The Veritas Deception Page 20

  Jeremy gave him a sympathetic look. “I understand. He had to get you out of the way, so that Taylor could marry Malcolm.”

  Taylor gulped for air. The room began to spin, and then there was nothing but darkness.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

  Nathan’s nostrils were burning. The smell of the leather interior of the car nauseated him and he felt as if he were drowning. Stop, stop, drop. Stop, drop, and roll. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. “Smell!”

  Dakota was giving him a mean look. Why was she looking at him that way? He breathed in the way the nurse had taught him—in through the nose, out through the mouth. In and out. In and out. The car stopped in front of a gigantic house. It looked scary. The big gates opened and Nathan put his hands over his eyes.

  “Huge, huge, huge. Where are we?” His voice rose, and he felt a firm hand come down on his arm. He looked at Dakota. Her mouth was a straight line. He didn’t like that. He was scared. Laired. Faired. Mared. They kept driving down the long driveway until finally the car stopped. Dakota opened the door and came to fetch him.

  “We’re here. Come with me.”

  “This place is too huge. Too huge. Like a luge. Deluge. One, two, three, four, five.” He tapped the side of his head with his hand.

  “NATHAN!”

  His bottom lip trembled, and he looked up at her from the corner of his eye.

  She lowered her voice. “Focus. I’m right here. We are home now. Everything is going to be okay.”

  This wasn’t home. “Don’t want to.”

  Dakota smiled and took his hand. “Have I ever lied to you?”

  He shook his head.

  “Come on now. It’s all going to be fine. No one will hurt you.”

  She was being nice now. He followed her to the front door.

  They were greeted by another stranger who led them into the tremendous marble foyer.

  Within seconds a big, bearded man appeared and nodded at Dakota. He looked like a grizzly bear. Nathan didn’t like bears. He backed away as quietly as he could.

  “I will take it from here,” the bear said in a funny accent.

  Dakota let go of Nathan’s hand.

  What was she doing? He looked at her in shock and began to stammer.

  The bear stuck him with a big, long needle.

  Before he passed out Nathan’s eyes widened, and he gave Dakota a pitiful look.

  “You promised no needles!”

  “I lied.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

  When Taylor came to, she was in a bed. Standing next to her was a woman in a white coat.

  Jeremy walked over to her and picked up her hand.

  “Taylor, this is Dr. Haller. I’d like for her to examine you if that’s okay. Jack told me about the spotting.”

  Relief filled her. “Yes, thank you.”

  “When’s the last time you ate?” the doctor asked.

  Taylor thought. “Breakfast.”

  “Well, if you don’t want to faint again, I’d suggest you eat more regularly. Let’s do a quick finger prick and make sure your sugar’s not out of whack.” She took Taylor’s finger and stuck it with the glucose meter. “Looks okay, but I’ll run a blood panel to rule out any other issues.”

  “I’m fine. I just forgot to eat.”

  “Even so, I want to be thorough.”

  Taylor sighed and stretched her arm out to let the doctor draw her blood.

  The doctor pulled a portable sonogram machine next to the bed, and Jack and Jeremy left to give her some privacy.

  When she had finished with the exam, she called them back in.

  “I’m happy to report that the baby is doing fine. There’s a strong heartbeat. She’s eight weeks along, and everything looks good. Spotting in early pregnancy is more common than you may think and is not always cause for alarm. Her blood pressure is fine; we’ll have the blood results in a little while.”

  A grin broke across Jack’s face. “Whew! That is a huge relief.”

  “Thank God,” Taylor whispered.

  Jeremy walked over to the bed. “You’ll be well looked after here. We have our own medical facility and staff.”

  “It’s like its own little city.”

  Jeremy pulled a chair up next to the bed.” I think it’s time I told you the rest of the story.” He looked at Jack. “Get comfortable, this will take a while. Let me start where I left—”

  “I’m not going to lie here like an invalid,” Taylor interrupted.

