Blowback

“I did my best to respect Dr. Ellyson’s privacy. But one day, I noticed something unusual on his bedside table. There were three books I had not seen before. I assumed that he had brought them from his office across the hall so that he could read them in the evening before he went to sleep. What was interesting, though, was that there were three copies of the exact same book. Each had been highlighted with a specific color, but all in different places.”

“That’s odd,” replied Jillian.

“That’s exactly what I thought, especially as we knew the author of the book quite well. He had spent many summers here doing research and climbing with Bernard.”

“Who was it?”

“His name is John Prevas.”

“Hannibal Crosses the Alps,” replied Harvath. “I saw it in your reception area.”

“Yes, Monsieur Prevas was kind enough to send us a signed copy when it was published,” said Marie.

“Why was Ellyson so interested in this particular book? What’s so special about it?”

“It is different from other books about Hannibal and the route he took over the Alps. The Col de la Traversette has always been very dangerous, not only because of the steep terrain, but because until the 1970s smugglers controlled it as a way to get from France into Italy. Scholars had avoided investigating the Traversette as a possible route for Hannibal ’s army because of, as a man named deBeer put it, ‘the ease with which triggers were pulled in the area.’ I was never very much interested in the subject until Monsieur Prevas became our guest, but then I began reading. I am certainly no expert, but his book is the most convincing I have ever encountered regarding the true route Hannibal and his army used when crossing the Alps.”

“So Ellyson was interested in retracing Hannibal ’s path?” asked Harvath.

“That was the way it seemed, and the more time Bernard spent with him, the more Dr. Ellyson began to trust him,” said Marie. “He was a lonely man. He had no wife, no family. Many evenings, he kept Bernard up all night so he wouldn’t have to drink alone. The doctor would tell Bernard stories about how Hannibal had almost succeeded in changing the face of history.”

“What did he mean by that?” Jillian eagerly asked.

“He believed Hannibal ’s army was bringing with them a magic weapon that could completely decimate the Romans-men, women, children, even their animals. This idea is completely crazy. A magic weapon which kills people and also their animals?”

“How did Ellyson know this? Where did he get his information? Was it from Burnham?”

“Bernard wondered the same thing. Like me, he was also beginning to think Ellyson was crazy. Of course, we were being paid good money, but at some point the money was not so important. Ellyson was, how do you say? Obsessed.

“One night, after they had been drinking, Bernard forgot himself and told the archeologist that he thought he was crazy. They had been searching for some time and had found nothing. Ellyson was furious that Bernard did not believe in him. He made Bernard go upstairs with him to the room he used as his office so he could show him his proof.”

“Proof?” repeated Harvath. “What kind of proof?”

“In the office, Bernard watched Dr. Ellyson take the key he kept on a chain around his neck and open a metal attaché case. Inside was a book made from pages of very old papyrus. According to the archeologist, the pages were written in ancient Greek and were a firsthand account of Hannibal ’s journey over the Alps.”

Jillian turned to Harvath and said, “The Silenus manuscript. Silenus was the Greek war correspondent who spent all his time amongst Hannibal ’s different soldiers. That must be what it was.”

“Not only were there Greeks with Hannibal, but Roman spies as well. From what Dr. Ellyson learned, word of Hannibal ’s attack had been circulating for some time. It wasn’t the attack itself that the Romans were most concerned with, but rather the magic weapon the Carthaginians were said to be bringing with them; and the Romans found a way to stop this magic weapon from ever reaching Rome.”

“How?”

“The Roman spies paid some of the Carthaginian soldiers to betray Hannibal. The men responsible for guarding the magic weapon were killed as they slept, and their bodies and beasts swept off the face of the mountain by a terrible avalanche.”

“Did Ellyson ever say how the book came into his possession?” asked Harvath.

“Mais oui,” replied Marie. “Of this, the man was very proud. He told Bernard he had discovered it himself.”

“Where?” said Jillian.

“At first, he would not say. It was as if maybe he was embarrassed or something. But you have to know Bernard. There was something very special about him. He was a very powerful man, and other men were drawn to him. He was like a rock. He never judged them, and for that, they felt that they could unburden their souls to him.”

“And Dr. Ellyson?” asked Harvath. “He unburdened himself to Bernard?”