Patch, Nick, and Phoebe stood in the center of Palmer’s study in front of a large Brazilian rosewood desk. It was a dark, mustard-colored room with a deep yellow shag carpet on the floor and electronically operated curtains that closed over a large picture window. The window looked out onto the property-the pool deck, the bathing cabins-and the beach beyond it.
“This is like a page out of Architectural Digest, circa 1974,” Phoebe said.
Outside they could see that Lauren, Thad, and Lia were sunning by the pool and being served sandwiches by Horatio. Thad was trying to explain to them how to play senet, though Lauren seemed more interested in her copy of Italian Vogue. They were using a golf tee to represent the missing piece.
Patch scanned the bookshelves that lined the walls, save for a small alcove behind Palmer’s desk that was curtained in a fabric that was the same dark mustard color. In this room was Palmer’s entire life, the life of a man who had always been mysterious to him. Books, awards, diplomas. Medals of commendation from various organizations. Photographs of Palmer with dignitaries. He was a man who couldn’t have been more distant from Patch-he suspected that Palmer disliked him, for he had never paid him any mind. And yet there was something strangely comforting about the room, the way that a smell is familiar. It reminded Patch of his childhood.
“Hey, Earth to Patch. Come check this out.” Nick had flipped up a raised wooden panel on the side of the desk. In it were two buttons. Patch and Phoebe went to take a closer look.
“Should we push them?” Phoebe asked.
“It could be an alarm,” Nick said. “Horatio will know something’s going on.”
“Just make something up,” Patch said. “Say you were looking for a notepad and you pushed it by accident.”
“Prepare to be kicked out,” Nick said. He pushed the top button and the three of them cringed.
At first, nothing happened.
Then, slowly, the set of curtains parted in the alcove behind Palmer’s desk. It had seemed when they first looked at them that the curtains were merely a decorative element, but now, behind them was a piece of stone with some Egyptian hieroglyphics on it. It was encased in a Plexiglas box and a spotlight shone on it, as if it were in a museum.
“Have you ever seen this before?” Patch asked.
Nick shook his head. “He used to have a painting hanging on that wall. The usual Floridian crap.”
The three of them turned to see that Thad had slipped into the room and was gazing with admiration at the piece of stone.
“If that’s the real thing, your grandfather’s been holding out on everyone,” Thad said. “It’s got to be worth a million dollars or something.”
“What do you mean?” Patch asked.
“That’s a serious piece of antiquity there.”
“In plain English, please,” Nick said.
“It’s probably Egyptian,” Thad said. “Possibly from a temple. I’m not an expert, but something like that belongs in a museum, not in some old man’s study.”
“What do you think the second button does?” Nick asked.
Patch shrugged. “Push it and see. We’ve gotten this far.”
Nick pushed the button and the piece started swiveling around on a turntable, revealing the hieroglyphics on the back. Like the front, it was beautiful, with images of deities and animals on the glyphs.
Patch went closer to take a look. “There’s something in the stone, a key of some sort.”
There was a playing card-sized hinged door in the back of the Plexiglas box that corresponded exactly with a little niche in the stone. In it was wedged a key.
“Okay,” Thad said. “That key is not part of the original stonework. They didn’t have keys like that back then.”
“You need to find the key,” Nick said.
“Um, moron, the key is right there,” Patch said.
“No,” Phoebe said, “what he means is that Palmer told us, ‘You need to find the key.’”
“And this key opens what?” Thad asked.
“I have no idea. But we need to get it.” The little door was locked. “Can you guys open this?” Nick asked.
“I can pick the lock,” Patch said. “But there’s no way that it’s not on an alarm.”
Thad examined it. “It’s a basic magnetic latch system,” he said.
“Can you disable it?” Nick said.
“Give me half an hour,” Thad said. “And tell me where your grandfather’s maintenance room is. With the right tools, Patch and I can get it open.”
“So what do we do?” Nick asked, motioning to Phoebe.
“You go hang out with the girls,” Thad said. “And keep Horatio busy enough that he’s not going to come looking for us.”