“You can sleep on the plane,” Myles said. “It’s a nine-hour flight. Plenty of time for sleeping.”

  Charles grumbled.

  “We do have a tail!” Myles said suddenly. “They’ve been following us since we left the gas station.”

  18

  EN ROUTE TO EDINBURGH

  It was with a sense of déjà vu that Abigail found herself on another flight seated next to Riley. Her stomach was still churning after Myles’s fast driving and evasive action. For a moment, she wondered if it was all a bad dream. This time, Myles and Charles were seated only five or so rows in front of them. “This first flight takes less than four and a half hours,” Riley said by way of encouragement.

  Abigail was about to respond when the hair stood up on the back of her neck. Abigail was all at once certain she was being watched. She craned her neck and looked straight into the eyes of a man seated across the aisle a few seats behind her. He at once averted his eyes.

  “Riley, are we being followed?”

  “I hoped you wouldn’t notice. Try not to worry.”

  “Worry?” Abigail realized she had spoken too loudly, so lowered her voice. “How could I not worry? They’re right here on the plane with us. What if they try something?”

  “They just want to know where we’re going, that’s all,” Riley said in soothing tones.

  “But how did they get here before us?”

  “They didn’t. Vortex would have called ahead and had agents close to Cairo waiting for us.”

  Abigail felt foolish. “Oh, I didn’t think of that.”

  This time the flight went without incident, and Abigail was relieved when they landed safely in Frankfurt. However, every time she looked around, she could see the man who was watching them. She didn’t see anyone with him, though. “Riley,” she whispered, “I keep seeing that same man, but are there others?”

  “There are two others,” he said. “Try not to look at him. Seriously, don’t let him bother you. It’s good news—it means they can’t figure out what the papyrus means all by themselves.”

  “But doesn’t it mean their plan is to try to abduct me? Or Charles?”

  “I won’t let that happen,” Riley said.

  Abigail found the interval between landing at Frankfurt and sitting in an airport café all a blur. Restaurants and cafés were beginning to morph into each other. Abigail had traveled in her life, but this seemed to be something of an overload. She yawned and stretched.

  “You should have slept on the plane,” Charles said. “Maybe you can sleep on the next flight.”

  “I did sleep,” Abigail admitted.

  “Stopovers can be several hours long, but we only have a couple of hours this time,” Myles said.

  Despite being in Riley’s company, the two hours seemed to stretch on forever to Abigail. The man who was following them was sitting at a nearby table, continually glancing their way. She did her best not to look at him, but the very fact of knowing she should not look at him made her do just that. “Why is he being so obvious?” she asked Riley.

  “What are you two whispering about?” Charles said. “Something private?”

  Abigail shot him a look, while Riley popped the last of his burger into his mouth. It seemed like an age before the call for boarding came. Abigail fell asleep before the plane even took off and did not awake until the plane landed with a jolt. “What happened?” she said, suddenly awake.

  “We just landed,” Riley said. “We’re in Edinburgh.”

  “Thank goodness! I thought we’d never get here.”

  Riley laughed at the enthusiasm in her tone. “You slept all the way.”

  “That was the longest time of my life,” Abigail continued. “I don’t even know what day it is, or what time it is back home.”

  “It’s best if you don’t try to figure out what time it is back home,” Riley told her. “If you did, it would probably make you tired.”

  “More tired,” Abigail said. “Anyway, I can’t wait to speak with the professor.”

  “It won’t be long now,” Riley said.

  Abigail and Riley sat as people took their luggage from the overhead compartments and filed past. He waited until the agent who had been following them walked past, before taking Abigail’s luggage from the overhead compartments and slipping in behind Charles and Myles.

  “We have to give that man the slip,” Myles said.

  It didn’t take them long to get through customs. They all met outside one of the rental car booths. “I’ll slip in and rent the car,” Myles said. After he returned, he said, “Let’s go.” They all piled into a white Mitsubishi Outlander.

