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.Sure to please the hungry camper.Edie deeply inhaled the coffee’s aroma before taking a sip of the sweetened brew.“After what we just went through, I’m in dire need of a fix and Chow Hounds is my favorite sugar shack.I love eating here.Plus, it’s only a mile or so from the house.”His gaze moved across the crowded space, astonished that anyone could enjoy dining in a restaurant with tangerine-and-turquoise-colored walls.The boisterous atmosphere was not to his liking either; patrons had to raise their voices to be heard over the rockabilly music blaring from the sound system.Although a conversation held in a crowded eatery was always the safest.A lesson learned at the hands of his old MI5 taskmasters.“While you’re understandably anxious to return home, I think we should spend one more night at the Willard.” When Edie opened her mouth to protest, he raised a hand, forestalling the objection.“Since we can’t put the Emerald Tablet in your safe deposit box until the bank opens in the morning, I will secure it in the hotel safe.”At the mention of the relic, Edie’s gaze went to the leather satchel that he wore bandolier-style around his chest for safekeeping.“That’s gotta be uncomfortable.”Caedmon assumed she referred to the fact that the metal case containing the Emerald Tablet was stuffed inside the satchel.“I’ll manage.” He shifted slightly on the cane-bottomed chair, allowing more room on his lap before returning his attention to the digital camera.“Here.It’ll be easier to view the photos on the netbook,” Edie said, sliding the portable laptop across the table.Anxious to examine the photos, he popped the memory chip out of one slot and into another, hoping the photographs would do the relic justice.They did, magnificent the word that instantly came to mind.Without a doubt, the Emerald Tablet was a beautifully crafted, stunning relic with a jaw-dropping provenance.Although.“You’re frowning.”“Am I? My apologies.I’m bewildered by the inlaid lettering on the tablet.Quite honestly, I had expected to see more Egyptian hieroglyphs.There’s only the one ibis glyph on the backside underneath the entwined circle.”“Well, the ibis is the symbol for Thoth, and since the ibis-headed Thoth supposedly authored the Emerald Tablet, maybe it’s some sort of signature.”He stared at the inlaid glyph positioned at the bottom of the tablet.“As a shore-dwelling bird, the ibis lives in that nebulous realm between land and water.More important, it’s symbolic of Thoth’s ability to straddle the unconscious and the conscious mind, that being the gateway to enlightenment.”“Okay, but you’re still frowning.”He rearranged his facial muscles into what he hoped was a more congenial expression.“I’m irked by the fact that while the script is clearly of ancient origin, I’ve never seen this alphabet before.”“I have.”His head jerked, surprised by the revelation.“You’ve seen it, too.” Shoving her coffee mug aside, Edie slid the netbook to her side of the table.Craning his neck, Caedmon watched as Edie deftly accessed the computer file that contained her archived photos.“When we were at Jason Lovett’s cottage in Arcadia, we found a sheet of paper in the fax machine with some funky writing on it.Remember?”He thought back to that day: the ransacked rooms, the octogram star brazenly scrawled on the wall, the hidden artifacts, and yes, an overlooked sheet of paper still in the fax machine.“As I recall, Dr.Lovett sent a fax to a professor at Catholic University.At the time, I didn’t think it significant, since Lovett mentioned on his digital voice recorder that he’d discovered an inscription on a foundation stone.”“Look familiar?” Edie turned the computer in his direction.“My God.you’re absolutely correct.It is the same alphabet that’s inscribed on the Emerald Tablet.” He shook his head, staggered by the discovery.The Knights Templar had used the same ancient alphabet to inscribe the foundation stone at the Arcadia settlement.“This is the person on the receiving end of Jason Lovett’s fax.” Edie tapped on the keyboard, bringing up the next photo in the archive: a facsimile cover sheet addressed to Dr.Lyon at Catholic University.“Do you want me to go to the Catholic—”“Yes, by all means go to the university site,” he interjected.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the gangly waiter approach with a laden tray.“A Belgian S’more, right?” As with the coffee, the young man didn’t wait for a reply before setting the plate on the table.“Waiter!” a portly man at the next table loudly bellowed.“That’s my Belgian S’more! I’ve been waiting twenty minutes!”Faced with a thorny dilemma, the waiter nervously glanced from table to table.Edie stopped typing long enough to turn her head and peer across the aisle.At seeing a florid-faced man built like a sumo wrestler straddling not one, but two, rickety cane chairs, she picked up the plate and passed the whipped-cream-topped confection to the next table.“Bon appétit.”“Thanks!” the young waiter gushed, clearly relieved that he didn’t have to battle the hefty dragon.“I’ll put a rush on your waffle.”“No hurry.” Edie turned her attention to the computer screen.“According to the university site, Dr.Lyon is professor emeritus in the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages.Here’s a picture of him.” Edie cocked her head to one side.“For an older man, he’s quite handsome.One of those frail, aristocratic Ian McKellen types.”Caedmon contemplatively stared at the online bio.“How fascinating.Dr.Lyon is an expert in the ancient languages of the Near East.Is there an e-mail address?”Edie scanned the page.“Yep.M Lyon at cua dot edu.”“May I?” He gestured to the netbook; Edie obliged the request, sliding the computer to his side of the table.The direct approach usually being the one that bore fruit, he typed a pithy message.Dr.Lyon,I am an associate of Dr.Jason Lovett’s.During the course of our recent excavation in Rhode Island, we uncovered an unusual artifact with an incised script that we believe to be of Near Eastern derivation
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