Great, are priceless in themselves. Treasures, truly.”
“But they are not what got Boris killed.”
Lourds sighed. “No one knows any more about what’s in those scrolls than we do right now.”
“Than you do, you mean.”
Lourds inclined his head. “Than I do. And I’m telling you now that there’s nothing I’ve read in there that’s worth killing someone over.”
“Yakov was there looking for something. He did not go into that cave blind or simply hoping to find something. Someone sent him there.”
Lourds nodded. “I agree. But I have no clue what it could be.”
For a moment, Anna was silent. Then she took out her phone. “I took a picture of Yakov.”
“You did?”
“Yes. Taking pictures is one of the things I do in my job.”
“Let me see.”
She passed him the phone. Lourds examined the image and saw the Russian Today man squatting down with the rifle. She’d caught him in three-quarter profile.
“Have you seen him before?”
She shook her head. “Not until today. I sent his picture to some people who might be able to help us identify him.”
“What people?” Lourds was leery of telling many people about anything they were doing. He wanted to keep a low profile.
“Some newspaper contacts I have who are in the business of knowing who is who.”
“I assume you’ve heard nothing?”
“Not yet. What about the mystery scroll? I’ve seen you pick it up and put it back several times.”
Lourds massaged his temples. “That one makes my head ache. It’s a definite code, but I don’t know what it is.”
Anna frowned. “Were codes used back then?”
“Codes aren’t anything new. They’ve been around as long as language. People have always sought ways to communicate secretly with others.”
“I see. So what would Alexander the Great have been hiding?”
“Alexander the Great wasn’t doing the hiding. He was the thing being hidden. Or, rather, his body was being hidden. His tomb disappeared centuries ago. No one knows what became of him. On the surface of what I’ve learned in these scrolls, there may be an answer to where he is.”
“You think someone wants him found?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what anyone could think they were going to get.”
“What was special about Alexander the Great?”
“The man nearly conquered the known world while he was alive, and died young.”
“How did he do this? Did he have a large army?”
“He did, but that wasn’t all of it. Alexander the Great had a keen understanding of people and politics. His mentor, chosen for him by his father, was Aristotle.” Lourds hesitated. “You do know who that is?”
She frowned at him over the rim of her teacup. “I was trained in journalism at the Columbia School of Journalism. Aristotle wrote treatises on the art of writing and language. Trust me. I had to read them all. Several times.”
Smiling, Lourds nodded in mock surrender. “Of course. I stand corrected. I had forgotten about Poetics, the work he did on explaining dramatic theory and the literary form.”
“I will not ever be able to. The professor I had was very much in love with Aristotle and his writings.”
“You had a good professor.”
“Perhaps. But continue your tale. Did Aristotle somehow impart the secret of conquering the world to him?”
“No.” Lourds sighed. “But you’d think someone must have from where Alexander got and how fast he got there. He had a habit of holding up on the sword until he learned he couldn’t win over the hearts of a people.”
“Speaking of winning hearts.” Anna pointed at the ring box still sitting on the table. “Who is that for?”
Lourds hesitated for a moment. “Someone very special to me.”
“May I?”
Lourds handed her the ring box. “Be my guest.” He wondered what her reaction would be, and he thought himself foolish for being so concerned. But if Anna liked the ring, surely Layla would.
Anna opened the box and gazed at the ring. She smiled in delight. “Pretty.”
“I thought so, but the question is, will she think so?”
“If she decides she does not, I will be more than happy to take it off your hands.”
“Thanks, but I’m rather hoping she grows fond of it.”
Anna handed the ring box back to him. “So where is this woman? Why has she not called?”
“She’s very busy.”
“Too busy to wonder what has happened to you after today?”
“She probably doesn’t even know.”
“How could she not? The story is all over the news and all over the Internet.” Anna waved to the computer. “I’ve been following it in several places. There are CNN reports. FOX News. Several newspapers and online magazines. YouTube videos from