The Midas Legacy (Wilde/Chase 12) Read Free

to the exit to watch the redhead walk away. ‘It’s funny, but . . . yeah. Somehow I think she will.’
    Laura headed through the spring sunshine across the quad, a smile still on her lips, towards a bench. An older woman, her hair a more auburn shade than Laura’s, looked up at her approach. ‘So?’ she demanded. ‘Is there anything to this Henry Wilde’s theory?’
    ‘I really think so, yes. It’s actually very exciting!’ Laura sat beside her, talking quickly in her enthusiasm. ‘He didn’t go into specifics, because he was mostly concerned with locating Atlantis itself, but he definitely believes that the Atlanteans established outposts as far afield as the Himalayas.’
    ‘He actually said that?’ Laura nodded. ‘And he has evidence to back it up?’
    ‘I just spoke to him. Apparently he’s got boxes and boxes of research notes.’
    ‘All well and good, but it’s not finding Atlantis itself we’re concerned about. We need to stay focused on Talonor’s journey, and the cave.’
    ‘Don’t the others still want to investigate Santorini?’
    The woman shook her head in annoyance. ‘Yes. I think they’re wasting their time, but we were outvoted, so . . .’ Another shake, then: ‘Anyway, if this boy has anything promising, it may render all that academic. You should try to get hold of his work and find out if he really has anything concrete about the Himalayas.’
    Laura smiled. ‘I’m meeting him tonight.’
    ‘In his room?’ The words were filled with disapproval.
    ‘Oh, Mother !’ protested the younger woman. ‘It’s not a date; his roommate’ll be there.’
    ‘Even worse! I know what these college boys are like.’
    ‘I don’t think I have anything to worry about. He seems very nice.’
    ‘Does he now?’ The woman regarded her daughter sternly. ‘Just remember that this is business, for the Legacy. You’re looking for anything that could lead us to the Midas Cave, not a boyfriend.’
    ‘ Yes , I know that,’ Laura replied.
    ‘Are you sure? Because I always know when you’re not telling me everything . . .’
    ‘Okay, yes, he’s very tall and very handsome,’ she admitted, exasperated. ‘But he’s also smart – and I genuinely want to find out more about his Atlantis theories.’
    ‘So long as you keep your interest to the theoretical, that’s fine.’
    Laura sighed. ‘I do at least have permission to enjoy myself while I’m doing it, don’t I?’
    ‘Ah, the joys of parenthood: sarcastic children.’ Her mother stood. ‘Well, since you clearly have everything worked out, I’ll let you get on with it.’ Her tone softened slightly. ‘Do be careful, Laura.’
    ‘I will, Mom,’ she said, smiling again. ‘But I think Henry’s going to change things. I just have a feeling . . .’

1
    Forty-four Years Later
    Nina Wilde gazed in wonderment at the ruins of Atlantis rolling past beneath the submersible. Ten years had passed since she’d discovered the lost civilisation, using the lifelong work of her parents, Henry and Laura Wilde, as the foundations of her own research. The intervening decade had seen others join the task of excavating the wonders lost for eleven millennia, what had once been a rolling expanse of silt eight hundred feet beneath the Atlantic now dotted with buildings, many still surprisingly intact despite the earthquake and deluge that had dropped an entire island below the waves. It was an incredible sight.
    But to her frustration, she wasn’t seeing it in person.
    The submersible was relaying the images picked out by its spotlights and laser scanners up an umbilical cable to a research vessel above, which in turn was transmitting them to an operations centre in the offices of the International Heritage Agency at the United Nations in New York. As much as Nina desperately wanted to revisit the site, she had – with deep reluctance – settled for watching the expedition unfold on a screen several thousand miles away. Adding to her