Table of Contents
THE ARKANA MYSTERIES: BOXED SET #1
THE GRANITE KEY
Epigraph
Chapter 1 – Night Vision
Chapter 2 – A Wake
Chapter 3 – Prayer Meeting
Chapter 4 –Sisters and Other Strangers
Chapter 5 – Corvette and Model-T
Chapter 6 – Compound Interest
Chapter 7 – Key Issues
Chapter 8 – Digesting the Information
Chapter 9 – Lost in Translation
Chapter 10 – Photographic Memories
Chapter 11 – Bowled Over
Chapter 12 – Power Tools
Chapter 13 – Destiny’s Child
Chapter 14 – Latte Questions
Chapter 15 – Paranormal Antiquity
Chapter 16 – Troublesome Relations
Chapter 17 – Old School
Chapter 18 – The World According to Maddie
Chapter 19 – Conjugal Wrongs
Chapter 20 – Underground Intelligence
Chapter 21 – Damnation Motivation
Chapter 22 – In Security
Chapter 23 – The Object of My Rejection
Chapter 24 – Motion Sickness
Chapter 25 – Pythia Practice
Chapter 26 – Linear Thinking
Chapter 27 – Hunt for the Bones
Chapter 28 – The Concordance
Chapter 29 – Team Quirks
Chapter 30 – Happy Hour
Chapter 31 – Knossos
Chapter 32 – Art and Facts
Chapter 33 – Wining and Mining
Chapter 34 – A Plot in the Country
Chapter 35 – Psychro
Chapter 36 – Cryptic
Chapter 37 – Decoding the Past
Chapter 38 – Rock and Roll
Chapter 39 – Exit Strategy
Chapter 40 – Site Unseen
Chapter 41 – In the Name of the Father
Chapter 42 – Double Trouble
Chapter 43 – The Key to the Kingdom
THE MOUNTAIN MOTHER CIPHER
Chapter 1 – In the Beginning
Chapter 2 – Pointed Questions
Chapter 3 – Tabling the Talk
Chapter 4 – Heavenly Mansions
Chapter 5 – Revelations
Chapter 6 – Tripping
Chapter 7 – A Bedtime Story
Chapter 8 – Run from Your Wife
Chapter 9 – A Room with a View of the Past
Chapter 10 – Flooded with Information
Chapter 11 – Flight of Angels
Chapter 12 – Consummate Deception
Chapter 13 – Catal Huyuk
Chapter 14 – The Lady and the Lions
Chapter 15 – The Elephant in the Garden
Chapter 16 – Religious Inexperience
Chapter 17 – Father of Lies
Chapter 18 – Ida Ho!
Chapter 19 – Through a Glass Darkly
Chapter 20 - Nomad’s Land
Chapter 21 – Hope in Ruins
Chapter 22 – Of Two Minds
Chapter 23 – Relative Proximity
Chapter 24 – Twinkle, Twinkle
Chapter 25 – On Purpose
Chapter 26 – Wedlocked
Chapter 27 – Quartz Calendar Watch
Chapter 28 – Duty Call
Chapter 29 – Sting Operation
Chapter 30 – Unmentionables
Chapter 31 – A Little Night Music
Chapter 32 – S-Bomb
Chapter 33 – Mercenary Considerations
Chapter 34 – Sleight Change of Plan
Chapter 35 – Lyrical Interlude
Chapter 36 – Captivating Companions
Chapter 37 – Rustics Retreat
Chapter 38 – Tourist Trap
Chapter 39 – Installment Plan
Chapter 40 –Ties That Bind
Chapter 41 – Swap Meet
Chapter 42 – Marital Affairs
Chapter 43 –Bugs in the Design
Chapter 44 – Cliffhanger
Chapter 45 – Relic Redux
THE DRAGON’S WING ENIGMA
Chapter 1 – Look Out
Chapter 2 – Hard Labor Day
Chapter 3 – The Wait Staff
Chapter 4 – Leavers’ Tryst
Chapter 5 – Defensive Play
Chapter 6 – Wifely Demotion
Chapter 7 – All Up in the Air
Chapter 8 – Freedom Rider
Chapter 9 – Fugitive Thoughts
Chapter 10 – Shopping for Information
Chapter 11 – Head ‘Em Up, Move ‘Em Out
Chapter 12 – Friend or Faux?
Chapter 13 – Rumors and Board
Chapter 14 – A Change in the Wind
Chapter 15 – The Dating Game
Chapter 16 – Bad News Travels Last
Chapter 17 – Fishing with Dynamite
Chapter 18 – Deep Cover Girl
Chapter 19 – Man Trampled by Nightmare
Chapter 20 – Feast of the Epiphany
Chapter 21 – Tactical Oversight
Chapter 22 – The Maltese Owl
Chapter 23 – Touch and Go
Chapter 24 – Motor Mouth
Chapter 25 – In Plane Sight
Chapter 26 – Bask in the Culture
Chapter 27 – Boozin’ Buddies
Chapter 28 – Hex Marks the Spot
Chapter 29 – Doubtful Beliefs
Chapter 30 – Witch Way?
