Eye in the Sky Bk 02: Artifact Ch. 03

"Maybe the book tells what it is," Kane gingerly opened it up a little and looked inside. "I don't know what this language is."

The others peeked at the writing. "It's one of the romance languages, I'm pretty sure," Oliver said. "Some of the words are common with Spanish. It may be Italian or Portuguese, but I can't read enough of it to know what it's about. Maybe we could find someone to take a look."

"If we were at the University I could find someone," Kane said. "I have no idea where to find someone that knows antiquities in the Caribbean."

"I know the head of the English department at the University of the Virgin Islands. I'll give him a call and see if he can recommend someone."

They were all very excited about the find and speculation ran rife about the possible origins of the artifacts. There was no way to get any information until after the weekend, so they just concentrated on cleaning up the buckle to see if they could identify any of the symbols.

Ben found an old toothbrush and they soaked the buckle for a while and then scrubbed it with the toothbrush. Oliver brought a large magnifying glass into the library and turned a bright reading lamp on the buckle.

The writing was very faint but as best as they could make out it seemed to be a man's name: Rodrigo de Jerez. Kane searched the name on her computer. She clicked the first link and made a startling discovery.

"It says that Rodrigo de Jerez was a crewman on the Nina."

"You mean Christopher Columbus' ship, the Nina?"

"Yes, it says that he was a translator, and he could speak several languages. Do you think Christopher Columbus actually came here?"

"I have no idea. I know he discovered the Exuma Islands, but I don't know whether or not he actually landed. Jesus, what a find it would be if this is actually from his first voyage. Even from the second voyage. But what is this statue, and I wonder what the book is about?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait for Monday to find out."

Bannon and Ben spent most of the weekend on their computers trying to discover what islands Columbus actually landed on, but if the information was available it wasn't on the internet.

They did discover some information about the statue. According to historians, it was a statue of Baphomet. Their research showed that a Templar called "the Lord of Sidon" was in love with a young woman named Yse, who died suddenly. On the night of her burial, he dug up her body and copulated with it. Nine months later a voice "from the Void" told him to go back to the grave, where he would find his son. There he discovered a head resting on a pair of leg bones. The voice told him that if he was careful to guard the head, it would be "the giver of all things." He took it with him and for the rest of his days it protected him.

After his death, the order of the Templars gained control of the head and fashioned it into a statue. It was said to have the ability to grant riches, make trees bloom, make crops germinate and heal wounds. When Philippe, IV of France, persuaded Pope Clement V to outlaw the order, they were rounded up on Friday, October 13, 1307 and imprisoned. Despite the king's attempt to keep the order secret, the Templar's still seemed to have received some sort of warning, for the vast majority of their wealth, along with whatever holy relics they possessed, had already been spirited away into trusted hands far from the king's reach.

The order's Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, had just had all of the order's books burnt for no apparent reason. He was imprisoned, and eventually slow-roasted to death in an open fire in a public square. He had called on Philippe and Clement IV to join him in less than a year. Clement died of dysentery in less than a month, and Philippe died of unknown causes eight months later.

The whereabouts of the holy relics were unknown. The case for the head had been found in the Paris preceptory, but the head was missing.

"Do you suppose this could be the actual statue they're talking about?" Bannon asked Ben.

"I guess it might be, but what would any of this have to do with Christopher Columbus?" he wondered.

They researched further and discovered that Columbus was connected with the Knights Templar. He was married to a daughter of a former Grand Master of the Knights of Christ, a Portuguese order that had grown up after the Templars had been driven underground. It also seemed significant to them that Columbus navigated ships whose sails carried the distinctive red cross 'patte' of the Templars and there were reports that he navigated with maps provided by his father-in-law.

"Do you suppose it's possible that Columbus actually came here with some of the relics of the Templars and put them in our cave?" Bannon asked.

"I don't know, I guess we'll have to wait until we find out what the book says," Ben said.

Sunday passed very slowly for the younger duo, and Kane and Oliver were impatient as well. On Monday morning, Oliver called his friend at the University and got the name of a Dr. Adams, who was an expert in the history of the colonial period. Dr. Adams agreed to meet with them, and they carefully wrapped their items in bubble wrap and packed them in a small suitcase filled with newspaper.

They boarded the helicopter and buckled in. They flew to Exuma and caught a flight to Charlotte Amalie, on St. Thomas. They rented a car and checked into a hotel, then drove to the University.

