Nina read the verses again.
IN SILENCE SHE WAITS, DAY AND NIGHT.
LIVING WITH THE KEEPER OF THE LIGHT.
SHE SEES THEM COME, SEES THEM GO.
WHAT LIES IN HER HEART, NO ONE CAN KNOW.
“Not exactly iambic pentameter,” Breck said.
“The Crypto team said they thought the second line might refer to a lighthouse keeper,” Nina said, recalling their previous meeting. “Why don’t you google famous US lighthouses?”
They both scanned a long list of structures from Washington’s Puget Sound to Florida’s Key West. The number of options was daunting.
“Let’s start with the East Coast,” Nina suggested.
A few more clicks still left them with scores of lighthouses to consider.
Breck shook her head. “I feel like a bloodhound with a sinus infection trying to follow this trail of clues.”
Nina privately agreed but decided to keep after it. “Can you pass me some of those nuts? I’m starving.”
Breck handed her the bag. “I already ate all the pecans. They’re the only things in there worth having, far as I’m concerned.”
“I’m not picky. Learned to eat whatever was put in front of me as a kid.” Going from home to home, sometimes not getting enough, had cured her of any fussiness about food.
“Not me. I’d rather go hungry.”
Nina figured only someone who had never experienced true hunger would say that.
“Take this for example.” Breck held up a peanut. “People think I love peanuts because I’m from Georgia. One peanut farmer is elected president, and suddenly everyone from our state must be crazy for the damn things.” She let out a derisive snort. “Real southerners know the only way a peanut’s any good is if it’s boiled in the shell in salt water. Otherwise, eat the pecans first.”
“I tried pecan pie once,” Nina said. “Can’t say I cared for it.”
“Bless your heart,” Breck said. “You must have gotten your teeth into something from the freezer section at the grocery store.” She shuddered. “And it couldn’t have been a real pecan pie unless it came fresh from the oven and there was bourbon in it.”
“Bourbon?”
“That’s how they make it in Savannah, where I’m from. In fact, if you want to taste the best bourbon pecan pie, you’ve got to go to the Pirate’s House Restaurant next to the Savannah River, it’s . . .” Breck trailed off, mouth open, eyes wide. “Oh. My. Gawd.”
Nina grabbed her arm. “What?”
“Hold on a sec.” She typed furiously, then a huge smile crept across her rosy cheeks as she pushed the computer closer to Nina.
A picture of a statue filled the screen. Nina studied the young lady and dog memorialized in bronze. The girl’s arms were above her head, holding something that looked like a flag billowing in the wind.
“This has to be it,” Breck whispered. “Damn. My mama would never have forgiven me if I hadn’t come up with this.”
“Come up with what?” Wade said. He and Kent had no doubt heard the excitement and were eager to hear what was going on.
Breck looked up at them, green eyes bright. “This is a statue of Florence Martus, the Waving Girl.”
Kent crossed his arms. “Pretend we’ve never heard of Florence Martus and loop us in.”
Breck pointed at the first line of the poem as she explained. “For over forty years, Florence greeted every ship that came into the port of Savannah. In the day she waved a cloth in greeting, at night, she used a lantern.”
Nina reread the opening.
IN SILENCE SHE WAITS, DAY AND NIGHT.
Breck’s finger moved to the second line. “She never married, and lived with her brother, who was the Elba Island lighthouse keeper.”
LIVING WITH THE KEEPER OF THE LIGHT.
Nina caught Breck’s enthusiasm as she skipped to the next part.
SHE SEES THEM COME, SEES THEM GO.
“Florence waved at ships whether they were coming into the harbor or setting out to sea,” Breck continued. “‘See’ is a homonym for sea.”
“And the last line?” Nina asked as she read.
WHAT LIES IN HER HEART, NO ONE CAN KNOW.
Breck’s smile grew wider. “Legend has it that Florence never married because she fell in love with a sailor who promised to come back for her someday, but never did. No one knows if there’s any truth to that, though.”
“What lies in her heart, no one can know,” Nina said. “It all fits.”
“Let’s contact the task force,” Wade said. “We need someone from the Savannah field office to get over to that statue pronto.” He tugged his phone from his pocket and handed it to Breck, allowing her to take the credit.
“I’ll call Savannah now,” Buxton said over the phone’s speaker after hearing her rapid-fire explanation. “We’ll have an answer shortly. I’ll get back to you right away.”
They batted ideas back and forth while they waited, trying to figure out how the Cipher could have gotten from Boston to Savannah so quickly. They concluded that he would have had to fly. As they were debating the best way to track down possible flights and airports, the phone buzzed.
“Wade here.”
Buxton’s voice betrayed his excitement. “Bingo.”
The single word gave Nina more hope than she’d felt in days. “What did they find?”
“I sent a JPEG to Agent Breck’s email,” Buxton said. “It was on a sheet of standard office paper sealed in an envelope taped underneath the statue’s platform. The local ERT is processing it for forensic evidence as we speak. In the meantime, they made a copy for us to examine.”
Breck clicked open the FBI’s private server and opened the file in her email. “Got it.” She zoomed in.
Nina took in the magnified image. A square consisting of a fragmented mosaic of jagged lines with sharp angles filled the top portion of the card. Each segmented space contained printed numbers.
“The cryptanalysts think it contains a hidden picture,” Buxton said. “They’re working on it now, but you’re welcome to try your luck on the rest of the drive.”
“Unlike the poem, this looks like it involves math, so they’ll likely be quicker at solving it,” Breck said, disappointment evident in her tone. “Every shape inside the lines has a different number in it.”
“And there are hundreds of numbers,” Buxton said.
“We’ll work on it until we get there, which will be in about another hour,” Nina said.
“As Agent Breck pointed out, this looks like more of a problem for the cryptanalysts.” Buxton’s tone brooked no argument. “You all have done enough for one day. I’ll see you at the morning briefing tomorrow. I want all of you rested and on your game.” He paused. “And one more thing. Pack a fresh go-bag before you come in. You’ll be wheels up or on the road again the moment we crack the new code.”
Chapter 37
Nina had scaled the last flight of stairs to find Bianca waiting for her. Again. The girl must have a camera set up to monitor her assigned parking space in the lot. Nothing Bianca did would surprise her.
She went through her usual routine of unlocking the door and deactivating the alarm before tossing her briefcase in the minuscule foyer, where it leaned against the wall. Bianca followed her inside.