rest of the house," he said.
Selena had finished with the improvised bandage. She looked over Nick's shoulder where he knelt in front of the safe.
Selena pointed at an object in the corner of the safe. "What's that?"
Nick took out a ceramic tile about a foot long. Brilliantly colored pieces of stone formed the image of a man in a long, black robe with a full beard against a white background. He wore a square black cap. In his right hand, he held a wine cup. Three rays of light came out of it. His left hand was at his side, the index finger pointed down at the ground. A set of keys hung from a rope tied around his waist.
Below the figure were two lines written in Latin.
Anastaisu confessoris ad imperatorem Theodosium
Solus justus et inveniam Illum
"Looks old," Lamont said. "Must be something Hussein smuggled in."
Nick stood and handed the tile to Selena.
"The style of mosaic looks typical for something done in the fourth or fifth century," she said.
"What does the Latin say?"
"The first line says, 'Anastasius, confessor to the Emperor Theodosius.'"
"And the second line?" Nick asked.
"That says, 'Only a just man shall find him.'"
"Find who?"
"It was probably an injunction to seek Christ." Then she said, "Oh."
"Oh?" Nick said. "Why, oh?"
"Look at the rays of light coming out of the cup. The priest is carrying the Holy Grail."
"The Grail again?"
"It can't be a coincidence, when you combine it with those scrolls. This could be a clue to what happened to the Grail. That would make it worth killing for."
Ronnie said, "ISIS must have found out about the box with the scrolls and now they're looking for it. That would explain who killed these guys."
"How would they find out?" Lamont asked.
"Someone had to tell them," Nick said. "The only people who know about the scrolls except us are Swedish. There must be another bad cop in the mix somewhere. Or someone in the government."
"Forsberg?"
"I don't think so, but I don't know. We'll keep our suspicions to ourselves for now."
Nick took a handful of papers from the safe and handed them to her.
"What do these say?"
She looked through them.
"There's a will and a property deed. Also a marriage certificate from twenty years ago. A birth certificate for a daughter, and a death certificate in the same name, dated four years later."
"What else?"
"A copy of a newspaper article about Bergstrom's wife. She was a well-known artist. Died eight years ago."
"Guy didn't have a happy life," Lamont said.
"Here's something. These are statements from a bank in Andorra." She looked at one of them. "Being a policeman must pay pretty well in Sweden."
"How much does he have?" Nick asked.
"Three hundred thousand in British pounds. This one is dated two months ago."
Lamont whistled. "Guess the antiques business is pretty good."
"Those will help," Nick said. "The money had to come from somewhere. We can follow it back. With luck, we'll ID the buyer."
He laid the bank statements out on the desk.
"Ronnie, get pictures of these. I'll send them to Stephanie and see what she turns up. Get some shots of the tile, too. We have to turn everything over to the Swedes but I don't trust them to keep us in the loop after we leave. I want a record. "
"Let them have the statements but keep the tile," Selena said.
"Why keep it?"
"It might be better if they didn't know about it."
"That your intuition speaking?"
"You just said there must be another corrupt cop or official. What if he's working with ISIS?"
"It's an idea, but I want to play it straight," Nick said. "It's evidence. They'll lock it up."
"I hope you're right," Selena said.
"If I'm not, you can say I told you so."
"I'll get some shots of the guy in the other room while I'm at it. Maybe he's in the database," Ronnie said.
Lamont said, "I found his passport when I went through his pockets. He's Italian. His name is Antonio Bellini. He had a return ticket to Milan, plenty of Italian lira in his wallet and a driver's
Selena had finished with the improvised bandage. She looked over Nick's shoulder where he knelt in front of the safe.
Selena pointed at an object in the corner of the safe. "What's that?"
Nick took out a ceramic tile about a foot long. Brilliantly colored pieces of stone formed the image of a man in a long, black robe with a full beard against a white background. He wore a square black cap. In his right hand, he held a wine cup. Three rays of light came out of it. His left hand was at his side, the index finger pointed down at the ground. A set of keys hung from a rope tied around his waist.
Below the figure were two lines written in Latin.
Anastaisu confessoris ad imperatorem Theodosium
Solus justus et inveniam Illum
"Looks old," Lamont said. "Must be something Hussein smuggled in."
Nick stood and handed the tile to Selena.
"The style of mosaic looks typical for something done in the fourth or fifth century," she said.
"What does the Latin say?"
"The first line says, 'Anastasius, confessor to the Emperor Theodosius.'"
"And the second line?" Nick asked.
"That says, 'Only a just man shall find him.'"
"Find who?"
"It was probably an injunction to seek Christ." Then she said, "Oh."
"Oh?" Nick said. "Why, oh?"
"Look at the rays of light coming out of the cup. The priest is carrying the Holy Grail."
"The Grail again?"
"It can't be a coincidence, when you combine it with those scrolls. This could be a clue to what happened to the Grail. That would make it worth killing for."
Ronnie said, "ISIS must have found out about the box with the scrolls and now they're looking for it. That would explain who killed these guys."
"How would they find out?" Lamont asked.
"Someone had to tell them," Nick said. "The only people who know about the scrolls except us are Swedish. There must be another bad cop in the mix somewhere. Or someone in the government."
"Forsberg?"
"I don't think so, but I don't know. We'll keep our suspicions to ourselves for now."
Nick took a handful of papers from the safe and handed them to her.
"What do these say?"
She looked through them.
"There's a will and a property deed. Also a marriage certificate from twenty years ago. A birth certificate for a daughter, and a death certificate in the same name, dated four years later."
"What else?"
"A copy of a newspaper article about Bergstrom's wife. She was a well-known artist. Died eight years ago."
"Guy didn't have a happy life," Lamont said.
"Here's something. These are statements from a bank in Andorra." She looked at one of them. "Being a policeman must pay pretty well in Sweden."
"How much does he have?" Nick asked.
"Three hundred thousand in British pounds. This one is dated two months ago."
Lamont whistled. "Guess the antiques business is pretty good."
"Those will help," Nick said. "The money had to come from somewhere. We can follow it back. With luck, we'll ID the buyer."
He laid the bank statements out on the desk.
"Ronnie, get pictures of these. I'll send them to Stephanie and see what she turns up. Get some shots of the tile, too. We have to turn everything over to the Swedes but I don't trust them to keep us in the loop after we leave. I want a record. "
"Let them have the statements but keep the tile," Selena said.
"Why keep it?"
"It might be better if they didn't know about it."
"That your intuition speaking?"
"You just said there must be another corrupt cop or official. What if he's working with ISIS?"
"It's an idea, but I want to play it straight," Nick said. "It's evidence. They'll lock it up."
"I hope you're right," Selena said.
"If I'm not, you can say I told you so."
"I'll get some shots of the guy in the other room while I'm at it. Maybe he's in the database," Ronnie said.
Lamont said, "I found his passport when I went through his pockets. He's Italian. His name is Antonio Bellini. He had a return ticket to Milan, plenty of Italian lira in his wallet and a driver's
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