Faith Defiled (Gray Spear Society Book 14) (8 page)

"I think you're jumping to conclusions." Ipo furrowed his brow.

"Why do you want it so badly?"

"My motives are my business. I will only say I can't walk away empty-handed."

"Then you'll be standing here a long time," Kern said. "Good night. Reinagle, we'll discuss this unpleasantness tomorrow."

He tried to slam the door, but Ipo blocked it with his hand.

"I don't think you understand how serious I am," Ipo said.

"Is that a threat?" Kern said. "Are you going to rob me?"

"I would rather not, but I'm under orders, and the person who gave those orders doesn't tolerate failure."

The two men stared at each other. Yang knew Ipo was telling the truth. The
legionnaire
wouldn't leave without the book, even if that meant resorting to violence.

"I have an idea," Yang said. "Maybe we don't need the actual book. A copy might be good enough for our purposes. We can take pictures of every page with a phone."

Kern and Ipo turned to him with expressions of surprise.

"A copy?" Kern said in a tone of derision.

"I'll call the boss," Ipo said. He took out his phone and stepped away.

"Who are you people?" Kern said.

Yang shrugged. "I'm not allowed to say. Our money is good though. You really should make a deal with us."

"That's not going to happen."

Ipo returned a moment later. "The boss told me pictures are acceptable, provided we get a clear shot of every page. Also, we must physically examine the book."

"I'm not comfortable with you touching it," Kern said.

"It's a reasonable compromise, certainly better than the alternative. How much will it cost to rent the book for a half-hour or so?"

Kern had a sour expression. "A hundred grand."

"Seems a little pricy," Ipo said, "but fine. It's too late at night to quibble over details."

"I assume you're going to write a check. How do I know it's good?"

Ipo snorted. He walked away and made another call. Yang assumed Ipo was calling Jia, and Yang felt bad for her. She had to stay up as late as everybody else.

Ipo returned. "It's done. Check your checking account."

"Huh?" Kern stared at him. "You made a deposit into my personal account without my authorization?"

"Exactly. Let's go inside."

They entered the house. The walls were painted royal blue, and the floor was made of redwood. There was a lot of empty space with not much furniture to fill it. Most of the lights were off, and Yang didn't hear anybody else.

"Are you alone?" Yang said.

"Yes," Kern said. "So?"

"It's a very big house for one guy."

"It's an investment property. I live here for the tax credit. Stop butting into my personal life."

Kern led the group through the house. Their footsteps echoed down the long hallways. Its emptiness saddened Yang who felt such a beautiful home needed a big family to fill it. He was glad he had Jia and Olivia as his own family of sorts.

They arrived in the one room that seemed fully utilized. It was Kern's study. A huge wooden desk had to be an antique, but it was in pristine condition. The chairs were richly upholstered with velvet. A chandelier had bulbs made to look like gas lamps.

Three entire walls were dedicated to books. They filled all the shelves, and Yang could tell they were old. He leaned in for a closer look at the leather bindings and discovered
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
. Yang guessed it was an original edition.

"You like books?" Kern said.

"Sure, but I don't have much time to read," Yang said.

"You're missing out on one of life's great pleasures."

Kern went to a computer on his desk.

After typing for a minute, he said, "The money is there. I don't believe it."

"Of course," Ipo said. "Where is the book?"

Kern pointed to a book on his desk. "Be careful. Touch it gently."

Ipo and Yang walked over.
Symbology of the Divine
looked like a cheap, paperback novel. The cover had a cartoonish picture of a man staring up at symbols in the sky. The geometric squares and circles looked a lot like the writing on the walls.

Ipo picked up the book and examined the pages. He frowned after a moment, obviously disappointed.

Yang took a turn with the book. The paper was rough and slightly yellow. He tried to read it but was quickly put off. The text looked like religious gibberish with a little algebra thrown in for variety.

