“Well, if it’s not Bernard, then what… It’s Captain Parker, isn’t it?”

His brow furrowed in puzzlement. “Captain Parker?”

Annja remembered that they hadn’t informed anyone of their suspicions yet. “The skeleton from the Metro.”

Henri’s eyes widened. “You’ve identified the body already?”

They had as far as she was concerned, but she knew that they didn’t have enough conclusive evidence to prove it yet so she explained that all they had at the moment were a few suspicions and that they were using the name as a matter of convenience only.

“It seemed more respectful than referring to him as ‘the skeleton’ all the time. I think we’re getting closer, though, and I can show you what we’ve done so far if you’d like.”

“I see. That’s too bad—you had my hopes up for a moment there. You see, proving your theory is going to be much more difficult now, as the museum was burglarized during the night and the thieves made off with the skeleton.”

Annja couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Why would someone steal the skeleton?

Laroche’s next comment made her heart sink.

“Professor’s Reinhardt’s office was ransacked, as well.”

Annja grimaced. “Our notes and photographs?”

The commissaire shook his head. “Gone, as well, I’m afraid.”

At least they still had the Davis letter in their possession. Bernard had insisted on locking it away in the museum’s vault for safekeeping the minute he’d recognized the letter’s potential value. If the U.S. government didn’t exercise their right to claim it, there were more than two dozen universities and museums he could think of off the top of his head that would pay handsomely to add it to their collections, his own included. He hadn’t been inclined to take any chances with it. And thank heaven for that.

Laroche was looking at her expectantly, making her realize that she must have missed his question while thinking about the letter.

“I’m sorry. What was that again?”

“I asked if you had any idea why the thieves would be interested only in our Confederate friend’s remains?”

Annja frowned. “That’s all they took?”

The museum was full of priceless artifacts worth far more than the missing Confederate remains. A fair number of excellent pieces were stored just down the hall from Bernard’s office. Once past the security system and inside the museum, it would have been a simple matter to force the locks on those storerooms and walk off with dozens of priceless artifacts. She had assumed that the thieves had hit Bernard’s office and lab as part of a larger sweep for items of value.

“They were only interested in the skeleton and the documentation pertaining to it that you and Professor Reinhardt assembled. Nothing else was taken, including items of considerable value that were in plain view in Dr. Reinhardt’s office.”

That put an entirely different spin on things. Breaking and entering to steal museum pieces worth millions was one thing; doing so just to make off with the recently recovered remains of a Confederate captain no one even knew was there was another, she thought.

Her thoughts turned immediately to the shadowed figure she’d encountered in the catacombs the night before.

There was far more going on here than she’d realized.

Laroche was still waiting for her to answer his question so she put on her game face and told him that she didn’t have any idea. She didn’t like keeping information from him, but she also didn’t feel that she had any choice. Someone must have revealed the skeleton’s presence to the thieves and until she knew who that someone was, she wasn’t taking any chances with the information she had gained. Right now everyone was suspect, including the commissaire. After all, she barely knew him. It was clear that Laroche didn’t quite believe her, but he didn’t push the issue and that was good enough for her. Since she was an integral part of the team that had been responsible for the skeleton’s retrieval and examination, he let those on duty know that she was free to come and go as she needed. He then escorted her through the police barrier and over to the elevator leading to the lower floors where Bernard’s laboratory was located.

“If you think of anything that might be helpful, please give me a call,” he told her as she got inside the elevator car.

Annja assured him that she would. And at some point, if she decided it was the right thing to do, she would.

The scene was no less erratic on the lower floor than the one above. Police officers stood in small groups of twos and threes while crime scene technicians moved through the various rooms, carrying out their usual duties. She spotted Bernard standing off to one side, a pained look on his face and a cup of coffee in his hand. He must have felt her attention on him for he looked up, caught her gaze and then nodded his head in the direction of a nearby staff room.

Annja met him there a moment later, away from the scrutiny of the others in the hall.

“Is it true that they got everything?” she asked.

Bernard nodded glumly. “I’m afraid so.”

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but no more than she’d expected. “At least we still have the Davis letter.”

Bernard didn’t say anything.

“You did put the letter in the vault, right?”

“I was going to do so, but it was late and I thought the safe in my office would be adequate for one night.”

Damn it! There went their only possible proof that not only were the remains those of William Parker but that he had been there on an official mission for the president of the Confederate States.

This was not turning out to be a good day.

Annja could see that Bernard was feeling guilty over his part in the process, and right then she was having a hard time forgiving him.

He used that moment to break what little good news he did have.

“I took the liberty of calling Abbot Deschanel late last night,” he said quietly.

“And?”

“He’s agreed to see you. Apparently mention of Captain Parker piqued his curiosity.”

“Well, at least there’s that.”

Bernard didn’t appear thrilled with the idea, however.

“This has become very serious business, Annja. It’s obvious that someone out there knows more about what’s going on than we do. If they went to the trouble of breaking into the museum to disrupt our investigation, there’s no telling what they’re willing to do.”

Again, she thought about the man she’d encountered in the tunnels. Who was he? What did he want?

Without mentioning any of that to Bernard, she reassured him that she would be careful.

Not fully satisfied, but knowing he couldn’t do anything about it, Bernard shrugged and continued speaking.

“Abbot Deschanel expects you later this afternoon,” he said, handing over some handwritten directions outlining the route to the monastery and a pair of car keys. “You can use one of the vehicles from the museum motor pool, as well. I had it arranged when I came in this morning, before I discovered this mess.”

Annja gave him a quick hug, surprising him, and herself.

“We’ve still got a chance to break this wide open, Bernard,” she said as excitement over what was to come stole over her. “The monastery holds the answer to all this, I know it does!”

With a four-hour drive ahead of her, Annja didn’t waste any more time. She said her goodbyes to Bernard, thanked him again for the directions and the vehicle and then got out of there before the police decided that they wanted to question her.

11

It was a beautiful day for driving. The sun was shining in a bright blue sky, and for a time Annja forgot about the morning’s events and simply enjoyed the scenery. The farther she got from Paris, the more the landscape changed. The rolling green hills gradually gave way to the foothills of the mountains and by the time she reached the final hour of her drive she was winding her way through narrow mountain passes and verdant pine valleys. As she neared her destination, her thoughts turned to the meeting ahead of her. She decided the best plan of action was to simply lay it all out there for the abbot, letting him know what had happened so far. Whoever had broken into the museum had gotten the scrap of paper with the monastery name on it, along with the rest of their discoveries. They might not be able to put the puzzle pieces together as swiftly as she and Bernard had, but there wasn’t any reason to believe that they couldn’t do it. That meant the thieves could very well be on their way to the monastery at any time. The abbot deserved to know if the people under his care were in danger and she had no intention of keeping that information from him.