Secret of the Loch Page 5

  We found two more hillsides that at first glance appeared to fit the criteria we were now searching for. But each time, once we drew close enough for a better view, the exposed rock formations jutting out of the hills appeared to be of completely natural origins, with nothing resembling the enormous stone slabs in the Salisbury Plain.

  “Well, this really sucks,” said Marie, when in desperation she took out the amulet and pointed it toward the latest hillside. The amulet continued to rest in dormancy as the afternoon’s diminishing daylight faded rapidly toward dusk. “From the map and pictures I looked at earlier today, we’ve now visited the best locations….”

  “So, are we ready to move on to the final loch?” Ishi asked, with the expectancy of a child on the verge of finally getting a treat for enduring an unpleasant task. In his case, knocking out the three lochs and coming up empty-handed meant a quicker start to a badly needed vacation and a return to his Honduran home and cherished family. “We should go back to the lodge tonight, and not sleep in so late tomorrow.”

  “Ishi’s right,” I said, trying to not let on that I was doing similar cartwheels in my mind. “It’s best not to linger—especially since sooner or later our faces will end up on TV, once the authorities figure out who rented the charred remains of what was once a Jetta SportWagen. If they ever tie that unfortunate incident to the shooting that took place at the car rental agency in Edinburgh, we’ll likely have to smuggle out of this fair land on a tugboat to avoid being recognized.”

  “Perhaps you’re correct,” she conceded, after deliberating in silence while watching the sunset peer through the cloud cover ahead. “Let’s go back to the lodge.”

  We were nearing the village of Luss, on the western shore of the loch. Considered the ‘High Road’ of Loch Lomond, I would’ve loved to explore the historic sites ranging from a five thousand year old Neolithic ‘hill fort’ and chambered tomb to the site of where the Scottish Colquhoun Clan was massacred by the MacGregors in 1603. And even more fun history throughout the area… if only we had the time.

  While discussing what we would miss by leaving so soon, we passed a familiar dark sedan from the previous afternoon. Granted, the Opel Corsa we were driving was quite different in style and color from yesterday’s Volkswagen. But for an unfortunate minute, the Egyptian driver and I locked eyes. When we did, recognition was immediate.

  Surely my surprised expression matched the one of shock he wore—a look that turned to anger as he slammed on the brakes to turn around and pursue us. Did I mention this is the same miscreant who had mocked us on the road to Salisbury from Bluehenge just days earlier? Probably not… but it was definitely the same asshole. Without a doubt.

  “Now, what in the hell do we do?!” Marie cried, throwing her hands up in despair.

  “Keep calm, and I’ll see what I can do about this!”

  Needless to say, driving on the left side of the road, and along a potentially treacherous stretch of highway next to a dangerously deep body of water presented challenges—challenges that were more mental than physical, in my estimation. After all, people with depth perception issues sometimes make the best workers on skyscrapers and cliff sides, since they can’t sense where death lies in wait, a precarious step away.

  I tried to adopt that attitude, while ignoring Ishi’s and Marie’s screams for me to “Slow down, or you’ll get us killed, Nick!” But the look I saw in the dude’s eyes was a maniacal rage, and if he and his buddies caught up to us, then we would certainly die anyway.

  We nearly skidded off the pavement a few times, but while Marie and Ishi buried their faces in their hands in terror, I kept us ahead of our pursuers until I no longer saw them in my rearview mirror. Once we had a sizable lead, I purposely slid onto a drive that seemed fairly secluded; all the while praying I had time to brake the car before crashing into a tree, boulder, or the cottage I saw chimney smoke curling out of, a relatively short distance from the road.

  My instinctive idea worked. Despite a cloud of dust briefly engulfing the car, I had enough time to spin around and face the highway. The shelter of thick woods camouflaged our presence to anything on the main road. The dark sedan whizzed by, followed by the honks from annoyed drivers that were previously reserved for me just moments earlier.

  “That was close!” Ishi panted, as if fighting to catch his breath. “So, do we turn around and head the other way?”

