type of lifting
contraption.

Inspector Bailey shoved a small stick in it,
and used it to give it a hard pull up, lifting the entire slab a
couple of inches.

Bryson recalled testing the floor near
there.

It was where the reporter had been
standing.

Merton shifted about breaking the deep
silence, and Inspector Bailey carefully lifted the slab.

Bryson noticed a shaft, and that it would
have prevented water flooding the vault floor. Small amounts of
water had seeped through cracks, flowing down into it.

“
Are we going to check
it?
”
Inspector Bailey asked, trying to make them come to a
conclusion.

Inspector Bailey looked uncertain at what it
was.

It reminded Bryson of the shaft that he had
seen in the room. But when he thought of it, he did not have a clue
what it was. What was a tunnel doing in a vault? Why had they gone
to such lengths to construct it? What hidden motive had been behind
it?

They had to have built it for logical
reasons, as all the constructions, which he could recall, of that
era had been built for. They had built them for their needs!

“
Perhaps it
’s
another part of the burial
chamber,
”
Merton spoke, trying to recollect something such as it; maybe
even from his memories of Egyptian tombs.

“
Therefore, we
’re
going down into
it!
”
Inspector Bailey forced himself to announce.

He pointed the light straight in front of
him, illuminating part of the ground, and a few feet further down
into it. And he lunged at it, as if he had decided that he would
have to go into it eventually. He shifted down, examining steps,
going into the darkness, which seemed to go down endlessly.

“
Are you coming!
”
he yelled back at them,
making Bryson move in next, startled at his actions.

Its main feature was its neat size, making
it resemble an ancient mine, but more expertly constructed than
that, as though built to last a long time, like an ancient
sewer.

Further in, they had cemented bricks around
it, like a Victorian sewer, which led him to believe that its age
might not be as old as the castle. But it was too much in the same
style.

The tunnel, when it stopped descending,
noticeably went endlessly on into the distance, in a direction
where there was nothing but woods, and they marched off into,
preparing themselves.

What dangers could it hold? Did it have
something of an incomprehensible nature existing in its
darkness?

All the significations of it were startling!
He had not even believed that the money could be under the wood,
and there was a tunnel going under it.

The vault vanished behind them, and it even
felt absurd that they were going so far into it. It was like
something that was out of place, and should not have been there.
Especially not at a burial site. Nothing seemed to put a conclusion
to what it had been needed for, and why they had gone to such
lengths to construct it.

Questions endlessly went through his
mind, as he followed Inspector Bailey
’s
dark figure trudging on like a
soldier into it, behind a beam of light.

He was sure that he had his gun, but his
hand did not go near it; almost as though he believed a gun would
not do any good. He seemed obsessed with handling his fantasy
situation more than anything!

“
Do you want one?
”
Merton moaned, handing him
his cigarettes, as he blew out smoke about him; and he took one
from him to break the endless routine.

He made sure Inspector Bailey took one, and
he lighted it for him.

Bryson strolled on, blissfully smoking,
wondering where they were going. They clearly were still under the
wood, roots from trees had smashed their way through the brickwork,
and they even had to avoid hitting some, going straight
through.

It was surprising that it had not flooded
with all the cracks and holes. But he saw signs that it had
occurred, and saw a thick layer of dried mud over the stones under
his feet.

There was no real chance of water leaking
through anyway, as it would only snow.

“
This could lead to that other
structure, which we were looking for in the wood,
”
Mortimer announced loudly,
from behind them.

“
But why design and build a tunnel
going from one building to another?
”
Bryson moaned back, to see what his
reply would be.

The question hung in the air for a long
time, with him trying to think of the conclusion. Even when he
illogically thought about it, he could not find an answer.

Inspector Bailey lost his temper a few
times, even with a cigarette, flaring away at his mouth, with the
smoke spinning through the thin air behind him.

The mystery of where it led to was certainly
the main inspiration that kept them going, seeking an answer,
driving them on, no matter what.

If they turned back, they would never know,
so they ought to keep going.

He realized that none of them would have
believed that it went out to that length. Inspector Bailey might
even have avoided going. His pace was slowing, his walk had
changed, and he was struggling to keep going at a fast pace.

He was sure that he wished that he had
ordered his men to go in it for him.

Bryson noticed that he took it for granted
that the tunnel had not collapsed anywhere, and that they would not
have to journey back.

There was something about that reporter and
his casual attitude that gave him the impression that it had. If it
was correct, then it surely proved that he had been in it before,
and that would count out the money being at the end of it.

Bryson spotted something, in the
distance, and his reaction instantly caught Inspector
Bailey
’s
attention. And he went slowly, with his head facing
there.

His head then went back to where it had
been, watching the tunnel about him, making sure that nothing was
in his way. But Bryson continued to examine what it was, and saw
something blocking the tunnel ahead.

Merton and Mortimer soon noticed the
problem, and Bryson attempted to hear their silent discussion. And
he saw that they did not come to any real conclusion.

As they approached it, Inspector Bailey
suddenly exploded with anger, and then held himself calm, on the
brink of losing his patience, while he marched on.

“
Why did they build a wall
there?
”
Merton finally moaned, trying to obtain an answer, to such
absurdity.

The four of them stood, resting, glancing at
individual sections of the wall.

“
They could have built another
structure there,
”
Merton remarked.
“
Where do you think this is?
”