Treasure for All

13. Scribbles

Hongjoong had emptied the yellow envelope of its contents and spread them out in an organized manner on the table. Papers scribbled with notes and pictures with red ink markings covered the wood, and the rest of the crew couldn't take their eyes off of them. Upon closer inspection, the pictures displayed various images of markings and passageways in various locations such as the Coliseum, the Great Wall, the Rockies, Acropolis, Stonehenge, Niagara Falls, Taj Mahal, and the Pyramid.

"Well, that checks our answers to the riddle," said Grace-Anne.

"And the Coliseum is just about half a mile from us," San added in.

"So, what are all of these notes and pictures for?" Phoebe asked.

Hongjoong went to the chalkboard and flipped it over, revealing a world map covered in thumbtacks pinning notes and red yarn crossing over to various locations across it. The thumbtacks also held up pictures of faces from printed out news articles.

"Last night, Dr. Steinbeck's assistant Dalia delivered these documents you see in front of you," the captain explained as he began to pin some of the pictures on the board, indicating where each structure would be found. "From what Yunho told us, she never said if the professor wanted us to have it or if she somehow stole it from him."

"What do you think, captain?" Seonghwa asked.

"At first, I was thinking he was being generous, but after what Jongho showed me his research into the professor's past expeditions I'm starting to believe the latter."

Hongjoong nodded to Jongho, giving him the "Ok" to speak. The younger man now stood by the printed articles.

"These archaeologists," he began, "once worked with the professor on various excavations. However, they all disappeared just before what they were searching for was found. Each one was in the lead for different explorations, but they had a second in command."

"Steinbeck?" Dinah said. Jongho nodded.

"Whenever a scientist went missing, Steinbeck would take over the expedition and find the object they were looking for. Meaning, he'd get the all of the fame and glory with crediting the deceased, or in that time 'missing,' archaeologists."

"Okay, that is weird," Phoebe admitted. "But how do we know none of this was coincidental? There's not enough evidence to point the finger at Steinbeck."

"Actually, I looked through some of the notes that were in the envelope," said the captain. "If you look closely at the handwriting on the papers, there are different styles. They must have belonged to someone else at some point. After Jongho showed me the articles, I'm starting to believe they must have belonged to the deceased archaeologists."

"You may be right, captain," Taeran piped up as she was examining a crinkly piece of paper with blue ink scribbled on it. "This one has 'D. Woods' written at the bottom."

"Devoreaux Woods," Jongho said.

"Look at this," Celestia pointed out what appeared to be a note on the back of the blue-inked paper. "'The greed has fully poisoned his mind. He's going mad, and none of us are safe. If he gets his hands on our notes, it's over for us. We won't be seeing our families again. Beware of his gentleman-like mannerisms. He's not to be trusted anymore.'"

"Who's 'he?'" Phoebe asked.

"If you ask me," Taeran spoke up, "it all seems to point to Steinbeck."

As much as she wanted to break her habit, Taeran's instincts were screaming at her to not trust the professor. The last time she put her trust in someone too quickly her parents met their end from a rifle. An ex-friend of hers betrayed her trust, and took everything from Taeran.

"Taeran," Mingi began, but she stopped him.

"I know my not trusting people is a problem, but I really do feel that something is fishy, and Steinbeck is part of it all. This is a gut feeling, and it's telling me not to trust him. I respect him, but I want us to be cautious."

"And I agree with you," Jongho said. "If these pictures and notes didn't belong to Steinbeck in the first place..."

"Then they must have belonged to the deceased archeologists," Dahae chimed in. She met her fiancé's eyes with a look of fear. "Joong-"

"You let me worry about the professor," he commanded. "For now, let's take everything we need for the task here in Italy."