He picked a random paragraph and read out loud, "'William Branham at the early ages of three and seven had an angel appear to him. In a cave in 1946, this angel gave him the power to discern thoughts and illnesses through the use of numbers. In his services, he would wait for the angel's presence before he could start. He called to the angels by reciting all the conjugations of seven, twelve, and ninety-nine, the numeric Holy Trinity. Branham was led away from orthodoxy when he realized Eve had sexual relations with the serpent...'" He looked up. "This is what we paid so much money to see?"

"I'm afraid so," Ipo said. "Let's start taking pictures."

Yang held the book down while Ipo photographed each page using his phone. They positioned a desk lamp so there was plenty of light.

Much of the text appeared to describe a kind of dictionary and grammar. There were elaborate, convoluted instructions for how to decode the symbols. Yang hoped he wouldn't be the one who had to make sense of them.

He looked over at Reinagle. The broker was browsing the book collection systematically. He had a notepad in his hand and was jotting down notes.

"Mr. Kern," he said, "I didn't know you had
Die Traumdeutung
."

"I'm quite proud of it," Kern said. "It's too bad I don't read German."

"I might have a buyer who will pay above market price."

"I'm interested. We'll talk tomorrow."

As promised, Ipo and Yang needed about a half-hour to photograph all of
Symbology
. The electronic form was actually more convenient than the physical book. The entire team could examine it without needing to share the one copy.

Ipo nodded. "Thank you, gentleman. You've done the world a great service tonight. We'll see ourselves out." He began to leave the office.

"Wait!" Kern said. "You've seen the book. What's your opinion?"

"I don't think it's worth the cheap paper it's printed on."

"But what about the angels? The writing on the walls? It can't be a coincidence."

Ipo narrowed his eyes. "That is the million-dollar mystery. Good night."

He and Yang left.

Chapter Five

Hanley and Katie arrived at the Peninsula Buddhist Center in South San Francisco. It wasn't the majestic temple he had hoped for. It looked like an ordinary, three-story apartment building wedged in among others. The only notable detail was the doors were big and red. There was a small sign above the door, but otherwise, it was unclear who lived there.

Hanley opened the door and went inside. The front room had a desk for a receptionist, but nobody was sitting on the chair at the moment. There was also a couch that looked very comfortable. Statuettes of Buddhist gods stood on a side table, and burning incense scented the air.

"Hello?" he called out. "Anybody home?"

A woman wearing loose-fitting blue pants over tights came out. Her black hair was very long. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"We're looking for this man." Hanley took out a printed picture of Brian Kelly and showed it to her. "There is a good chance he spent time here a couple of years ago."

"Are you with the police?"

"FBI, actually."

"Oh." She pursed her lips and studied the picture. "I don't recognize him, but I'll get the master. Maybe he can help you."

She left. A few minutes later, she returned with a Chinese man. The newcomer was at least seventy years-old, and he had a long, gray beard. Some of the hair on his head was still black though, and Hanley wondered if it were dyed. The "master" was wearing black robes.

"You're looking for somebody?" he said.

Hanley showed him the picture. "Brian Kelly."

The master took the picture and studied it. "Yes. I remember. He tried to be a monk here. He slept in the temple for several months."

"He's gone now?"

"Yes. He was a very troubled man. Always going on about angels and secrets. Inner peace eluded him. He was bothering the other worshipers so much, we had to ask him to leave."

"That sounds like our guy," Hanley said. "Do you have any idea where he went?"

The master shook his head. "There was a loud argument, and he walked out. It's a terrible shame. If he had truly understood the teachings of Buddha, he would've been much happier."

Hanley frowned. "I don't suppose he left any of his stuff behind."

"No."

"OK. Well, thank you for your time."

He and Katie left the temple. It was a cool, sunny morning outside. An unusual breeze from the west blew dry air. The narrow street wasn't busy at this hour of the day.

Hanley called Marina. Katie leaned in so she could overhear.

