in diameter, at its deepest four inches thick . . . and even covered with the dirt of ages, it was instantly obvious that it was made from solid gold.
‘The Punchaco!’ exclaimed Becker.
Even through his awe, Osterhagen shook his head. ‘No, it is too small, and there are no jewels. It must be a copy.’
‘What’s a punchaco?’ Macy asked.
‘A sun disc,’ Nina replied. ‘One of the greatest Inca treasures.’
‘The greatest,’ Osterhagen corrected her. ‘It represented the sun god Inti, and was in the Temple of the Sun at Cuzco. As well as being made of pure gold, it was decorated with thousands of precious stones. But when the Spanish arrived, even though they looted the temple of a huge amount of gold, the Punchaco was gone.’
Eddie moved further into the room. Before the golden face was a large stone slab, which he guessed was an altar – and behind it was proof that someone else knew of the sun disc’s existence. ‘The Spanish weren’t the only ones who wanted to get their hands on this thing,’ he said, holding up a length of heavy-duty chain.
Nina rounded the altar to see a trolley made of thick steel with six fat little tyres, as well as a pile of equally beefy metal struts, several of which had been fastened together to form the basis of a truss. She also recognised the pulleys of a block and tackle. ‘Looks like they were going to lift the disc off the wall and stand it on this cart.’ She went to the window. At one time it would have allowed the light of dawn to shine on the Punchaco. Though the view was now blocked by trees, she could still make out the main gate to the east – and closer, the oddly proportioned crate.
Its purpose was no longer a mystery. It was the right size to accommodate the sun disc.
‘It’s a good thing we did come in here,’ she said, with a faintly accusing look at her husband. ‘They were about to steal the sun disc. And they were probably saving it until last – it’s not something they could carry off in their pocket like the artefacts Interpol recovered. That much gold must weigh tons.’
Kit examined the sun disc. ‘It’s about one metre twenty across, and . . . ten centimetres deep. So it would weigh . . . ’
‘The volume of a cylinder is pi r squared h,’ Cuff mumbled through the handkerchief he was holding to his mouth. ‘So that’s . . . ’
‘One hundred and thirteen thousand, one hundred and forty-two cubic centimetres,’ Nina announced, performing the calculations in her head, to the surprise of Valero and Osterhagen’s team. ‘Or zero point one one three cubic metres, more or less. And I think gold is something like nineteen times denser than water, which weighs a metric ton per cubic metre, so . . . ’ Another moment of thought. ‘We’re talking over two tons of gold. The weight of an SUV.’
‘No wonder they left it till last,’ said Eddie. ‘Be a bugger to get out of here.’
‘But if this is only a copy,’ said Macy, ‘where’s the real thing?’
‘Still hidden, somewhere,’ suggested Loretta.
Nina looked towards the entrance. ‘Somewhere here, maybe?’
Osterhagen had the same idea. ‘The palace! We have to search it.’
‘Two minutes,’ warned Eddie. ‘The longer we’re here, the more chance we have of getting caught.’
‘I know, I know,’ Nina snapped, bustling the others to the door.
They hurried out and ascended another set of steps to the building on the highest tier of the jungle city. It too was open to the elements, and in a state of partial collapse where windborne seeds had taken root and grown into infinitely patient, subtly destructive trees, but more than enough of the structure remained to reveal its stark majesty. Every block had been carved with painstaking precision to fit exactly amongst its neighbours without needing mortar to secure it, and in contrast to the plain architecture elsewhere in Paititi the palace was decorated, geometric patterns carved into the stonework and sculpted heads jutting from sections of wall.
‘Split up,’ Nina ordered. Much as it pained her, she ignored the ancient adornments to search the various rooms for any unlooted treasures. Though there were a few remaining artefacts that would be valuable from a cultural perspective, nothing stood out as being so financially. The raiders had been thorough. ‘Find anything?’ she called.
‘It’d help if I knew what I was looking for,’ Eddie complained from