Chapter 31 – Aye, Spy
Chapter 32 – Bee Line
Chapter 33 – Son Rise
Chapter 34 – Hic Sunt Dracones!
Chapter 35 – Sleeper
Chapter 36 – The X Factor
Chapter 37 – What’s in a Name?
Chapter 38 – Tipped Off
Chapter 39 – Lost and Found
Chapter 40 – Double Vision
Chapter 41 – A Gifted Friend
Chapter 42 – Grudging Assistants
Chapter 43 – Summit Meeting
Chapter 44 – Hard Time
Chapter 45 – A Visit from the Reaper
Chapter 46 – Asylum
Chapter 47 – Locked Down
Chapter 48 – Driving Progress
Chapter 49 – Spirited and Lively
Chapter 50 – Flight Plan
RIDDLE OF THE DIAMOND DOVE
Chapter 1—Dirty Deeds
Chapter 2—A Naming Convention
Chapter 3—Cold Case
Chapter 4—The Riddler
Chapter 5—Baggage
Chapter 6—Plagued with Difficulties
Chapter 7—School Daze
Chapter 8—Food Fight
Chapter 9—Head for the Hills
Chapter 10—Stoned
Chapter 11—Tea and Rookies
Chapter 12—The Reel World
Chapter 13—Traveling Worst Class
Chapter 14—Who’s Who?
Chapter 15—Sitting Pretty
Chapter 16—Thumb Place
Chapter 17—Accomplice After the Artifact
Chapter 18—Winging It
Chapter 19—Eyes and Heirs
Chapter 20—Nativity Seen
Chapter 21—Bad Blood Brothers
Chapter 22—The French Connection
Chapter 23—Don’t Hate the Playa
Chapter 24—A Lack of Intelligence
Chapter 25—First Tango in Rabat
Chapter 26—Rude Awakening
Chapter 27—Polygamous Perversity
Chapter 28—Dunes Day
Chapter 29—Trash Talk
Chapter 30—The Arro
w of Their Ways
Chapter 31—The Rattler
Chapter 32—The Lady Banishes
Chapter 33—Serpentine Logic
Chapter 34—Starry-Eyed
Chapter 35—Sounding Bored
Chapter 36—Just Deserts
Chapter 37—Tyro Maniac
Chapter 38—Pinnacle of Success
Chapter 39—Unsitely
Chapter 40—The Ups and Downs of Treasure Hunting
Chapter 41—Cache Out
Chapter 42—Light at the End of the Tunnel
Chapter 43—Two’s Company
Chapter 44—The Odd Couple
Chapter 45—Underhanded
Chapter 46—Price Check
Chapter 47—A Tall Tale
Chapter 48—MMIA
Chapter 49—Testing the Subject
Chapter 50—Fugue in the Key of M
Chapter 51—Crossroads
Chapter 52—A Tame Wild Card
Chapter 53—Clean Getaway
Chapter 54—Connecting Flights
GLOSSARY OF NAMES
AUTHOR BIO
BOOKS BY N. S. WIKARSKI
OTHER USEFUL INFO
THE ARKANA MYSTERIES: BOXED SET #1
Books 1 - 4
by
N. S. Wikarski
The Arkana Mysteries: Boxed Set #1
Books One Through Four – Arkana Archaeology Mystery Thriller Series
http://www.mythofhistory.com
Copyright © 2020 by N. S. Wikarski
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
THE GRANITE KEY
The Granite Key
Book One of Seven – Arkana Archaeology Mystery Thriller Series
http://www.mythofhistory.com
Copyright © 2011 by N. S. Wikarski
Third Revised Edition 2017
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
* * *
Epigraph
Until the lions have their own historians,
tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters.
--African Proverb
Chapter 1 – Night Vision
Cassie felt herself sinking. She tried to jolt her sleeping body into action. “Wake up! It’s just a dream. This can’t be real, so move already!”
She was standing in the shadows against the wall in her sister’s antique shop. The room was dimly lit by a green banker’s lamp near the cash register. Sybil was frozen in position in front of the glass showcase—a phone suspended midway to her ear. Her eyes were fastened on a man who had just entered the store. He was wearing a Stetson hat, and he was pointing a gun at her.
“Where’s the key, sugar?” He spoke with a Southern drawl—his tone lazy, almost casual.
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sybil stammered. She put the phone down and began inching her way along the showcase toward the rear storeroom.
The man shrugged. “Don’t make no difference to me, but you don’t want me tearin’ up your neat little shop just to find it, now do you?”
“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sybil’s denial sounded unconvincingly shrill.
Cassie wanted to rush forward to pull her sister out of danger. She tried to scream a warning, but all she felt was a rasp in her throat where the words should have been.
The man advanced down the center aisle. He was over six feet tall, in his late twenties or early thirties. Cassie knew this had to be a dream because of his strange outfit. Aside from the cowboy hat, he wore a short denim jacket, a string tie around his neck, jeans, and snakeskin cowboy boots.