  Not a bad idea, since once again our cover was blown. The Egyptians knew we were still alive… or at least that I was still breathing the same oxygen as they did.

  “Other than toiletry shit did we leave anything of importance at the lodge?” I asked. My question was mostly directed at Marie.

  “I don’t think so,” she said, her voice subdued. “My backpack, purse, and computer are in the trunk—along with the stuff we bought this afternoon…. We have jeans, sweatshirts, and warm socks and underwear… and soap, toothbrushes, and other necessities.”

  Ishi nodded to confirm he had everything he needed, too.

  “How about you, Nick?” asked Marie.

  Everything I needed was in the car at that moment—including what I valued the very most in my life: Marie and Ishi.

  “I’m fine… so have we completed our visit to Loch Lomond?”

  She hesitated before answering, while Ishi and I waited expectantly.

  “Yes,” she said, finally. “What we need isn’t here… it looks like it’s going to be all or nothing at Loch Morar.”

  Chapter Six

  It took us nearly five hours to reach Loch Morar. Due to spotty Internet service, I used Ishi’s London-issued cell phone to call in a late night room reservation at the Morar Hotel. Leery about using any of our credit cards to hold it, I decided to take one last shot on my alias. Dangerous, I know… and yet I figured we could finally have a concrete idea of how we were being tracked if our unwelcome compadres from Egypt showed up this far away from the more populated areas of Scotland.

  Unlike Loch Lomond and Loch Ness, there wasn’t an abundance of lodging alternatives to choose from—at least according to the search engines Ishi could access from his laptop. Even so, the area was much more pristine and far less commercialized than either of the previous lochs. If we were visiting Scotland on vacation, this would be the area I would gravitate to.

  “One of my favorite movies was filmed here,” said Ishi, once we reached Morar. “Rob Roy. And the pictures online show beaches that are almost as white as my homeland.”

  “Except it’s usually gonna be cold as hell,” I said, drawing a smirk from him and a look of feigned disgust from Marie.

  “Better for it to be unpleasant weather-wise than waiting any longer to come here,” she said, releasing a low sigh. “We should’ve come here first….”

  We were all quite tired after another fruitless day, topped off by the adrenaline push of running for our lives once more. We didn’t encounter the dark sedan again. And, as far as I could tell, after we headed toward the northwestern coast of Scotland no one else pursued us. It’s what gave me the most confidence in using my alias information to book two rooms, and as before, the reservations were for three nights. Admittedly, however, this time I felt more leery than before. Something told my heart that this last jaunt would exhaust my alias option and to tread carefully. In truth, if exploring Loch Morar’s hillsides failed to turn up the treasure Marie desperately sought, it would be time for all three of us to get the hell out of the UK before a fatal disaster struck.

  “It’s all part of the process of elimination, darlin’,” I told her, offering a genuinely compassionate smile.

  Moments like these endeared her to my heart. I guess that pointed to my own dysfunction of enjoying the role of savior for a broken woman, and feeling out of sorts when that was no longer the case.

  “Maybe,” she agreed, turning her attention to the darkness outside our car, far removed from the more active bustle of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

  “Looks like a nice, little… quaint plac
e,” I said, when we drove through the business district in the village of Morar.

  We had passed the loch, and I had momentarily grown nervous when the road to the town and the hotel took us further away from our intended destination. We noticed that Loch Morar was much smaller than the prior two lochs, which gave me hope of completing a thorough exploration on Thursday. Roughly half the size of Loch Ness at twelve miles in length, Loch Morar was the United Kingdom’s deepest loch and the deepest body of fresh water in all of Europe, with a depth of over three hundred and ten meters (officially one thousand and seventeen feet deep).

  The rooms we managed to rent for the next few days provided a seaside view, which surprised me… the ‘seaside’ tag, especially.

  “So, how close are we to the actual loch?” I asked the clerk, a redheaded kid in his twenties named Graham.

  “It’s back that way,” he said, pointing in the opposite direction of our rooms, stating the obvious and looking at me as if I were an idiot. Or, more likely, as if I were the ‘big lug’ first mentioned by Brodie, our taxi driver to Glasgow.