Dr. Adams was a portly spectacled gentleman with an English accent, and he bristled with vitality. He ushered them into his office and he became very excited when they showed him the buckle. He got out a magnifier and studied it carefully.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"Does it really matter?" Oliver asked

"Only from the point of view of history, If you bought it on e-bay, that's one thing, if you dug it up here, that would be quite another. The historical significance could be amazing."

"We found it in a cave on one of the islands in the Exumas," Ben told him.

"Amazing," the Dr. murmured. "Maybe you'll tell me where after we get better acquainted. Did you find anything else?"

Bannon unwrapped the statue and handed it to him. He placed in under the magnifier and studied the markings.

"This is a much earlier piece," he told them. "I have no real guess as to its age, but I would guess that the head of this statue is pre-Christian. The body seems to have been added later, perhaps in the 12th or 13th century. This is really outside the area of my expertise. We could have one of my colleagues take a look at it later if you like. But I see you have something else. What is it? I begin to suspect that you are writing a historical novel, Mr. Brennan and these are your set pieces."

"I don't write historical fiction, Dr. I write romantic thrillers. We found all these items in the same chest in the same cave. See what you can make of this book."

The Dr. took the book and examined the outside.

"This is a very old book Mr. Brennan. I suspect it is from the 13th or 14th century. I'm afraid I can't help you at this time with the book."

"Why not?" Kane asked him.

"I'm afraid to handle it. It needs to be examined in a laboratory setting. The pages must be treated with the utmost care in order to preserve them. This book would fall to pieces in my hands if I tried to read it. I see from just looking where you opened it that it is written in Italian. The pages you opened are already deteriorating. This book needs to be put in a controlled atmosphere situation. Do you think it would be possible for me to keep it? It might take me months to find out what is inside. I will make a facsimile and transmit it to you as soon as I complete it. This book is a treasure that belongs to mankind, Mr. Brennan."

"We'll be glad to let you keep the book until you can make that facsimile Dr., but you are very much mistaken about it belonging to mankind. I understand what you mean, but this book belongs to these two young people here. They found it on property that I own. I'm sure that they would be happy to make it available to anyone who wants to study it, but we will respect their ownership."

"Of course, of course, I only meant that many people will want to see it, especially if it is connected to Columbus and that strange statue you discovered. Are you equipped to care for the book, Mr. Brennan?"

"No, we're not. That's why I'm willing to leave it with you. If you can tell me what steps need to be taken to ensure that it doesn't deteriorate any further, I will make sure that happens. We don't want to destroy a historical artifact any more than you want us to."

"Would you accompany me then? We will put the book in a secure environment and I'll take you to a colleague that will be able to tell you something about the statue."

They went with him to a laboratory and he placed the book in a vault. Gasses hissed into the vault when he closed it, and he walked them to another laboratory and introduced them to Dr. Patricia Knowles. She became very excited and agitated when she examined the statue.

"If this is what I think it is, this is perhaps the greatest historical find short of discovering the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. I've seen the head of this statue before. It's in a lot of famous paintings, and it was thought to be legendary. It is said to have magical properties and it was worshipped by people before the time of Christ. It's possibly a fraud, but I won't know until I have the opportunity to study it."

"How long would that take?" Kane asked her.

"I could take pictures and measurements, perhaps make a casting and be ready to proceed in two days. Could you possibly leave it with me for two days?"

"I'll tell you what," Oliver said. "What if we were to take it with us, bring it here in the morning and leave it with you during the day? We'll collect it each evening and bring it back each morning until you're finished. Is that acceptable?"

"I guess it will have to be." She sounded somewhat upset about the arrangement.

"Put yourself in our position, Dr. Knowles. We've already been told one of the artifacts we found belongs to humanity. I suspect this statue is priceless. Will you let me hold your bank account and credit cards overnight?"

She laughed. "I see what you mean. How about you keep your statue and I'll keep my credit cards. Although I believe this statue is worth more than I'll ever see in my lifetime. If it's real, you're going to have a storm of attention around it. Do you think it might be possible for Dr. Adams and I to write scholarly articles on these finds if they prove to be authentic? You'd be doing both of us a huge favor and I'd be grateful to you for the rest of my life."

"I don't see why not. What harm could a scholarly article do?" He would deeply regret those words.