Chapter Twenty-Two
Dead Man's Hand
The five-card-draw hand that legend has it was held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his murder.
o
Klaus assigned at least one agent to accompany each of Eroica's thieves in the collection of DNA samples from the Gloria and Marshall family members. From the beginning, Klaus was convinced the casket in John Marshall's grave was occupied. How they would go about exhuming the body was a problem that would have to be tackled once the grave site was located.
As luck would have it, John Marshall's family had an annual family reunion each summer. Even better was the fact that the town in Western New York State where this year's reunion was being held had a large German population, thus allowing the agents to act as tourists who had come to visit relatives.
It was easy enough for the agents to act like lost foreigners in search of their own extended family. Apologies were made for their "crashing" the wrong reunion. The Marshall family was only too happy to welcome the lost men to the party. The more the merrier. The English accents of the thieves had all the younger ladies melting and the widowed Mrs. Marshall reminiscing about her childhood in England.
This was more than enough of a distraction for the thieves, allowing them to procure several DNA samples from Marshall's mother and sisters. Within an hour, they had all they needed. After that, they took dozens of photographs with everyone, who had enjoyed the surprise visit from the friendly, if slightly lost Europeans. Then they bid the gathering farewell and were on their way. A very pleasant mission accomplished.
oOoOoOo
The Earl of Gloria's family was not nearly so cooperative, in the way of geography or in person. The Earl's mother had gone to Paris and was at some very exclusive spa. One of his sisters was on the Riviera with her soon-to-be ex-husband and spent most of her time fighting with the man or complaining to others about him. The remaining sisters were in Spain, at a resort in Costa del Sol. Whether they were escaping their spouses or their other sister was unclear.
When all the samples from the Glorias were collected, the teams in Europe shipped them express to the lead team in New York before going on to Beirut to join the agents already assisting Eroica. Or more accurately, waiting with Eroica. The thieves were more than happy to return to Castle Gloria.
Bonham had made out the necessary requests forms that would have to be sent to the FBI with the samples. He sent those to the New York team along with the control sample of the Major's DNA. Eroica's DNA had been taken from his belongings still at the Bali compound so as not to alert him. Finally, all that remained was the collection of DNA from the occupant of the casket in John Marshall's grave, if there was one.
Klaus knew it would be weeks before the results came back from Washington, even with a rush order. But by then, he would be in Bali—hopefully. Once he had concrete proof that his suspicions were correct, then he would tell Eroica exactly what he knew, not before.
oOoOoOo
It turned out that the most difficult aspect of the DNA collection from the grave site was actually locating it. To everyone's surprise, it happened to be inside a mausoleum. All that was necessary to get at the casket was for a cover plate to be removed. Then it was just a simple operation of pulling it out.
For this particular job, a four man team was necessary, as it would take more than two men to lower the heavy casket when it was extracted, and later to lift it into place when it was replaced.
Agents Q and R, who had originally been sent to Australia to look for the Earl of Gloria ended up with the duty of accompanying the thieves in the midnight break-in at the cemetery. The night was crystal clear and the moon was out, giving them plenty of light. Agent R stood guard at the mausoleum door while a thief quickly removed the cover plate.
R left the door only briefly to assist the others in pulling the heavy casket out and gently placing it on the floor. The Agents exchanged a knowing look before R returned to the door. Q waved a hand to the others and then put a handkerchief to his face. "Step well back," he instructed. "This isn't going to be nice."
He did not have to tell them twice. The thieves retreated almost to the door. Q released the locks and opened the lid, recoiling from the stench that escaped when he did so. He backed away, coughing into this handkerchief. He waited a minute for his eyes to stop watering before stepping close again. Well, the Major was right. It's not empty.
Q turned the beam of his flashlight into the casket. The body within was that of a curly-haired blond man who had obviously died violently, the story of an automobile accident lining up as far as Q could tell. There was no way this could have been an open casket funeral. He pulled out a plastic bag and quickly took the DNA samples. Then he took several photographs, as the Major had instructed. The body, the casket on the floor, and the marker beside it.
"Is he wearing the ring?" one of the thieves ventured hesitantly, taking a cautious step closer.
Q turned to look at him. "Ring?"
"His lordsh—" The words stuck in the man's throat. What do I call him, now that I've see this? "His lordship says…the ring belonged to his Grandmother." He nodded to the body. "Is he wearing the real one?"
Q turned back and moved the light bean to the hands that were folded on the chest. On the right hand was indeed a gold ring. "It's there."
The thief drew nearer and then caught his breath at the sight of the body.
"I'm not to remove anything but the samples," Q said sharply, switching off the light. "Major's orders."
The thief actually looked affronted. "Mr. Q, I'd never steal from him."
Q's eyebrows went up and he glanced over at the equally startled Agent R, who shrugged. Q turned back, closing the casket and locking it.
Within a few minutes, the casket was returned to its place inside the wall and the cover plate replaced. One of the thieves stepped forward, placing a single rose in a cone-shaped vase on the wall. It had a card attached that read, "To Eroica With Love. Rest in Peace."
The four men stood silently a moment, not quite sure how they should feel. The man behind the cover plate had been dead more than twenty-five years, yet there was a collective sense of mourning amongst the group. They stood in a moment of silence before R turned and lead the way out pausing only long enough for the exterior door to be relocked. The only evidence of their visit would be the single rose on the wall. The group then silently stole into the night, making for the car parked a short distance away.
The thief who had locked the door lingering a moment longer. He looked through the grillwork, the rose they had left behind oddly illuminated in the moonlight. "Rest in peace, Lord Gloria," he said quietly before hurrying after the others.
oOoOoOo
NEXT: Chapter Twenty-Three - Go For Broke - in which the Major and Eroica are finally reunited.