  “How are you going to give those people following us the slip?” Charles asked.

  “I have a few ideas,” Myles said.

  Abigail had never been to Scotland before, so had no idea where she was. Once more, she lamented the fact she wouldn’t be able to spend time looking through Edinburgh. She would love to see Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, Rosslyn Chapel, St. Andrews golf course, and others she could recall if she wasn’t so tired.

  “Why are we going to Glasgow?” Charles asked, his voice startling Abigail who was still drowsy. “Is Alaric Addington in Glasgow at the moment?”

  “Never you mind,” Myles said.

  Charles tapped the side of his head. “I see! You’re going to pretend you’re headed for Glasgow and you’re going to try to lose those agents on the way. I suppose you told the rental car people that you were going to Glasgow?”

  Myles simply shot him a smile.

  “You people aren’t as stupid as you look,” Charles said and then laughed.

  Abigail wished Charles wouldn’t be so unpleasant. It made things more difficult. Myles appeared affable, but Riley was clearly irritated by Charles.

  When they reached Livingston, Myles said. “Time for something to eat.”

  Abigail had no idea whether they should be eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

  “Isn’t this a matter of urgency?” Charles asked.

  Myles ignored him. He parked the car on a main road and they all got out. They walked into a café nearby and sat down.

  “I’ll just pop to the restroom,” Myles said before heading toward the back of the building. He returned more than half an hour later. “Let’s go.”

  “But I haven’t finished eating my burger yet, and they took a long time after we ordered it,” Charles lamented. “And where have you been?”

  “Let’s go,” Myles said again. “There are restrooms at the back of the building, and the back door of this building is directly past the restrooms. Follow me.”

  The four of them got up and headed for the restrooms. If the waitress thought it strange, she gave no indication. They slipped past the restrooms, out the back door and then skirted around the side of the building.

  Myles walked to a car and unlocked it, indicating everyone should get in. It was an old car, somewhat battered looking and in need of a good wash. “Everyone get down,” Myles said, “especially you, Charles.”

  Abigail leaned down in the back seat.

  “Charles, you’ll have to get lower than that,” Myles said.

  Abigail figured Myles was satisfied, as the engine started and the car drove off. “How long do we have to stay down?” Charles’s voice said from the front seat.

  “I’ll tell you when you can get up,” Myles added.

  Abigail’s leg was cramping a little and she wished she could stretch it out, but she was pleased with Myles’s ingenuity. She figured the Vortex agents would see the white Mitsubishi at the front and think they were still in the restaurant. It was a large restaurant, over two floors and long and deep. The windows were dark and it was hard to see in from the street.

  Finally, Myles said, “You can get up.”

  “This is an old bomb,” Charles said. “I’m surprised they rented out such an old car.”

  “I bought it,” Myles said simply.

  Charles was still grumbling. “You’d think they’d wash it first.”

  “We’re finally on our way to Alaric Addington,” Riley said with a smile.

  Abigail allowed herself a large sigh of relief. She figured the Vortex agents were no longer on their tail, and what’s more, they surely had no idea they were heading for Alaric Addington. The Vortex agents no doubt thought they were in Glasgow. Further, the Vortex agents could easily think they were en route to universities that offered Egyptology such as Manchester, Liverpool, Swansea, and of course, Oxford or Cambridge.

  Abigail was refreshed after her sleep and was enjoying the scenery, countless miles of rolling green hills. “Is that heather?” she squealed, pointing to purple flowers by the roadside.

  Riley smiled at her, but Charles said, “Honestly Abigail, how can you think about botanical matters when our lives are in danger?”

  Abigail didn’t let Charles’s words spoil her mood. Scotland was beautiful, even more beautiful than it looked on television.

  “How far to Dumfries?” Charles piped up.

  “Another four hours,” Riley said. “Why don’t you get some sleep, Charles?”

