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Remi was the first to break the silence. “Looks like glyphs, and, if I’m not mistaken, that’s a totem of a sea god,” she said. “And look there. Looks like a depiction of a column of men. Hauling cases.”
Leonid squinted and Des cleared his throat. “What do you make of that?”
Remi sat back and smiled.
“Unless I’m completely garbling the glyph, it’s a group of warriors carrying something into a temple.”
“Something?” Leonid said.
When Remi spoke, it was almost a whisper. “Treasure. An offering to the gods.”
CHAPTER 19
By the end of the afternoon, much of the top section of the large structure had been partially scrubbed clean. The uppermost portion of the roof had collapsed, but enough of the edges remained to be able to make out the rough shape of the building. The divers continued working even as Sam and Remi climbed into the skiff to return to shore. The plan was to continue until ten that night, using underwater floodlights, switching out the surface-breathing divers every few hours to avoid fatigue.
Once back in the van, Sam eyed the Darwin, floating serenely at anchor.
“What are you thinking?” Remi asked.
“What it must have been like to watch your entire civilization disappear without a trace. Imagine how that had to feel.”
“I’m pretty sure that in an earthquake large enough to do that, nobody had time to feel much of anything.”
“You’re probably right. But I can understand why the survivors would think the place was cursed. How else could you explain that kind of devastation?”
“What do you make of the glyphs?”
“It appears to suggest the legend of a treasure, at any rate. We’ll soon know for sure.”
Remi gave him a doubtful look. “It’s a lot of area to explore. It’ll take years just to clean the ruins and then they’ll have to contend with all the rubble. It might be a long time before there’s a chance to hunt for any treasure.”
“Well, Mrs. Fargo, I’m enjoying the Solomons’ charms, but not enough to spend years here. Even in company as delightful as yours.”
“Leonid seems to have it under control now. Maybe we can leave this one to him?”
The sun was sinking into the sea when they turned onto the paved road, and they hadn’t been driving for ten minutes before they came to a roadblock where six grim-faced police officers were standing by their cars in the middle of nowhere. Sam coasted to a stop. Four of the policemen made a big show of making them get out of the van and checking their identification while the other two did a cursory inspection of the interior.
“What have you got in the backpack?” the oldest of the group asked, indicating Sam’s bag.
“Just some odds and ends. A phone, canteen, spare shirt, that sort of thing.”
“Show me.”
Sam humored the man and caught Remi’s eye, willing her to stay quiet. He knew her well enough to see that she was going to ask the officer whether he thought the militia was composed of American tourists and was silently thankful when she thought better of it. More than once she’d voiced her frustration at airports when a grandmother was searched by security personnel lest the woman be the world’s oldest terrorist, but Remi caught the meaning in his stare and bit her tongue.
“You shouldn’t be driving out here,” the officer said when he was done with his cursory search. “Be very careful, even in Honiara. Things are unpredictable right now.”
“Seemed fine this morning.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, but the news about the aid workers’ execution hadn’t hit yet. People are uneasy. Just watch yourselves. I’d go straight to your hotel and not leave if I were you.”
“They’re dead?” Remi asked, her face revealing her surprise.
The policeman nodded. “There was a broadcast this afternoon. It’s a dark day. They were unarmed, helping rural families who have nobody else.”
“What will those families do?”
The officer shrugged and frowned. “We’ll probably escort whatever remaining aid workers who still want to help, but I doubt there will be many takers. It’s one thing to have compassion, another to risk your life to ease the troubles of others.” He looked away into the thick underbrush. “Drive safely and don’t stop unless the roadblock is manned by official vehicles like ours. Just to be sure.”