  “So the seaside view really looks out to the sea?” asked Ishi.

  “It does, indeed,” said Graham. “Out to the Isles.”

  “How far is the Loch from where we’re at right now?” asked Marie

  “Well… since I’m new to this position and not originally from Morar, I can’t say for sure,” he said. “But, I can tell you that if you decide to drive there, the road will take you through Mailaig and past Loch Nevis, and then back down to Morar. But, if you take the train from near the hotel, you can be there in less than half the time it would take to reach it by motor.”

  “Well, that’s very helpful--you’re doing great,” Marie assured him, turning on the charm. I doubt the kid had any idea she was running on fumes, as she hid her exhaustion admirably. “So, how long does it take by motor?”

  “An hour and a quarter, ” he said.

  “An hour and a quarter,” I parroted, nodding with a wry smile I couldn’t control. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “It’s because you have to take the ferry…. Otherwise it would be a much shorter trip.”

  “Ah, I see,” I said. “Well, since we have cumbersome gear to take along, we will need to account for the extra time needed to visit the Loch and to get back here tomorrow evening.”

  “So, we’re not taking the train?” Ishi seemed disappointed.

  “Ah… no, Ishi, we’re not,” I said decisively. “We’ve got a lot of ground still to cover with this place, and having our own set of wheels on hand will help us accomplish everything we need to get done tomorrow.”

  “Nick’s right,” Marie agreed. “We’ll just have to get an earlier start, is all.” She moved on to asking Graham when the restaurant would open in the morning; and when that was settled, along with setting up a wakeup call for the crack of dawn, we headed to our rooms.

  I didn’t press her for a little fun, though unlike last night I saw desire burning in her eyes. But seeing the redness around her eyes and the lack of energy in her voice, we would be better off getting our rest. Besides, if somehow our adversaries found us while we explored the area tomorrow, a good night’s sleep might be the very thing to keep our asses from getting killed.

  As we lay side by side in bed, in our beachfront room that might’ve been quite romantic in more leisurely and peaceful times, I was the last one to fall asleep. Listening to Marie’s steady breaths often brought comfort… but that night I felt a queer sensation. And, it wasn’t simply based on the extra inconvenience looming tomorrow. Rather, it was the undeniable feeling that something ominous was on the way. It overwhelmed my gut, and though some may laugh at this, the impression came from the same place I get all my treasure hunting hunches, too.

  Filled with dread, I watched her sleep… until I could keep my eyes open no more.

  * * * * *

  The next morning, after driving an hour and a half, we reached the loch and began our trek… by foot.

  “Shit!” I hissed, when I realized we would have to haul our gear around the loch this time, instead of driving. “This is a bunch of frigging bullshit!”

  “Keep your voice down… do you mind?” Marie chastised me, wearily.

  Despite getting more sleep than I did, she seemed even more tired than yesterday. In truth, she moaned several times in her sleep while I tried to figure out what my sudden less-than-positive gut feeling was about. Maybe she slept just as uneasily as me. But still….

  “You do realize this has now turned into an excursion that will last a few days… maybe even a week!” I lamented, pulling as much gear as I could reasonably carry, while Ishi and Marie grabbed several items as well. A shovel and pick were left behind, along with a few food items we couldn’t fit in comfortably. But we brought a tent and other key overnight necessities, just in case we found the landmarks we sought and didn’t have time to secure the site before darkness set in. “We have a thirty-mile perimeter to cover, and at most will make it through five or six miles today!”

  “I guess it’s better to think in terms of miles instead of meters, huh, Boss?” said Ishi. I whirled around to face him in time to catch an impish glint in his eyes. “Thirty sounds better than eighty. No?”

  “Don’t be a smartass!”

  “Well at least it’s beautiful here,” said Marie, wearing a similar expression to my Tawankan pal. “And, the weather is a helluva lot nicer today!”

  True, there is that… but still.