  They both turned to look at her.

  “You heard the doctor. I’m fine. Now get out of here so I can get dressed, and let’s go somewhere else to have this conversation.”

  Jack looked at Jeremy. “You heard her.” Then, turning back to Taylor, he said, “Good to have you back.”

  * * *

  They gathered together in the study where Jeremy had had some sandwiches brought in.

  Jack rose from his seat. “Jeremy, you said earlier that Dakota was a set up. I need to know more.”

  Jeremy nodded. “You and Taylor were together, and Crosse had someone else in mind for his daughter.”

  “Please don’t call me that,” Taylor cut in. She would never be his daughter.

  “I’m sorry. He’s kept tabs on you all your life. Dakota works for Crosse. They arranged for her to meet you. She was the third one they tried. Apparently, you resisted the other two women they sent your way.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What other two women?”

  “Your senior year of college, a girl in your study group made a pass at you. She was one.”

  Jack’s mouth dropped open. “You really know how to make a guy feel like a loser. So much for thinking I had charm.”

  “The point is, you said no. Then, there was another woman at the Associated Press when you first started.”

  Jack shook his head. “I remember. Nancy. She was relentless. I thought she’d never leave me alone.”

  “You have to understand that when they want something, nothing gets in their way. They do deep background checks, psychological evaluations, and they make sure that the health professionals in your life are in their pockets. They knew what kind of environment you grew up in, Jack, the depressions and mood swings your mother experienced. They use profilers to help them when they have a delicate mission.”

  “Why not just kill me?” Jack asked.

  “Because they wanted to break Taylor, to drive her into Malcolm’s arms. What better way to induce her to fall for an older, stable man, than to have you betray her? It was easy for Malcolm to insinuate himself in to Taylor’s affections.”

  “But why did he care if I married Malcolm?”

  “So that he could have access to you when he wanted it. He considered Malcolm his property. He raised him, set him up with his life. Crosse thought Malcolm wouldn’t stand in the way if he ended up wanting to have you in his life. He considers you a pawn, his to manipulate.”

  Taylor ran a hand through her hair. She felt like she was going to explode. “I want to kill that monster.”

  Jack went over and sat next to her. He took her hand in his, and she grasped it. “Does my father know?” she asked Jeremy.

  Jeremy rubbed his chin. “He doesn’t appear to know anything Taylor. He’s been played just like you have.”

  She frowned. “So, what you’re telling me, is that Damon Crosse has single-handedly assigned Jack and me handpicked spouses?”

  “When you say it that way, I know it sounds crazy. But—”

  “It’s like we’re all a bunch of lab rats,” Jack said bitterly.

  “He may have manipulated parts of your lives, but not anymore. You’ve both gotten free, and you’re going to help me take him down.” He walked over to Taylor and spoke gently. “I only found out that you existed after Damon and I had our fight about my getting married. You weren’t pregnant then, but he knew you were trying. He called
you his contingency plan. He thought it would save me having to provide an heir.”

  “Are you telling me that he has been watching and waiting for me to breed? That all along, he was waiting to take my child?”

  “It’s not that simple. If I hadn’t betrayed him, he probably would have just watched the child from afar. Nurtured him through others and, when the time was right, brought him into the fold. Eventually, he would be told of his true identity.”

  “Did Malcolm know that I was Crosse’s daughter?” she asked.

  “No. When I went to Malcolm and told him everything, that’s when he agreed to help me. He did it to save you and your child. He wasn’t an evil man, Taylor. He never really had a chance.”

  Taylor felt her anger rise again. “This is like some sick joke. Everywhere I turn has the taint of his handprint.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

  She knew Nathan was furious with her. After lying to him, Dakota had to earn his trust back. She smoothed the tight skirt and admired her shapely legs in the mirror. Pleased with her appearance, she descended to the chamber where he was being kept.

