Eric van Lustbader: The Bourne Objective

“According to this file,” Bourne said, “King Solomon’s gold is buried in Syria.”

Chrissie’s excitement grew. “At Ugarit, somewhere on or around Mount Casius, where the god Baal was said to live.” She frowned as she came to the end of the text. “But where, exactly? The text is incomplete.”

“True,” Bourne said, thinking of the SD card Arkadin had found in the shattered statue of Baal. “The last bit is lost. I’m sorry about that.”

“No, don’t be.” She turned and hugged him tightly. “My God, what a fantastic gift.”

“If it’s the truth, if you find King Solomon’s gold.”

“No, in and of itself this text is invaluable. It provides a trove of research material that will help shed light on what’s fact and fiction about King Solomon’s court. I… I don’t know how to thank you.”

Bourne smiled. “Give it as a gift to the university in your sister’s name.”

“Why, I… Of course! What a wonderful idea! Now she’ll be closer to me, and a part of Oxford, too.”

He felt the memory of Tracy settling around him with a contented sigh. He could think of her now in all her incarnations and not be swamped in sorrow.

He put his arm around Scarlett. “You know, your aunt had a hand in this gift.”

The girl looked up at him, her eyes wide. “She did?”

Bourne nodded. “Let me tell you about it-and about how very courageous she was.”