  Abigail bit back a smile. It was obvious Riley didn’t want to listen to Charles’s endless complaints. She too felt herself drifting off to sleep.

  “Dumfries.”

  Abigail awoke when she heard Myles’s voice and realized her head was on Riley’s shoulder. She sat up and shot him an embarrassed smile. “Good sleep?” he asked her.

  Abigail nodded. It was good sleeping on Riley’s shoulder. She had felt safe. She always felt safe with Riley.

  As Myles drove through Dumfries, Abigail looked at the beautiful buildings built of Scottish red stone. “This is a beautiful town,” she said.

  Myles held up his phone and checked the GPS.

  “You could have bought a new car that had GPS,” Charles grumbled.

  Myles stopped the car suddenly.

  19

  DUMFRIES, SCOTLAND

  Myles had driven down a short gravel driveway and stopped the car outside a red stone house. The garden was striking, a huge yew tree towering over blue lobelia flowers, hydrangeas, and rhododendrons.

  ‘Everyone, stay in the car,” Riley said. “We’ll split up, and after I explain matters to the professor, I’ll signal for you all to come in.”

  Abigail watched as Riley knocked on the door and then knocked some more. He looked around and then knocked again. He was on his way back to the car when a woman walking her dog hurried over to speak to him. Riley smiled and nodded, patted the dog, and then went to the car. “That was his neighbour. She says he’s caught the train to Edinburgh.”

  “Just our luck,” Charles said.

  “She told me the train to Edinburgh doesn’t go direct from here but passes through a place called Carlisle. Addington is visiting his sister in Edinburgh.”

  Charles threw up his hands in the air. “But we’ve just come from Edinburgh!”

  Riley ignored him. “If we hurry, we might catch him at Dumfries Station. It’s down that road.” Riley jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “She said he’s only just left. She said the train would be here any minute.”

  Myles swung the car out onto the road and soon Abigail saw the sign to the Dumfries train station. They could see a train leaving.

  “I hope that’s not the train!” Charles said.

  Myles took a sharp right. He parked the car and they ran onto the platform. Abigail thought it was the prettiest train station she had ever seen, painted in pretty colors of pink and purple. It wasn’t like one of dirty train stations she was used to—this one was obviously a matter of pride to the residents.

  Myles spoke to someone in the ticket office and came back. “That was the train that just left the station,” he said. It has to change at Carlisle. If we hurry, we can board the train there and speak with him.”

  Soon they were speeding off in the direction of Carlisle. “How far away is it?” Abigail said.

  “Not far at all,” Riley told her. “We’ll be there soon, in about thirty-five minutes.”

  This time, the scenery sped past more quickly than it had on the drive down from Edinburgh. Abigail was a little concerned with the speed, especially in such an old car. Still, she figured Myles knew what he was doing.

  Abigail caught her breath. Driving fast around corners was making her a little carsick. She hoped they would reach Carlisle in time to catch the train. She didn’t fancy another long drive to Edinburgh and figured a train ride would be more relaxing.

  When they got to the Carlisle train station, they sprinted to the train office where Riley bought tickets. They stepped onto the platform just as the train came into sight. It was only when they were inside the train that Abigail breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close,” she said. “Now we just have to find Alaric Addington. I don’t even know what he looks like.”

  Riley showed her the professor’s photo on his phone.

  “Do we split up and look for him?” Charles asked.

  “You’re not leaving my side,” Myles told him.

  Charles’s face fell.

  “The four of us are sticking together,” Riley added. “Let’s walk through the carriages until we find him.”

  By the time they had walked through three carriages, Abigail thought maybe he wasn’t on the train. Maybe the neighbor had been mistaken. In fact, they didn’t find the professor until they were at the last carriage. He was sitting alone at the very back of the train, staring out the window. A mother with young children was at the front of the carriage and a teenage girl was sitting directly behind him. There were no other occupants of the carriage.

  “Take seats anywhere for now. I’ll go forward and speak with him and then come and get you,” Riley said.

