Page 72 of The Atlas Maneuver

“Mysteries intrigue me. They always have. I simply can’t help it.”

“Please, then,” she said. “Keep talking.”

“The gold was shipped by barge south. Supposedly it sank here, in the lake. But no one was told. Nothing reported to the CIA or anywhere.” Citrone paused. “They wanted no one to come searching.”

She was skeptical. “You’re saying that billions in gold is lying at the bottom of this lake?”

“I have no idea. But, like that wine vault, we must take a look.”

“How long ago did that happen?” Koger asked.

“If the story is to be believed, twenty years.”

“And no one has found the wreck?” she asked, skepticism in her voice. “Diving is a popular pastime here.”

“Dear lady, this is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five square miles. Deep too. It has three distinct sections, which worked to the bank’s advantage.”

She listened as Citrone explained about theHaut Lac, the Upper Lake, the eastern part from the River Rhône estuary. TheGrand Lac, Large Lake, the deepest basin with the largest width. And thePetit Lac, Small Lake, the most southwest portion, narrow and shallow.

“That barge is in theGrand Lac,” Citrone said. “Thirty meters down. The divers prefer thePetit Lac, where the water is shallower and clearer. And then there is the pollution. It became catastrophic in the 1960s and, by the 1980s, it nearly wiped out all the fish. Few swam in these waters then. There have been cleanup efforts since and today we can enjoy the lake, but I would not recommend it for long, especially the deeper parts where the pollution remains.”

“So you’re saying nobody has dived that wreck?” she asked.

“I’m saying nobody knows it even exists, outside of Catherine Gledhill and a few others at the Bank of St. George.”

“And you,” Koger added.

Citrone cast a grin. “And me.”

“And how did you come to know?” she asked.

“I became suspicious during my time as liaison. I made inquiries, which Gledhill denied. Of course, she also would not allowme a look inside the vault. Finally, I decided to look for the barge and discovered it had disappeared.”

Now she understood the presence of all the electronics. But she had to say, “And yet you did not report what you knew to the CIA.”

“No. I did not.”

“And you never came to explore or check it out?” she asked.

“There was never a need. Until now.”

She decided to press. “No one at the bank knew about this?”

“They kept that information quite close.”

Hard to know what to make of this. So she simply said, “This could be another shot in the dark.”

“It could. But we have to rule out all the possibilities.”

“What do you mean bywe?”

“I’m hoping one of you is a diver,” Citrone said.

Koger cast her a questionable look that said,Not me.

She faced Citrone. “How did you know?”

“I did not survive forty years in the intelligence business without being able to learn things. I’m told you are fully certified and quite experienced.”