The gun flicked slightly in his hand. “I tell you what. The service in this establishment ain’t very friendly.”
He flipped his hat aside, and it landed on an oak sideboard. His dark brown hair was combed back in a high wave.
“I guess if you don’t want to help me, I’ll have to roll up my sleeves and help myself.” He moved toward the glass case.
Sybil darted past him and ran for the front door, but he was faster. He grabbed her by the arm.
“Now, that’s no way to treat your customers, honey. Tryin’ to run off and shirk your responsibilities like that.” He twisted her arm behind her back.
Cassie could see Sybil wince with pain. Her sister looked around wildly for some other way out. The man tightened his grip with one hand and drove the gun against her temple with the other. Sybil struggled, but he only wrenched her arm harder behind her back until she stopped struggling.
“It seems to me like you can’t hear what I’m sayin’.” The man cocked his head slightly, considering the matter. “Maybe we should go someplace private where I can get through to you better.”
As he shoved her toward the front exit, she twisted out of his grip and reversed direction. He lunged after her, tackling her. She fell head first against the showcase, sending shards of glass cascading across the room.
Cassie could feel a cry of despair welling up in her throat, but no sound emerged. She willed her feet to move. They twitched slightly but nothing more.
The man raised himself to a crouching position. A look of annoyance flitted across his face. He reached forward to check Sybil’s pulse, and the look of annoyance deepened to a frown.
He let out a martyred sigh as he stood up, shaking bits of broken glass from his jacket. “Well, that ain’t no help at all.”
In a flash, the scene changed, and Cassie was back in her dorm room. She could feel the mattress beneath her. “Wake up, dammit!” she commanded herself. This time, as she clawed her way up to consciousness, her mind obeyed her. She sat up shakily, her skin clammy with cold sweat. Tossing off the covers, she sat forward.
On impulse, she grabbed her phone and started to call her sister. “It was just a nightmare, you idiot! What are you going to do? Wake her up in the middle of the night to tell her you had a bad dream?” She tossed the phone on the nightstand, disgusted by her own timidity.
Gradually her breathing slowed, and she lay back down. Curling herself into a fetal position, she drew the covers up to her chin. “It wasn’t real. It was just a bad dream… Just a bad dream... Just a bad dream...” She chanted the words like a mantra for several minutes until she started to dose off.
Then the phone rang.
Chapter 2 – A Wake
At about three o’clock in the morning, far outside the city, four people were staring bleakly at one other across a kitchen table. It was an old-style oak table in an old-style country kitchen. The kind with tin ceiling tiles and tall glass cupboards above the sink. A single yellow nightlight glowed from the wall.
At one end of the table sat an elderly woman in a terrycloth robe and slippers. Despite the late hour, she had managed to roll her white hair into a neat little bun at the nape of her neck. She shook her head sadly. “This can’t be true.”
“It’s true. Sybil’s dead.” The abrupt comment came from a blond man in his mid-twenties at the opposite end of the table. He slouched despondently in his chair, arms crossed. “When she called me around midnight, she sounded scare
d. She thought somebody was trying to break into the shop. Then the line went dead. I got there as fast as I could, but the cops beat me to it.” He rubbed his eyes wearily. “It’s my fault.”
“How do you figure?” The question came from a middle-aged woman with bushy red hair sitting to his left. There were distinct frown lines around her mouth. She took a long drag on an unfiltered cigarette.
The blond man glanced up. “If I’d gotten there five minutes sooner, maybe we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Maybe she’d still be alive.”
“Did she give you a physical description of her attacker?” The question came from a young man in his early-twenties seated to the right. He spoke with a British accent.
“Nope,” said the blond man succinctly. “For the past week or so, she had the feeling somebody was following her, but she never knew who it was.”
“I think we all know who was responsible.” The elderly woman rose stiffly out of her chair. She walked over to sink, filled a kettle, and put it on the stove to boil.
The other three stared at her in shock. Anger flashed in the middle-aged woman’s eyes. “Those bastards!”
“Take it easy, Maddie,” soothed the blond man. “We don’t know for sure it was them.”
The woman called Maddie snapped back at him, “Then who else?” She ground out her cigarette and immediately lit a new one. “What the hell was she working on? Didn’t she tell you anything about it, Griffin?” Her sharp eyes focused on the Brit.
“No, nothing,” the young man whispered with regret. “Perhaps if she had, I might have helped her or persuaded her to stop.”
The elderly woman shuffled toward the cupboard over the sink. “There’s still the matter of her sister,” she observed quietly. “Poor child, as if she hasn’t lost enough already. This is too cruel.”
“Does the kid know anything?” The blond man at the far end of the table asked.
The woman at the sink turned around to glance at him mildly. “Do you think you could find that out for us, Erik?”
Erik sat up straighter, alert now. “What do you want me to do, Faye?”
The kettle rumbled to a boil. The old woman rummaged around in the cupboard for cups and saucers. “I think you should follow her at a distance. Keep out of sight, but let us know immediately if anything unusual occurs.”