  Almost spring-like, and at least thirty degrees warmer than yesterday, the good weather would likely prevail until sundown. But I damned well could guarantee uncomfortable nippiness by the time the stars were out in full force.

  We made the best of it that day—knowing we could only get so much done. I truly expected to make it a few miles, check some calculations while trying not to stand out to the other tourists—though they were very few—and head back for what I hoped would be a relaxing evening with Marie and Ishi… and maybe even some quality alone time with my lady before the night was through.

  That was my plan.

  After not finding anything that looked promising, and tracking almost three miles, we prepared to take a lunch break and then try to knock out another mile before heading back. It had become painfully—and exhaustingly—clear to all of us that my earlier prediction of knocking out five to six miles per day wasn’t feasible. We nearly killed ourselves reaching four miles, and had steadily become more careless in observing the surrounding hills for the landmark we sought.

  The only one that remotely came close was off in terms of the coordinates Marie finally shared with me…. But as we prepared to check out another distant bluff, a nagging thought wouldn’t leave me alone, and finally I brought it up to her and Ishi.

  “Just for shits and giggles, I have an idea to try.”

  “What do you mean, Nick?” she asked, wearily.

  Ishi nodded, too tired to comment. I could tell they were ready to head back to the Hotel, and I daresay that I saw sadness in Marie’s expression that hadn’t been there before. She was giving up… or ready to give up her father’s quest very soon.

  “What do you think would happen if you reversed the coordinates your father gave you, and applied that to the hillside we were just looking at?” I asked, to which she eyed me disdainfully, as if my suggestion completely undermined Daddy’s integrity. “I’m serious, Marie… what would it hurt?”

  She shrugged while muttering under her breath, and moved back to where she could check the reversed measurements through her binoculars. Suddenly, she lurched forward, removed the binoculars from her eyes, blinked, and then looked again—this time practically shoving the damned magnifying device against her eyes.

  “I am not believing this shit….”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, hopeful we might actually be getting somewhere. “What do you see?”

  She smiled and removed her purse from her backpack. After verifying that
no one other than the three of us was anywhere around, she removed the amulet. Before she finished lifting the priceless artifact to face the hillside the sapphire started glowing.

  “Oh my God… this is incredible!” she whispered.

  Long bands of radiant blue light stretched toward the hillside roughly half a mile away. A rectangular frame of blue appeared upon the rocky face that had enormous boulders and stone slabs around it—stones that from our current vantage point seemed similar to what presently stood in Stonehenge hundreds of miles away. Only these were lying on their side, sticking up through green foliage, partially covered and surely much taller than the three of us put together, if standing upright.

  “This is so cool,” said Ishi, reverently. “We have time to see it today… no?”

  “Sure,” I said, glancing at my watch. It was nearing 2:30 p.m. “But covering that terrain might take us until dark… which might mean camping out here tonight, and we’d be roughing it until daybreak, when we could most likely expect to return to the hotel…. What do you say?”

  “Let’s do it!” enthused Marie, as if a sudden nuclear burst had completely restored her energy.

  Ishi echoed her enthusiasm, and before I made it a perfect threesome, I took one last good look around us, to make sure we were alone. Nothing suspicious, and no one around.

  But it took damned near three hours to reach the base of the cliff-like hillside. Dusk had arrived, and the air around us became more and more chilled. If this was all we would accomplish that night, we’d at least have enough kindling for a fire from the pine forest that abruptly stopped just below the enormous boulders. Meanwhile, beneath two monstrous rocks was a crevice with a fairly large ledge. If the more dangerous wild animals in the Scottish wild were absent, we could pitch the tent there and set up a fire nearby.

  Truthfully, despite the Ambrosius Amulet’s unusual behavior that defied any explanation other than the magical one Marie gave us, I still held out hope that staying one night in this frigid environment would bring Marie to her senses. If so, the three of us could be on a plane to the United States by tomorrow afternoon. And just to be clear, yes, I hadn’t forgotten the supernatural events we experienced with the amulet in Wiltshire, Salisbury, and London in the past week. But finding a mythical treasure based on an obscure legend was an entirely different animal.