  He looked up from his breakfast, then back at his plate, making a point of ignoring her.

  “I know you’re mad at me,” she said.

  “Liar, liar pants on fire. Lied, tried, fried, died. One, two, three, four.” It took everything she had not to roll her eyes. Friggin counting. Enough already. She took a seat across from him. She wanted to look nervous, so she bit her lip and made her eyes wide.

  “He made me do it.” Her voice cracked.

  Nathan looked up.

  “I’m his prisoner. I needed your help, and I didn’t know what to do.” Tears fell from her blue eyes.

  “Who made you do it?”

  “The man with the big, black car. He won’t let me leave here unless I do what he asks. I’m afraid.”

  Nathan puffed out his chest.

  The rube was falling for it.

  “What does he want you to do?”

  She cleared her throat. “I don’t know if I should tell you.”

  “Tell me, sell me, bell me. I want to know.”

  “There are people. These people are hurting babies. He wants me to stop them.”

  His eyes grew huge. “Hurting babies is bad. Bad, bad, sad, mad.”

  She nodded. “Yes, but I’m afraid they’ll hurt me too, if I try to stop them. I’m not brave enough.”

  “I’m brave.”

  “Yes, you are, Nathan. That’s why I thought you could help me, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “Why not? Don’t you think I’m brave?”

  She covered his hand with her own. “Of course, I think you’re brave. You’re the bravest person I know. But I don’t want to be unfair to you.”

  “I want to help—kelp, melp. What do you want me to do?”

  She smiled.

  “You will be driven to the place where they hurt babies. You will need to leave a package there. Then, you will leave a note saying you did it to save the babies.”

  “That doesn’t sound hard. Easy, peasy, leasy.”

  “That’s because you are a brave, brave man.”

  He leaned towards her.

  “Then he will let you go, and we can be together?”

  She licked her lips. Like taking candy from a baby. “If you do a good job.”

  He sat up straighter. “I will. Good. Hood. Should.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  Jeremy pressed a button next to the fireplace. A few minutes later a staff member carrying a tray of tea and cookies came in. Jeremy poured a cup of tea and brought it over to Taylor.

  “Thanks.” She took a sip of the amber liquid and tried to gather her thoughts.

  Jeremy cleared his throat. “Taylor, do you know anything about some silver coins?”

  “What?”

  “My mother’s journal talked about them. Crosse wanted to know what her family had done with them. Our mothers’ parents were born in Greece, right?”

  Taylor nodded. “Yes, the island of Patmos. They came over right after World War II. The island was occupied by the Germans before the war ended.”

  “Isn’t Patmos the island where Saint John lived in a cave?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, in fact, my great uncle was a monk at the Monastery of Saint John,” Taylor said.

  Jeremy spoke. “According to my mother’s journal, Crosse was obsessed with finding the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received for betraying Jesus. He believed some of them were hidden by Saint John on that island.”

  “I’ve never heard anything about them,” Taylor said. “Can I see the journal?”

  “I don’t have it. He let me read it when he decided to enlighten me about my origins, but he wouldn’t let me take it, and when I tried to find it before I left, he’d moved it from his study. But I remember it. I can still see the pages in my mind—I have an eidetic memory.”

  “Okay, so he was looking for these thirty pieces of silver?” Jack asked.

  “He was convinced that my mother’s family had them, that they’d brought them to America when they left Greece.”

  Taylor’s heart began to pound. “Wait. How did Crosse know about this?”

  “It must have been Friedrich. She wrote of Friedrich coming to her room to question her about it.”

  The thoughts were coming too fast now. She took a deep breath. “What year did this Friedrich come to the United States?” Taylor asked.

  Jeremy shrugged. “I’m not sure. He was completely bedridden for as long as I can remember. He had MSA-A, multi system atrophy, a debilitating illness resembling Parkinson’s disease. I used to call him ‘Grandfather’ and go visit with him in his bedroom when I’d come home from school on breaks. He talked about the Old Country sometimes, and made mention of the war, but nothing coherent. I think he came after the war and worked for the government for a while before he got sick.”

