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Froravel path inland for a half e to the mouth of the Obersee proper, where they found another boathouse similar to the one at Saint Bartholo room Inside they stripped down to their underwear, draped their clothes over coat hooks on the wall, and then found a kerosene lantern around which they huddled until nightfall when Sam started a small fire in the woodstove They spent the reether around the stove then rose at eight thirty, donned their clothes, and waited for the day’s first boatload of tourists They interled themselves with the crowds, strolled about for a few hours, and kept their ears tuned for any discussion of gunshots the previous day or a floating body having been found in the lake They heard nothing At noon they took the boat back to Schönau

Once ashore they decided to err on the side of slight paranoia and not return to the hotel; nor would they use their rental car Watchful for Kholkov and his ift shop, then out the back door into the alley For twenty minutes they picked their ay from Schönau’s waterfront until they found a café on a secluded side street, where they called Selma

At two o’clock a Mercedes fro car service pulled up before the café and three hours later, after a scenic drive, during which Rens of pursuit, they checked into the hotel under the names Hank and Liz Truman

Fed and warraphed symbols from the Saint Bartholomae bottle, then dialed Evelyn Torres at home

“So why the sudden interest in Xerxes and Delphi?” Evelyn asked over a speakerphone after a bit of small talk

“Just a little project we’re working on,” Reet home”

“Well, to answer your questions in order, at the tiuably the most sacred place in Greece The Pythia’s predictions were sought for everything, fro in between As for treasure, there wasn’tcoree, but I think Xerxes didn’t understand Delphi’s place in Greek culture From what few oral histories I’ve read, he considered the Oracle a novelty, like a modern-day Ouija board He was convinced the Greeks were hiding so at Delphi”

“Were they?”

“There’ve always been rumors, but there’s no solid evidence to support the party was turned back by the divine hand of Apollo—in the forh andof importance”

Sa of value survive the invasion?”

“The ruins are still there, of course Some of the columns from the treasuries are in the Delphi Museum, as are soold or jewels, if that’s what you’re asking”

“Do you re around about Delphi when you were there?” Re unusual?”

“No, not really Just standard research requests from universities for the most part” Evelyn paused for a ohe was froh—the School of History, Classics, and Archaeology, I think Weird character”

“How so?”

“He’d applied for a perranted it There are rules for hands-on exaht hi one, that is I walked in on hi to do some kind of acid test on one of the columns”