"Yes?" the commander said.

"The Buddhist temple was a bust, ma'am," Hanley said.

"That's annoying. I hope the hackers can find Kelly some other way. And I have other disappointing news. Corrie tested those crystals you found last night."

"She's home?"

"Yes," Marina said, "finally. The tests were negative. There was no evidence of exposure to supernatural radiation. I've also been trying to read the book, and it's frustrating. This guy can't get through a paragraph without jumping between three different topics. I think I need to be on drugs to make sense of it. I'll keep slogging away though. Something important must be buried in the mess."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Come back to headquarters. You can read police reports."

"Yes, ma'am," Hanley said. "We'll be there in a little while."

* * *

Marina scowled at the computer screen on her desk. She decided to read some of the text out loud to see if it helped.

"'Number mystics feel the properties of numbers by non-rational means. In my opinion, this approach reeks of the apostate. Simple, provable equations give us all the answers we need. Who cannot see the divine in 3
²
+ 4
²
= 5
²
? Even mundane things like the stock market are governed by the all-powerful Fibonacci sequence. More specifically, consider Don, the twentieth symbol. We have twenty fingers and toes, don't we? One has no choice but to see the relationship between Don and humankind...'"

Marina sighed and sat back.
I give up,
she thought.

She needed help from an expert, and she knew of two people whose qualifications were unassailable. She used her computer to send the pictures of
Symbology of the Divine
to Aaron. Then she called him on her phone.

"Marina?" he said. "What's up?"

Just hearing his voice made her feel good. She missed him terribly.

"I have a problem, and Bethany and Leanna might be able to help me. I just sent you a file. I'd like them to look at it."

"They're busy," Aaron said.

"It will only take a few minutes. The file contains a book which purports to explain the true language of the angels. I know the twins talk to God every day. They may be the only people in the world who can come close to conversing with Him in His native tongue."

"That's true."

"They'll know right away if this book has anything useful in it," Marina said.

"They're extremely busy."

"With the firewall project?"

"Of course," he said. "They're less than a week away from finishing. I should also mention the cannibal situation is getting exponentially worse. The military is preparing to take control of the entire Chicago area to quell the chaos. And the damn snowstorm just won't stop."

"Aaron, please, this is important."

"Did you hear me? We can't deal with any more distractions right now!"

"Don't yell at me," Marina said.

Aaron paused. "Sorry. I'm under a lot of stress."

"I'm only asking for three minutes. That's not a ridiculous request."

He growled. "OK, but only because I love you. Hold on."

She heard movement. A minute later, she heard a distant female voice, but it was obviously computer generated. It was made of pure hums, clicks, and tones.

"What's that sound?" Marina said. "Are you talking to a computer?"

"Never mind about that," Aaron said quickly. "Bethany is looking at the book now."

She waited patiently for an answer. She hadn't seen Bethany in several months and wondered what she looked like.

After less than a minute, Aaron said, "She finished. She'll send a report by text."

"Huh?" Marina said. "How much did she read?"

"The whole thing."

"How is that possible? It took me an hour just to get through one chapter!"

"She's a quick reader," he said. "Is that it? Are we done?"

She furrowed her brow. "I guess so."

"Great. Bye." He hung up.

She stared at her phone. Her lover had never been so curt with her before.
He must be having a really hard time,
she thought.

A text message arrived on her phone. It read, "Commander Marina, I have thoroughly examined
Symbology of the Divine
and have determined it contains nothing of significance. The text is poorly written and self-contradictory. The conclusions are almost entirely erroneous. The so-called language is a childish combination of numerical trickery, geometry, and simplified English. I recommend you delete the book and give it no more of your time. Sincerely, Bethany."

Marina raised her eyebrows.
That's a pretty definitive answer,
she thought.

She realized in some ways, it didn't matter if the book had any truth in it. People were taking it seriously, and it was already causing trouble.

Somebody knocked on the closed door of her office.