The Emerald Casket Read Online Free PDF Page A

century.’
    â€˜What about these lines?’ Ruby asked. ‘They all seem to end up in one spot.’
    â€˜Rome,’ McElderry said. ‘Without a doubt.’
    â€˜Well,’ Sam said, smirking. ‘You know what they say.’
    McElderry didn’t look up from the chart. ‘If the next words to exit your mouth are “All roads lead to Rome”, I will skin you, roll you in salt and hurl you from the nearest window.’
    Sam opened his mouth, then shut it again.
    â€˜Ignore him, professor,’ Ruby said. ‘He gets distracted easily. What do the lines mean?’
    â€˜They appear to mark three routes into the ancient capital. From the far reaches of the empire.’ McElderry traced his finger along the blue line. ‘See? This starts in the south of England, crosses the channel then up along the coast to the river Elbe. Then it’s inland, south over the Alps and down to Rome.’
    â€˜What about the red line?’ Ruby said. ‘That’s France.’
    â€˜On the Normandy coast,’ McElderry said. ‘Then south-east to Marseille, across to Corsica, down through Sardinia, over to Sicily and up the coast to Rome.’
    â€˜And the green line heads up from the top of Africa,’ Gerald said.
    â€˜I think that’s Egypt, actually,’ Sam piped up. ‘Probably Alexandria.’ Everyone in the room looked at him.
    â€˜What?’ he said. ‘I like geography. See? It goes up to Crete then across the Mediterranean.’
    The professor drummed his fingers on the desktop. ‘Fascinating,’ he said. ‘A map detailing three routes into the ancient capital.’
    Gerald scanned the chart, trying to read the mind of the man who had turned his life upside down. Then an idea popped into his head. It was no bigger than a mustard seed, but it landed in fertile ground.
    â€˜Maybe this isn’t three paths into Rome,’ Gerald said. ‘Maybe it’s three journeys out of the city.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’ the professor said.
    Gerald pointed to the start of the blue line in southern England. ‘That looks very close to Glastonbury, doesn’t it?’
    McElderry adjusted his glasses. ‘Could be,’ he said.
    â€˜Maybe the blue line has something to do with the diamond casket,’ Gerald said. ‘Maybe it shows how it came to Glastonbury in the first place.’
    Inspector Parrott frowned. ‘What about the other two lines?’
    Gerald felt his brain whirring. He turned to Sam. ‘Remember that page you found at Beaconsfield?’ he said. ‘The one from that book of local myths?’
    â€˜Yeah?’
    Ruby leapt in. ‘That’s right! On the bottom it said the diamond casket was L’une des trois : one of three.’
    â€˜So?’
    â€˜So maybe Green’s looking for two other caskets as well,’ Gerald said.
    There was a long pause around the desk while this possibility soaked in.
    Then the inspector burst into action. ‘Right! Lethbridge! Get in touch with the police services in France and Egypt. Put them on high alert. If Green’s looking for two more caskets this is our chance to nab him.’
    Lethbridge grabbed his two-way radio and elbowed past Mr Fry and Lord Herring as he left the room.
    Gerald’s fingers brushed across the red and green lines on the glass.
    â€˜What’s he after?’ Gerald said. ‘What’s in the other two caskets?’
    â€˜I only know of the diamond one,’ McElderry said. ‘The others are news to me.’
    Gerald looked at the items on the desk. There was a small ceramic bowl containing some bits and pieces— a few keys on a gold ring, sunglasses, a dry-cleaning ticket. And a glossy black box, hinged at the back. He picked it up and opened the lid. Inside was a human skull.
    Gerald stifled a cry. He turned to the professor and held up the box.
    McElderry plucked out the skull and cradled it