Inca Gold

    "Perhaps they've been following you," said Micki, holding up her glass as Henry poured her wine.

    Oxley shook his head. "No, our amphibian has twice the fuel range of their helicopter."

    Moore turned to Zolar. "My wife may have something. The odds are astronomical that it was a chance encounter."

    "How do we handle it?" Samson asked no one in particular.

    Zolar smiled. "I think Mrs. Moore has given us the answer."

    "Me?" wondered Micki. "All I suggested was--"

    "They might have been following us." So.

    Zolar looked at her slyly. "We'll begin by requesting our mercenary friends in local law enforcement to begin earning their money by launching an investigation to find our competitor's base of operations. Once found, we'll follow them."

    Darkness was only a half hour away when Giordino set the helicopter down neatly within the white circle painted on the loading deck of the Alhambra. The deckhands, who simply went by the names of Jesus and Gato, stood by to push the craft inside the cavernous auto deck and tie it down.

    Loren and Gu

    "Any luck?" Gu

    Giordino replied with a thumbs-down.

    Pitt stepped from the helicopter's passenger door and knitted his thick, black eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you two again, certainly not here."

    Dr. Sha

    "Not at all. I'm glad to see you. I assume you've all introduced yourselves to each other."

    "Yes, we've all become acquainted. Sha

    "Dr. Kelsey has regaled me with her adventures in Peru," said Loren in a voice that was low and throaty. "She's led an interesting life."

    Giordino exited the helicopter and stared at the newcomers with interest. "Hail, hail, the gang's all here," he said in greeting. "Is this a reunion or an old mummy hunters' convention?"

    "Yes, what brings you to our humble ferry in the Sea of Cortez?" asked Pitt.

    "Government agents requested Miles and me to drop everything in Peru and fly here to assist your search," answered Sha

    Pitt looked at Gu

    Gu

    "They were Customs agents," Miles enlightened Pitt. "They appeared in the Pueblo de los Muertos with a high-level State Department official and played on our patriotism."

    "Miles and I were asked to identify and photograph Huascar's treasure after you found it," explained Sha

    "And you volunteered," Pitt surmised.

    Rodgers replied "When the Customs agents informed us the gang of smugglers we met in the Andes are co

    "The Zolars?"

    Rodgers nodded. "The possibility we might be of help in trapping Doc Miller's murderer quickly overcame any reluctance to become involved."

    "Wait a minute," said Giordino. "The Zolars are involved with Amaru and the Solpemachaco?"

    Rodgers nodded again. "You weren't told? No one informed you that the Solpemachaco and the Zolar family are one and the same?"

    "I guess someone forgot," Giordino said caustically. He and Pitt looked at each other as understanding dawned. Each read the other's mind and they silently agreed not to mention their unexpected run-in with Doc Miller's imposter.

    "Were you briefed on the instructions we deciphered on the quipu?" Pitt asked Sha

    Sha

    "By whom?"

    "The courier who hand-delivered it was an FBI agent."

    Pitt stared at Gu

    "If word leaks out," said Giordino, "every treasure hunter between here and the polar icecaps will swarm into the Gulf like fleas after a hemophiliac St. Bernard."

    Fatigue began to tighten its grip on Pitt. He was stiff and numb and his back ached. His body demanded to lie down and rest. He had every right to be tired and discouraged. What the hell, he thought, why not share the despair. No good reason why he should bear the cross by himself.

    "I hate to say it," he said slowly, staring at Sha

    Sha

    "Did someone tell you we had?"

    "We were led to believe you had pi

    "Wishful thinking," said Pitt. "We haven't seen a trace of a stone carving."

    "Are you familiar with the symbol marker described by the quipu?" Gu

    "Yes," she replied without hesitation. "The Demonio del Muertos."

    Pitt sighed. "The demon of the dead. Dr. Ortiz told us. I go to the back of the class for not making the co

    "I remember," said Gu

    Pitt repeated Dr. Ortiz's exact words. "Part jaguar, part condor, part snake, he sank his fangs into whoever disturbed the dead."

    "The body and wings have the scales of a lizard," Sha

    "Now that you know exactly what you're looking for," Loren said with renewed enthusiasm, "the search should go easier."

    "So we know the I.D. of the beast that guards the hoard," said Giordino, bringing the conversation back to earth. "So what? Dirk and I have examined every island that falls within the pattern and we've come up empty. We've exhausted our search area, and what we might have missed our competitors have likely checked off their list too."

    "Al's right," Pitt admitted. "We have no place left to search."

    "You're sure you've seen no trace of the demon?" asked Rodgers.

    Giordino shook his head. "Not so much as a scale or a fang."

    Sha

    The treasure that never was," murmured Gu