“I have arranged two meetings for you. One is with the governor of Mount Athos. He was appointed by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is in charge of the civil administration of the Holy Mountain. For requests like yours, he is the man who must sign off on your visit. He has the authority to grant you emergency admission, if he feels it is warranted. So when you speak to him, you must be convincing.”
“Don’t worry, I will be.” Dial jotted a few notes. “Where will I meet him?”
“In Ouranoúpoli, a small village just across the border from Mount Athos.”
“Great. What about the second meeting?”
“There are twenty monasteries on the mountain. Each of them has a guest-master, a monk who is in charge of guided tours, showing relics, and more. He is the main contact person at each site. Visitors must check in with him before they enter his monastery.”
“But I don’t know which monasteries I need to visit.”
“This is why you will meet with the supervisor of all guest-masters-if the governor grants you access to their community. The supervisor has an office at Karyes. It is the largest settlement on Mount Athos. It is where all administrative matters are handled.”
Toulon gave him further details, including times and directions.
“Thanks, Henri. I appreciate it.”
“So you are not mad at me?”
Dial shook his head. “Why should I be mad?”
“Because you asked me to get you access today, and I have failed.”
“Hey, it was a tough task-especially considering their rigid schedules.”
Toulon paused. “Does this mean you will give me a long weekend off like you promised?”
Dial laughed. “I don’t know about that. The big prize was incentive for a miracle. And you didn’t produce a miracle. You produced a couple of meetings.”
“Oui. This is true. I have been to your meetings. They are not miraculous.”
“Speaking of miracles, what’s the latest on that officer from Spárti?”
“George Pappas.”
“Right. Did he have any luck on his search for Spartans?”
Toulon fiddled with his ponytail. “I do not know. I have spent all my time talking to the officials at Mount Athos. I have not had time to talk to George.”
“Well, now that you’re done with the monks, I’d appreciate it if you could give him a call. The more information I have before I meet with the governor, the better.”
“I will call him now. Would you like him to call you directly?”
“Only if he has something major to report. Otherwise, just call me back and leave a voice mail. I doubt I’ll hear my phone in the chopper.”
“You are leaving now?”
Dial nodded. “I don’t have much of a choice. I commandeered the chopper from the Greek police, and they need it back as soon as possible. I’ll just have the pilot drop us off at Ouranoúpoli. That way I’ll be ready for my morning meeting. The last thing I want to do is be late for the governor.”
“Oui, that would be bad.”
“Besides, this will give me a chance to see the Holy Mountain today. I’ll have the pilot do a few flyovers, just so I can get a feel for the place.”
54
Payne read the words aloud. “The coat equals the key. What does that mean?”
Allison shrugged. “I have no idea, since I don’t know what the coat is. I could have asked Ivan on the phone, but I figured that would’ve appeared suspicious.”
Jones nodded in agreement as he returned to his chair. “Any theories?”
“It might be referring to a coat of arms. Many cities in Europe, both new and ancient, use decorative shields as a symbol. Perhaps the coat is pointing toward a specific location.”
“Look in the French column on the tablet,” Jones suggested. “Coat of arms is the translation of a French term, cote d’armes. It might be listed there.”
Payne stared at him like he was speaking French. Which, in fact, he had been. “How in the hell do you know that?”
Jones shrugged. “Doesn’t everybody?”
Payne wanted to tease him, but Allison interrupted him before he could.
“Sorry. There’s no coat mentioned in French.”
“What about Schliemann’s family?”
“What about them?” she asked.
Jones explained. “Many important families in Europe have their own coat of arms. That sounds like something Schliemann might’ve had done to boost his stature.”
“Hmmm, I never thought of that. I don’t remember seeing one during my research, but I can look through my notes. I have some pictures of Iliou Melathron. Maybe I’ll spot one there.”
Payne grimaced in confusion. “What is Iliou Mel-?”
“Melathron. It is Schliemann’s former residence in Athens. The term translates to the Palace of Ilium, which was the name of the Roman city built on top of the site of Troy. Schliemann’s mansion was so extravagant it was purchased by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture for the Athens Numismatic Museum. It now houses over six hundred thousand coins.”
“That’s a lot of change,” Jones said.
Allison smiled. “We were going to visit it when we went to Greece. It’s near the Acropolis.”
Payne recognized the look in her eye. She was about to go off on a wild tangent, probably talking about the Parthenon or some other site that she hoped to see. Payne knew if they were going to get out of Russia before he died of old age, he had to keep her rambling to a minimum.
“Let me ask you a question,” he said to Allison. “Even if Schliemann had a coat of arms, what does it really matter? I mean, I doubt it was a family secret. That would have gone against his motivation to get a coat of arms to begin with. So what good would it do us?”
Allison sighed. “You make a good point.”
“For the time being, I think it would be best if you kept working on the journal. See if you can figure out why Richard rushed to Naples to buy it and then spent so much time translating it. Obviously, he thought it was important.”