The Project 01 - White Jade

was controlled . There were lines of tension in her face.
    Got the lid on, Nick thought .
    " Doctor Connor, " Elizabeth said.
    " Please call me Selena. "
    " Selena. The people who killed your uncle were after a book he acquired in Bhutan . W e need to know what's in i t. "
    Selena gave Harker an odd look. How did she know about the book?
    "I t's gone. I don't know where it is . I haven't read all of it, but i t ' s a copy of a n ancient text about immortality , mostly written in Sanskrit. Books like that are rare , but t his one is unique . What's in it is impossible."
    "Impossible?" Harker tapped her pen against her lip.
    " P art of it is written in Linear A. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I'd never believe it. Linear A is one of two written language s from the Minoan Empire, before 1600 BCE. There are no books written in Linear A . There shouldn ' t be anything Minoan in the Himalayan region at all. "
    " You're sure the book is gone ? "
    " My uncle kept it on his desk, but it 's not there now . He was going to scan it onto his computer. "
    " So it might be on that laptop you brought. "
    " It could be. "
    Harker began tapping on her desk. " T he money from your uncle ' s accounts went to China . "
    " China ? Part of the book is about the first Chinese emperor, Qin Huang. "
    " Emperor Huang? " Carter said. " The one with the soldiers and horses? "
    " Yes. Huang placed an army of terracotta soldiers and horses outside his tomb. Chinese farmers found it in '7 4 . It's a big tourist attraction. "
    Selena brushed a wisp of hair away from her forehead.
    " The book describe d Huang ' s search for immortality . He was obsessed with it. It also repeat ed old stories of treasure in his tomb. Everyone knows where it is but it's never been excavated. "
    Harker told Selena about the intercept.
    " Then you know who did this! Can ' t you arrest him, this…Colonel, or whatever he is? "
    " We don ' t have hard evidence . Besides, he ha s diplomatic immunity . "
    Nick 's ear began itching. Since he was a kid i t had itched when things were about to get complicated , a personal early warning system. Then again, sometimes it was just an itch. He scratched it.
    Harker set down her pen. " Maybe there ' s something on that laptop . Let's take a look . "
    Selena handed her the case. H arker took the computer out and plugged it into a port on her desk. The display booted up on the wall monitor . T he screen filled with folder icons.
    " Lots of files . " She clicked on one labeled Beijing. The file was a list of bank account numbers in the Chinese capitol.
    " That might help track the money . I don ' t see anything about a book . "
    Selena said, " I t looks like financial files labeled by location, like the Bahamas or Caymans, or by industry and city. T here ' s one labeled Li Shan. That ' s where the e mperor is buried. Open that one. "
    The file was a draft proposal to excavate the tomb of the First Emperor , complete with time lines and cost breakdowns. There was nothing about the book in the file .
    " There ' s a file with my name, " Selena said.
    " Let ' s see it. "
    It was a letter from William Connor to his niece, dated a week before his death.

    My Dearest Selena,
    You know how I hate clichés. Please forgive me for the one I use now. Quite simply, if you are reading this letter then something has happened to me . I do not contemplate this with equanimity, my dear, but life sometimes forces unpleasant possibilities upon us. I am leaving this note and my computer with you in hopes you never read it.
    I think I am being watched by agents of the Chinese government and that it has something to do with the book I acquired in Bhutan . My translation is incomplete, but i t seems there are historical inaccuracies regarding the death and burial of the First Emperor , and that these relate to a supposed elixir of eternal life .
    I have prepared a proposal regarding possible excavation of the First Emperor ' s tomb at Li Shan . A week ago I met with a Chinese consular official named Wu Chen to discuss obtaining permission to fund and participate in such an important project . Wu offered to put me in touch with the correct people in Beijing .
    In the course of our meeting I talked about the book. N ot long after that I noticed a large and rather menacing Chinese man observing me at a restaurant I frequent . Then I noticed that same man in other places, at other times. I t may have nothing to do with Wu, but it seems too coincidental to