  “You say he was a scientist?” Taylor asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What kind?”

  “A geneticist.”

  “Have you ever heard of Operation Paperclip?”

  Jeremy had a blank expression on his face. “Operation what?”

  “Paperclip. It was a covert operation where the United States smuggled in Nazi war criminals, whitewashed their histories and made them citizens.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because they were more afraid of Russia at the time and wanted to get the best scientists and spies before Russia did. I’m wondering if Friedrich was one of those scientists,” Taylor said.

  “I remember pictures of him from his youth. I think I’d recognize him. Besides, how many geneticists named Friedrich could have come over?”

  Jack walked over to the corner of the room where their belongings were huddled in a corner and got his laptop.

  “Can we narrow it down through a search?” he asked Taylor. “Look for geneticists and see the names?”

  “Maybe, but the rocket scientists are the most famous and easy to identify. There were over sixteen hundred scientists and doctors, and I don’t know that we’d find them easily using Google. But I do have all the names from the piece I did on it. I save all my research.” She exhaled. “Of course, it’s all at home, filed. I did that story almost ten years ago.”

  Jack’s fingers were tapping the keys. “Let me see what I come up with.”

  “We need to figure out who Friedrich was. Do you remember anything odd that sticks out? Anything he had that could be tied to the Nazis?” Taylor asked.

  Jeremy jumped up. “He had a ring. I remember because it fascinated me as a kid. He told me I’d have it one day. But when he died and I asked my father about it he said it belonged to him now. He wears it all the time. I got so used to it, I almost forgot.”

  “What did it look like?”

  “Silver. Like a large signet ring with a symbol in the middle, a sort of s
tick with a line wrapped around it and it had two German words, one on each side.”

  “Were the words Ahnenerbe and Deutsches?” Taylor asked.

  “That sounds right! How did you know?”

  “That’s the ring given to members of the Ahnenerbe, a Nazi occult group. Friedrich was a Nazi! He must have indoctrinated Damon into the occult. If we can prove that the Institute was founded by a Nazi, that will bring it under scrutiny, shine a light on what’s been going on there,” Taylor said.

  “The Ahnerbe? Isn’t that the Nazi group that hunted down religious relics—like in Indiana Jones?” Jack said. “Why did they want the coins so badly?” he asked.

  “They believed the coins would give them power. The lore surrounding these religious relics is very potent. It says the coins represent evil triumphing over good and that whoever possesses them has the power to accomplish whatever they desire.”

  “According to this, the coins were hidden in the temple of Solomon.” Jack slid the laptop over to Jeremy and Taylor, and they leaned in to look at the Web page.

  Taylor read aloud. “Medieval apocryphon. What is that?”

  Jeremy answered. “A Greek term for secret teachings that could not be shared publicly,” Jeremy answered.

  Taylor continued to read, fascinated. “According to this, the coins originated with Abraham. Abraham’s father made them, and Abraham gave them to his son Isaac to purchase a village. From there the coins were given to the pharaoh who sent them to Solomon for the temple he was building. Solomon placed them around the door of the altar.”

  Jeremy broke in. “That’s where they stayed until Nebuchadnezzar took over and enslaved the Israelites. He took the coins with him to Babylon where he gave them to some Persians who gave them to their fathers. When Christ was born, they took the coins with them to give as gifts with the frankincense and myrrh but fell asleep and left the pieces there without realizing it. Some merchants found them and used them to purchase a beautiful garment to give to King Abgar. When the king questioned how they had come upon such a beautiful garment, they told him they had found the money. He sent for the shepherds who now had the pieces and took the silver from them and gave both the garment and coins to Christ, who kept the garment but gave the coins to the Jewish treasury because he knew they would be used to secure his betrayal.”