The Lost Treasure Map Series (30 page)

Why had he not just left it until they had
gone from the castle though?

To his surprise, he watched Inspector Bailey
swiftly leave where he had been, to go over to one of his men. The
policemen then grouped about them. And Bryson moved there, and he
saw an electronic device in his hand, which he had removed from
between the brick spaces at the edge of the fireplace. The
policeman had shone a pocket torch into it, trying look behind the
bricks.

They viewed it without saying anything.

“
It
’s
a microphone,
”
Inspector Bailey whispered, at his
ear.
“
That
guy has planted a bug in here!
”

Bryson instantly shut up, feeling fairly
astonished that the killer could be out there listening to
them.

In fact, it was incredible! He had believed
that he might have been watching them, and he had been listening to
them.

The policeman, acknowledging something,
carefully placed it back into its place of concealment, and they
marched out of the door, and then out of the castle.

At the front of the building, he saw that
Inspector Bailey now looked different, and he realized that they
could finally have something. If they played their cards right,
they could perhaps persuade the person to go somewhere, and trap
him.

“
What if there are more of those
things about?
”

Inspector Bailey realized the implications
of it.

“
Where do you think they would
be?
”

“
The places that we occupied the
most,
”
Bryson replied frankly, wishing that they would just solve
the crime.

Two policemen left towards a police car, and
Bryson left to go to the library, to warn them.

Everywhere that they occupied was a
potential zone that could have the devices. But how good was the
device? He had never seen it before, or tested what it could do.
Yet if that guy had a van packed full of equipment out there, he
could even pick up a good signal from the weakest device. Or
receiving equipment nearby, where it could receive a powerful
signal? Had that been what he had been doing in the wood?

He could recall devices that had been
attached to animals
–
used to track them
–
and that they used satellite
technology. The device could easily send out signals like a mobile
phone.

For some reason, he accepted that they could
not track the person listening in. Yet he was sure that the
technology existed.

Bryson tried to think of the places near him
that could have them, as he approached the library.

Merton and Mortimer were waiting for
him.

“
You took your time,
”
Merton explained, with a
sudden smile.

“
We
’ve
found something. But I cannot discuss it
at the moment!
”

Merton wondered why, and dropped his
book.

“
We
’ve
looked through it enough
...
”
Mortimer assured him.

“
We
’re
going to put the equipment up on the top
floor!
”
Mortimer uttered, standing.

“
That
’s
a good idea,
”
Bryson replied.
“
I
’ll
tell you what we have found, once
we
’re
up
there.
”

Mortimer thought about it, and dismissed
it.

Bryson wondered if there was anything up
there, as they left to move the equipment.

Chapter 54

The Bugs

Bryson had vivid recollections of his
original thoughts of the upper floor, as they entered the room. And
he had sneaking suspicions that they were going to be returning
there at night.

None of them had been anywhere near there at
night.

As the scientists started setting up
the equipment, he considered the others
’
reactions to them going
there.

“
What were those policemen doing
then?
”
Merton eventually asked.

“
What?
”
Bryson asked.

“
They
’re
searching the
rooms!
”

“
It must remain a secret
...!
”

“
Why?
”
Mortimer asked, trying to see
him.

“
They searched the dining room, where
that intruder had been last night, and they found a bug hidden next
to the fireplace.
”

“
He bugged the dining
room?
”

“
And they believe that that there
could be more of them about the castle.
”

“
So what are they going to do
then?
”
Merton asked.

“
I
’m
not sure yet. But they may be able to catch
him! They left it in the dining room, and they
’re
searching the castle for
more.
”

“
We
’d
better watch what we talk about down
there!
”

Bryson noticed that they were already
starting to turn silent.

Mortimer looked about him for
something, and remembered something.
“
That camera is still out
there!
”

Bryson instantly froze! He had forgotten
it.

“
That
’s
right,
”
Merton answered, seeing his
expression,
“
that intruder came through that tunnel last
night.
”

“
He should show up on
it!
”

“
But he went through there twice. Once
to enter, and the second to leave.
”

“
And it
would have filmed the reporter, and anyone that might have passed
there.”

Merton and Mortimer rushed about setting up
their equipment, at the exact positions that they had carefully
thought out, and had done before.

“
Let
’s
go and fetch it
then,
”
Mortimer said, once he had finished something.

“
It could snow!
”

Chapter 55

The Forgotten
Camera

The police had affected the others with their
behavior, and searching all over the castle. Yet Bryson was
positive that they did not suspect what they were doing.

