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“Doesn’t seem likely now,” Sam said. “The map’s completely deciphered, and this was our best hope. We seem to be at a dead end.”
“Or a better location,” Remi added.
Eventually they were all escorted to the police station, where formal statements were made. Hours later, they were released, and by the time that Sam and Remi got back to their hotel room, they fell into bed, exhausted, not even bothering with dinner.
“We did it!”
The excitement
in Lazlo’s voice was enough to bring Sam fully awake.
“Did what?” Remi asked.
“Finished the cipher.” Lazlo announced. “In the castle rock. Beyond the den of the wolf’s head. The fourth chamber. Above death. Below death. With the last meal.”
Sam and Remi looked at each other, then turned back to the tablet and Lazlo’s beaming face. “Great,” Sam said. “Exactly what does it mean?”
“The location of the treasure,” Lazlo replied. “Except that first part.”
“First part?”
“We’re fairly sure it’s telling us it’s not at Robin Hood’s lair.”
“Would have been nice to know yesterday,” Sam said.
“So,” Remi said, “eliminating the Robin Hood connection, where does that leave us?”
“As vague as it is,” Selma replied, “we believe it means Newark Castle.”
“Newark Castle?” Remi glanced at Sam, then back at the tablet. “Why there?”
“The talk of death, chambers, and the last meal, it’s got to be talking about where King John died.”
“Sorry,” Sam said to Remi. “Looks like that vacation’s going to have to wait.”
Fifty-seven
The next day, Sam, Remi, and Nigel drove out to Newark under a dark sky that threatened more rain. They parked in the lot across the River Trent, the wind gusting as they walked across the bridge toward the imposing fortress. From this side, the castle appeared whole, but when they passed through to the other side, it was apparent that little remained of the once-impressive structure beyond the near-intact curtain wall along the riverbank, the gatehouse, a large hexagonal tower at the northwest corner, and a lower tower at the southwest end where King John was said to have died.
“Not much left,” Sam said as they looked around at the park-like grounds in what had at one time been the castle keep.
The wind whistled through the crumbling ruins, whipping at Remi’s hair. She nodded toward the lower, southeast tower. “My money’s where King John died. The riddle’s clearly talking about his death.”
“Isn’t that a little obvious?” Sam asked.
“Hide in plain sight. Why not?”
Sam picked up a few pamphlets so that they’d look more like visiting tourists instead of burglars who planned to sneak into the parts of the castle closed to the public. “As many times as this place has been occupied and remodeled since King John’s death, where would they hide it?”
“The point of our visit, isn’t it?” Remi asked.
He pulled out his phone and accessed the text with the ciphered riddle that Selma had sent.
The fourth chamber. Above death. Below death. With the last meal.
Remi tapped the screen. “Chamber is another word for room. That could be the room where he died.”
“The last meal could mean a dining hall.”
