Agamemnon?’
Jack paused, then spoke quietly. ‘I think he existed. I think we’re on his trail, here and now. Agamemnon, what he did, is where the truth of the Trojan War lies.’
‘And for Jack Howard, the fact that this shield would be one of the most priceless treasures ever discovered is neither here nor there?’
Jack grinned. ‘It would make a pretty good centrepiece in a new archaeological museum at Troy, don’t you think? Along with everything that Hiebermeyer and Dillen and Rebecca and Jeremy are discovering. Finding the shield would repay the Turks for giving us a permit to dig here.’
‘And you think the shield’s somewhere on the sea bed, in a wreck.’
‘In the funeral games of Achilles, Homer has the armour going to the champion who won the contest for it, the outstanding hero. But by the final chapters of the war, all of the heroes were dead, and their treasure had reverted to Agamemnon. The age of heroes was over, the age that saw chivalric contests to claim the armour of a slain warrior. Agamemnon was no longer merely coalition leader, the first among many; he was now mighty ruler of them all, king of kings. Achilles’ armour would have become part of his prestige display. All the treasures of the heroes would have been stashed away in his personal war galley. Remember Dillen’s translation? The ship, booty-laden, weighted down with gold .’
‘Holy cow,’ Costas said quietly. ‘Now I’ve got you.’
‘Treasure. Big time.’
‘Bring back the age of pirates,’ Costas sighed, shaking his head. ‘Treasure like that could set me up for life.’
‘That’s exactly why I want this kept under wraps,’ Jack said. ‘If word slipped out, every treasure-hunter in the world would be hovering around us, the good, the bad and the ugly.’
‘The whereabouts of Schliemann’s stolen treasure has attracted some pretty rough customers. The Nazis were after it.’
‘What do you know about that?’
‘Dillen told me. It was when Rebecca was involved with returning that painting in the Howard Gallery, the one Göring had pilfered. Dillen was at the IMU campus at the time and we got to talking. A great-uncle of mine was a Monuments Man, with the US army, responsible for recovering art stolen from Jewish families in Greece. Dillen mentioned a schoolteacher of his who had some connection with the search for the lost treasures from Troy.’
‘That’d be Hugh Frazer,’ Jack murmured. ‘I knew Frazer had been in special forces during the war, but I didn’t know anything about that. Intriguing. I’ll have to plug Dillen on it.’
‘It was something he had just remembered. Something this guy, Frazer, knew about some other guy, a British officer friend of his, who went missing. Something to do with one of the death camps.’
‘It was a more hazardous job than you’d think. And there was a lethal subtext, that the places where treasures were hidden could also conceal other secrets, weapons ready for use to execute the so-called Nero Decree.’
‘I know about that. Hitler’s order to destroy the Reich.’
‘And take the world with it, if at all possible.’
Costas checked his watch. ‘So, the shield of Achilles. Mum’s the word on your dream find?’
‘Radio silence until we find out what’s actually down there.’
Costas nodded. ‘Okay. For now, soggy timbers it is. But between you and me?’
‘What?’
‘This really is a treasure hunt, isn’t it? I mean, you owe me. It’s why you convinced me to get into this game in the first place. You promised, fifteen years ago at Troy.’
‘I thought that was submersibles. Getting your own shed full of gadgets.’
‘Means to an end. It was seeing those pictures just now, the shield, the golden mask. I think I’ve finally got the fever.’
Jack sighed. ‘Okay. Just to keep my old dive buddy happy. Treasure it is.’
‘Right on.’
‘I want to give Dillen and Hiebermeyer a call. See how they’re getting on. I’m due to be
Jack paused, then spoke quietly. ‘I think he existed. I think we’re on his trail, here and now. Agamemnon, what he did, is where the truth of the Trojan War lies.’
‘And for Jack Howard, the fact that this shield would be one of the most priceless treasures ever discovered is neither here nor there?’
Jack grinned. ‘It would make a pretty good centrepiece in a new archaeological museum at Troy, don’t you think? Along with everything that Hiebermeyer and Dillen and Rebecca and Jeremy are discovering. Finding the shield would repay the Turks for giving us a permit to dig here.’
‘And you think the shield’s somewhere on the sea bed, in a wreck.’
‘In the funeral games of Achilles, Homer has the armour going to the champion who won the contest for it, the outstanding hero. But by the final chapters of the war, all of the heroes were dead, and their treasure had reverted to Agamemnon. The age of heroes was over, the age that saw chivalric contests to claim the armour of a slain warrior. Agamemnon was no longer merely coalition leader, the first among many; he was now mighty ruler of them all, king of kings. Achilles’ armour would have become part of his prestige display. All the treasures of the heroes would have been stashed away in his personal war galley. Remember Dillen’s translation? The ship, booty-laden, weighted down with gold .’
‘Holy cow,’ Costas said quietly. ‘Now I’ve got you.’
‘Treasure. Big time.’
‘Bring back the age of pirates,’ Costas sighed, shaking his head. ‘Treasure like that could set me up for life.’
‘That’s exactly why I want this kept under wraps,’ Jack said. ‘If word slipped out, every treasure-hunter in the world would be hovering around us, the good, the bad and the ugly.’
‘The whereabouts of Schliemann’s stolen treasure has attracted some pretty rough customers. The Nazis were after it.’
‘What do you know about that?’
‘Dillen told me. It was when Rebecca was involved with returning that painting in the Howard Gallery, the one Göring had pilfered. Dillen was at the IMU campus at the time and we got to talking. A great-uncle of mine was a Monuments Man, with the US army, responsible for recovering art stolen from Jewish families in Greece. Dillen mentioned a schoolteacher of his who had some connection with the search for the lost treasures from Troy.’
‘That’d be Hugh Frazer,’ Jack murmured. ‘I knew Frazer had been in special forces during the war, but I didn’t know anything about that. Intriguing. I’ll have to plug Dillen on it.’
‘It was something he had just remembered. Something this guy, Frazer, knew about some other guy, a British officer friend of his, who went missing. Something to do with one of the death camps.’
‘It was a more hazardous job than you’d think. And there was a lethal subtext, that the places where treasures were hidden could also conceal other secrets, weapons ready for use to execute the so-called Nero Decree.’
‘I know about that. Hitler’s order to destroy the Reich.’
‘And take the world with it, if at all possible.’
Costas checked his watch. ‘So, the shield of Achilles. Mum’s the word on your dream find?’
‘Radio silence until we find out what’s actually down there.’
Costas nodded. ‘Okay. For now, soggy timbers it is. But between you and me?’
‘What?’
‘This really is a treasure hunt, isn’t it? I mean, you owe me. It’s why you convinced me to get into this game in the first place. You promised, fifteen years ago at Troy.’
‘I thought that was submersibles. Getting your own shed full of gadgets.’
‘Means to an end. It was seeing those pictures just now, the shield, the golden mask. I think I’ve finally got the fever.’
Jack sighed. ‘Okay. Just to keep my old dive buddy happy. Treasure it is.’
‘Right on.’
‘I want to give Dillen and Hiebermeyer a call. See how they’re getting on. I’m due to be
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