Some of them even indicated to him that they
had been checked by them, for some reason.

As they were about to leave through the
front door, Inspector Bailey approached them.

He realized that they had some equipment
brought in to detect the bugging devices better.

Bryson avoided asking any questions about
their search, as he could not decide whether he should tell them
that he had told Merton and Mortimer.

“
Where are you
going?
”
he
inquired, searching his face, almost as if he suspected him of
something, but was not quite sure what.

“
We forgot that we also had a camera
out there,
”
Bryson uttered.
“
It
’s
an infrared camera, and it might have
captured that guy last night?
”

“
You had a camera filming something
out there?
”

Bryson saw an expression of astonishment,
hidden beyond his weak smile expression. And he was sure that he
now had some sort of plan to capture the person.

“
It was filming the
vault!
”

He had left it there as long as he could,
now it was time to check what it had captured.

“
I
’ll
be extremely interested in that
film,
”
he
finally muttered, looking at the deep snow with
contempt.

“
We
’ll
bring it straight back,
”
Merton explained, following
them to the wood.

“
Wait!
”
he called out.
“
Take one of my officers with
you. It
’s
too valuable!
”

Inspector Bailey glanced at one of his
officers, and he joined them.

He obviously was a good runner, and he had
chosen him for it. And he was capable of helping them handle any
trouble that they might encounter.

There was a chance that the person
could do something
–
if he had heard them leave the castle, and
spotted them collecting the camera.

But the detective had a gun, and he
persistently showed that he had it, as he followed them into the
wood. And they sensed that he was ready for action.

Yet there were no signs of anything about
them.

Where was the person? Was he capable
of reaching there? The police were covering the roads: he had
overheard it, from the detective
’s
radio, under his outer jacket.

If he did something, and escaped, it would
prove that he had a place in the outer radius of the estate.

Yet he could even be staying in a tent, like
mountain and Arctic explores did. They only had a few days left,
and he only needed to stay there that long.

Bryson realized that they would not have
found the body if it had been a day later, as it and the prints
would have been buried deep under the snow, and they would still be
searching for the reporter.

His skeleton might even have been found
years later, partially buried in the ground.

The wood could have many of them, from what
those newspapers suggested about those things stalking there, over
the centuries.

Once at the structure, Bryson and Mortimer
went into it, while Merton remained outside with the detective.

They went down to the tombs. Then they
carefully noted that the entrance to the tunnel had dirt over it.
The person had covered it over after leaving it!

Bryson then climbed up the tree, and got the
camera.

And, as they approached the castle, heavy
snow started to fall, covering all their prints.

At the castle, it was almost dark, and the
snow was whirling about them. And Inspector Bailey rushed out to
meet them.

“
Is there anything on
it?
”
he
uttered, affected by the wind and spinning snow.

“
Let
’s
check it at our
room!
”
Mortimer replied.

“
We
’ve
not checked there yet, so try to remain as
silent as possible.
”

“
Have you found more of
them?
”
Bryson asked, realizing that Inspector Bailey took it for
granted that he had told Merton and Mortimer about the
bugs.

“
We
’ve
found a great deal of them
–
all about the
castle!
–
in places such as the dining room. Someone has gone to a
considerable amount of trouble to listen to all of you.
That
’s
not
all
–
that
one in the dining room is not working properly, and we believe that
the person was either trying to see what was wrong with it or
trying to fix it.
”

“
So what are you doing
now?
”

“
I
’m
going to keep my men ready, in case he
reappears.
”

“
You may have to do more than
that!
”

“
What like?
”

“
What about sabotaging a few important
bugs, to force him into reappearing?
”

“
We did that, earlier
today!
”

He nodded in agreement.

“
We may acquire a faint image of him
them,
”
Inspector Bailey muttered, examining the extraordinary look
of the camera, Mortimer held.

The four of them rushed through the doorway,
back into the now warm castle.

Bryson thought of what he could have
overheard, and what had been the most important things that they
had said, which they would not want him to hear (but it was almost
hopeless, as they had even mentioned the tunnel at some places).
And he could only make a guess at what he might know, and hope that
they had not wrecked what might be their only opportunity to catch
him.

Once in the room, Mortimer removed a laptop
from a case, and Merton set it up on the bed. Then he wired the
camera to it, and captured what it had collected.

The picture appeared, on the small screen,
showing freak gusts of wind vigorously blowing branches about, with
large amounts of snow falling from the tree.