  Abigail sat facing Riley so she could see what was going on. She saw Alaric Addington’s expression of surprise and then she saw Riley show him his ID. They continued to talk for a few minutes and then Riley stood up and beckoned the others over.

  When she got there, Dr. Addington stood up and shook her hand. “Dr. Spencer,” he said. “I know of your work, of course, and Dr. Fitzgerald, I know of your work too. I read a recent paper of yours in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.”

  “Call me Charles,” Charles said.

  “And please call me Abigail.”

  Dr. Addington nodded. “Yes, please call me Alaric. Now what’s all this about? Your friend here says that it’s a matter of international security.”

  Riley nodded to Abigail. “There’s a papyrus that is supposed to show the location of Goliath’s spear,” she told Alaric. “It shows how the Peleset stole it from Ramses III.” To Riley and Myles, she added, “The Peleset were the Philistines, part of the Sea Peoples.” She continued speaking to Alaric. “The papyrus shows that Shoshenq I took Goliath’s spear and Solomon’s gold back to Egypt.”

  The professor’s eyes lit up. “Fascinating. Fascinating.”

  Abigail pushed on. “And we think Goliath’s spear is within the Black Pyramid complex.”

  The professor’s jaw dropped open. “Goodness gracious me!”

  Riley took out the papyrus spear and laid it in front of the professor.

  He bent over it. “I didn’t know there was such a papyrus,” he said. “What is its provenance?”

  Abigail shrugged. “I haven’t been told.” She raised an eye at Riley.

  “I don’t know either,” he said. “The original is in the hands of the criminal organization I told you about. They want to get this spear and sell it to fund their terrorist activities.”

  “Maybe they’re after the gold with Goliath’s spear,” Alaric said. “2 Chronicles 12:9 tells us when Shoshenq I attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple as well as the treasures of the royal palace including the gold shields Solomon had made. It says Shoshenq took ‘everything.’ If he took the spear at the same time, then it stands to reason it would be with the gold.”

  Charles sighed. “Yes, obviously, that already occurred to us.” He jabbed his finger on the papyrus copy. “See this symbol right here? We think it’s a determinative for ‘labyrinth’.”

  Abigail ran her hand over the papyrus. “And here are the cartouches of Amenemhat III.”

  The professor stroked his beard. “Yes, I see what you mean. Let me have a closer look.” He pulled a glasses case from his pocket and popped on his glasses. He stared at the papyrus for some time. “I haven’t seen a determinative for a labyrinth before, but yes, this would make sense.”

  “What do you mean?” Riley asked him.

  Charles interjected. “You’ll have to excuse these two men, Alaric. They’re completely ignorant.” He chuckled. “About Egyptology, I mean.” He shot Riley a dark look.

  The professor smiled at Riley and Myles in turn. “The Black Pyramid is simply a part of the huge complex built by Amenemhat III. The pyramid structure itself was to the west of the complex. To the east was a fast array of underground chambers comprising a labyrinth, and also above ground were chambers comprising a labyrinth.”

  “Abigail already explained that to us,” Riley said, “but we’re hoping you could help us. You excavated there.”

  The professor nodded slowly. “I did, until my asthma got too bad.” He gave a dry laugh. “Those particulates!”

  “Particulates?” Myles echoed.

  “Particulates are microscopic particles irritating to the lungs,” he explained. “They’re everywhere in Egypt. They are caused by dust and pollution, but they were also present in ancient Egypt. The sandy climate no doubt stirred up the particulates of ancient metal working and mining, even cooking.”

  “Is that why you abandoned the site?” Abigail asked him.

  Alaric chuckled and then added, “And I ran out of funding.”

  “We need to get into those underground passageways,” Abigail told him. “We have to find the spear before the others do.”

  “And the gold,” Charles added. “If there is any.”

  “Did you ever find a way down to the labyrinth?” Riley asked him.