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A knock at their hotel door alerted them to Nigel’s arrival. Although they’d been reluctant to include him after last night’s robbery, he’d insisted on helping and declared he was well aware of the danger.
Sam drove while Nigel gave directions. Remi was content to ride in the back, taking in the countryside, as they left King’s Lynn and drove through the woods. The fog from last night, though thinner, still hung in the air, and Sam turned on the wipers, clearing the windshield.
Nearly a dozen other cars were in the car park when Sam pulled in. He stopped as a few children darted out from between the cars, too eager to wait for their parents before exploring Castle Rising. He pulled into the first space and grabbed his backpack from the trunk.
“Impressive,” Remi said as they walked across the lot toward the castle grounds. The mist-filled sky shimmered with silver light as the sun broke through, highlighting the harsh edges of the castle ruins that towered over them. She took out her cell phone and took a photo. “Makes me wish I’d brought a real camera.”
The three stood there for a moment, admiring the stone structure, before walking in to start their self-guided tour. Castle Rising was built in the twelfth century, according to the literature. Set on over twelve acres, the stone keep looked like a medieval fortress but had originally been built as an extravagant hunting lodge.
Unfortunately, after spending the next hour walking around, searching every corner, Sam realized that Lazlo was right—at least about this castle. They were wasting their time. “Anywhere else we should be looking?” he asked Nigel as they walked down the stone stairs to the castle grounds.
“The only other place, off the top of my head, is King John’s Hole. And that’s not an easy place to search.”
“Why not?” Sam asked. “We’ve got time to kill.”
“Besides the centuries of silt covering it? No one knows quite where it is. Only a general idea. And, trust me, many have looked.”
Nigel, however, wasn’t willing to give up on Castle Rising, and when he spotted a fellow tour guide that he knew, he
decided to ask about the secret tunnel that Queen Isabella might have used. “He was in our Historical Society . . . Maybe he knows something we don’t. Be right back.”
Sam and Remi waited for him near the walkway to the car park, not expecting that Nigel would gain any information they didn’t already know. As far as Sam could tell, there was nothing here that indicated the ruins were hiding anything more than an old keep.
“That was a bust,” Sam said.
He glanced out to the car park, surprised at the number of cars and school buses that now filled it. A blue BMW cruised through the lot, searching for a parking space, catching Sam’s attention when a black, boxy head of a massive dog popped up in the backseat. As the vehicle turned into the next row, then pulled into a space, Sam recognized the driver—the white butterfly bandage on his forehead further proof. Right where Ivan was bleeding from the night at the museum. “That’s Ivan driving.”
“You’re sure?” Remi asked.
He pulled Remi back, hoping they hadn’t been noticed. “Positive. Jak’s riding shotgun. And that dog that we thought was about to attack us last night? I’ll lay odds it’s in the backseat.”
“So much for the legend of Black Shuck,” Remi said as Jak hooked a leash to the collar of a dog that if any dog looked like it belonged to the Devil, this one fit the bill.
“I don’t see Fisk.” No sooner had the words left his mouth than another vehicle, a black Mercedes coming from the opposite direction, stopped behind Ivan’s car. Fisk was at the wheel. The passenger door opened, and a blond woman wearing a white parka got out, walking over to Ivan’s car as Fisk pulled away. Interesting that Fisk and his crew ended up at this location. Especially considering that he and Remi were dismissing the castle as a possible lead. “What’s here that we don’t know about?” Sam asked.
“Maybe that rumored tunnel Queen Isabella used is real.”
“We better find Nigel.”
Remi started to follow him, then stopped, taking a photo of Ivan, Jak, and the woman. “Maybe Selma can find out who she is.” As they hurried back toward the tour guide’s post, Remi tried to send the photo. “No signal.”
“Where is he?” Sam asked, looking around.
Remi looked up from her phone. “He was talking to his friend right there.”
But both Nigel and his friend were gone.
Sam took the binoculars from his backpack, searching the grounds. “I don’t see him,” he said, sweeping his binoculars up the stairs of the castle wall. “This many people and cars, they could be anywhere.”
“Maybe we should go up. Get a better view.”
“Worth a try,” Sam said. They weaved their way through a group of schoolkids coming down the stairs as they went up. On the next level, Sam looked down and saw Ivan talking to someone who looked like a guide, but no sign of Nigel or his friend. “Wish I could read lips. It’d be nice to know what they’re talking about.”
Remi moved beside Sam. “They’ve got to be here for a reason. What are we missing?”
“Considering this place made our short list of possible locations, it certainly could’ve made theirs.”
Sam watched a minute longer. Whatever the conversation was, Ivan was in a hurry to leave. He turned and walked quickly in the other direction. “He found out something.”