‘Yes, well, this is nothing like that,’ said Jake. He looked around, and then said in a low voice: ‘Anyway, officially, that’s not why we’re here. We’re looking for something of King Arthur. The Holy Grail, or something similar.’ And he shot an accusing look at Robert.
‘I had to tell Andy what we were looking for,’ hissed back Robert defensively. ‘After all, he and Woody are the ones who’ll be searching for it. They had to know.’
‘True,’ admitted Jake reluctantly. But he wasn’t happy about it. The more people who knew the real purpose of their visit to Glastonbury, the more chance there was of the opposition homing in on them. He looked at Andy as the search and rescue man rubbed the dog’s ears, and the dog looked up at him, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, big brown eyes watching him.
‘What breed is he?’ he asked.
‘Woody’s a bitza,’ said Andy. ‘Bitza this, bits of that. There’s a bit of collie in him, and a bit of setter, and I’m pretty sure there might even be a bit of bloodhound in him, because he’s got such a fantastic nose! He can sniff out anything!’
‘Yes, explosives and drugs and things like that. Robert told me,’ said Jake. ‘But aren’t criminals able to get round it? I read somewhere that drug smugglers hide the drugs in crates packed with strong-smelling stuff like coffee to beat the dogs.’
Andy grinned.
‘That depends on the quality of the dog. A woman in Australia was visiting her boyfriend in prison and she tried to smuggle in drugs in her bra. She tried to fool the detection dog by smearing her bra with coffee, pepper, and even Vicks VapoRub. The dog still smelt out the drugs.’
Michelle’s face showed her disgust.
‘God, her bra must have stunk enough for people to get suspicious, anyway.’
Andy continued, warming to describing the almost paranormal virtues of sniffer dogs. ‘A sniffer dog can detect blood, even after it’s been scrubbed off. Dogs smell things in parts per trillion, something way beyond the range of human beings. They can smell illnesses such as diabetes and cancers in a person.’ He looked affectionately at Woody. ‘From what Robert tells me, this thing you’ve got will be meat and drink to Woody, if it’s as old as he says it is. The smells on it will be easily identifiable.’
Jake looked round carefully to make sure that no one seemed to be taking too much of an interest in them, then took the envelope from his pocket and passed it to Andy.
‘This is what we’re looking for,’ he said.
Andy lifted the ancient blackened leather cover from inside the envelope, and smiled.
‘Easy!’ he said, pushing the book cover back inside the envelope and returning it to Jake. He turned to Robert. ‘You said you knew some places where you thought this book might be buried?’
Robert nodded.
‘Four of them,’ he said. ‘They’re all out of town, on farmland. I’ve got permission from the landowners to search them.’
‘Great!’ said Andy. ‘Well, the sooner we get started, the better.’
‘Excellent.’ Michelle nodded. She stood up. ‘I’ll get my camera.’
‘First, lunch!’ said Robert firmly. ‘You people may be able to go all day without food, but I need my sustenance.’
Michelle looked as if she was about to argue, but one look at the determined and hungry expression on Robert’s face and she shrugged.
‘OK,’ she said. ‘Lunch it is.’
They ordered snacks, and while they ate, Jake took the opportunity to fill Michelle and Andy in on potential hazards.
‘If we’re lucky enough to find one of the books, whatever happens, don’t open it,’ he told them.
‘Why not?’ asked Andy.
Briefly, Jake told him what had happened when the book had been dug up accidentally in Bedfordshire.
‘When the digger driver opened it, he released the fungal spores that were in the pages. As soon as they came into contact with moisture, which was his sweat, the spores turned into this heaving mass of fungus which covered him from head to toe.’
‘Wow!’ said Andy, impressed. ‘What happened to him? Did they get the stuff off him?’
‘I don’t know,’ admitted Jake. ‘He was being kept in an isolation ward, but he was still covered in the fungus.’ He shrugged unhappily. ‘I don’t know whether he lived or died. I’m just telling you this so you know how dangerous these things can be. If we’re lucky enough to find a book, we open it in strict safety conditions: hazard suits in a laboratory.’
‘Great!’ Michelle beamed. ‘Pictures like that will make this story even better!’