"This is a very charming residence you have here, Sir." Catherine broke the proverbial ice with her ambiguous compliment.
"Thank you, dear." The old man’s smile was sincere. "I and my wife appreciated all religions and cultures and appreciated each one’s contributions to the world." He drifted off in thought, then returned from his office, where he took the number of his precinct officer's contact. "Here, this is the calling card of my dear friend. Sgt. Vasquez."
"Thank you, sir," Shawn replied as he held the card. "I agree with my wife, sir, you have a very interesting residence here. It would be a shame if you closed this orphanage."
"I know, Mr. Richmond." He sighed and added, "To some, this decoration might be confusing, but I believe that we all came from one place in history and t
"What theory are we talking about here?" Catherine asked. The old man answered, "Well...he believed that there was one God, but he wasn't sure which one though. Don't ask me. I shared his sentiments. This is where the search for the Buddha started. He believes that there is something inside the statue that may answer his questions. I thought he had given it up. I never thought he was still obsessed with it." "So he is monotheism," Shawn said with a nod and went to see the nearby statues and deities. "What is that?" Catherine asked and followed Shawn's gaze. "Monotheism is simply defined as the belief in one god and is usually positioned as the polar opposite of polytheism, which is the belief in many gods."
"You know what? I think this is just an ordinary rune symbol. Let me see it on your tablet. We can perhaps decipher this." Catherine said after she held the tablet when Shawn had given up looking for something. "I think you're right." Shawn spun the chair at the desk around and plopped down while she perused the pages as she paced the small room. Catherine had only begun to pace back from the window in the room when, suddenly, she stopped. Lifting her head, she smiled at Shawn. "This is just a simple conversation. This is futhark." "What?" Shawn asked and went to her side as she read. "Futhark was a Scandinavian runic alphabet that evolved from the Younger Futhark after the introduction of stung (or dotted) runes at the end of the Viking Age. These stung runes were regular runes with the addition of either a dot diacritic or bar diacritic to indicate that the rune stood for one of its secondary sounds (so an i rune could become an e rune or a j rune when stung). "Makes sense, it w
Warning Rated PG Shawn finished examining the map of Warsaw, Poland, still puzzled. Poland? Jesus, grandad! Warsaw was big enough, but that was all the old man managed to give? This was unlike his grandfather. He was a detailed man. Yes, he loved this sort of game, but it was never this puzzling or tough for him to not even be able to decipher the place. He set the paper down respectfully on the desk when Catherine managed to pull off some of the conversion of runes, and it gave them more confusion. Her jewel will signify your guidance and that of the boats of bliss, the darkness, and the wings will lead the way on your voyage home. I am the key. My holy bones lie. Make every stride natural and loosen the pits, for they sha
The next morning, Shawn and Catherine left the old man's residence. The doctor's SUV sped along the interstate, heading toward the airport. Every few minutes or so, Shawn would glance in the rearview mirrors to make certain no one was following them. A couple of times, he thought he had seen a car changing lanes with him, but then the vehicle turned off of an exit a few minutes later. He hadn’t survived this long by being careless, and the people they were up against had to be considered extremely dangerous.Even though Shawn suspected the worst, earlier in the day, he received a call from Eddie, and his butler told him what happened at Dave's apartment and that Catherine's brother was still in Javier's hideout. He told him about the map, and they agreed to meet at the airport going to Poland.Catherine interrupted his thoughts as if she could
Dave sat at a table in the far corner of a large modern kitchen. The ropes that had lately restrained him had been replaced by two massive security guards who were nearly the size of the room. He'd been there for about two hours, waiting. He wasn't sure what to do. Alfonso had left swiftly, most likely to instruct Javier's guys to bring back what Dave had stated he wanted from his house. The idiotic map.He had gotten the mail from the historian who had been instructed by Sir Anthony to contact him for whatever purpose, and there had been no explanation as to what the ridiculous poem meant until the secret message arrived before the bastard snatched him. It was a map of the Polish city of Warsaw.It was simply a translation of the old rune from the tablet that had been blended to deceive and confound those who attempted to interpret it.
Shawn and Catherine stood on the front veranda of what seemed to be a fairly huge log cottage. The drive had only taken about an hour from the interstate, which was ten miles from the town's old local airport to the wooden home, but it seemed like they were out in the middle of nowhere. "Shawn? What on earth are we doing here?""This is where we wait for Eddie. This is my uncle Bennett's place." He mumbled.Above them, the raven sky glittered with more stars than Catherine had seen in a long time. Sounds of nature filled the night: cricket songs, croaking frogs, and the melodies of nocturnal birds. The air was scented with a mixture of hardwood and pine.She took a long br
After serving the coffee, Ben left his guests alone in the living room for a few minutes, not explaining where he was going. When he returned, he had a somber look on his face and was gripping something in his worn fingers. He opened his hand, revealing something that astonished both of the visitors. "Is that what I think it is?" Shawn couldn’t believe what he was seeing. "It is." "But how did you get it?" "I received a package from Anthony two days before his death. This wedding ring was inside." Ben carefully handed the velvet box to Shawn. Catherine gasped. "Oh my, this is... Oh, I remember this... This is his wife's ring. He told me about her. Oh goodness, it was almost like Anthony had been so regretful that he wasn't able to give his wife her dream wedding and said that this
Ben's face looked like he was ready to explode with excitement. He started by saying, "There are several local legends that have been passed around for the last fifty or so years that revolve around a constant theme: the Buddha's chamber and its tonnes of gold, but we have to know the history of Buddha before even understanding his life from Anthony’s perspective." The two nodded as he added, "Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of Buddha's life. Most of them accept that the Buddha lived, taught, and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era during the reign of Bimbisara." After pausing for a second, Ben continued, "Now, you won’t find these stories in any history books. In fact, they’re probably more like family tales than local legends. According to Buddhist texts, a prophecy was given at his birth that he would become either a powerful king or a great spiritual leader. His father feared he would become the latter if he were exposed