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"Whatever you say,gràidh." He slips on the gloves. "I'll follow your lead."
"But you're the riddle-solving expert. You should take the lead."
"All right, I will." He plants one hand on the desk, tilting forward slightly, and stares down at the map. "You should study it too. Four eyes are better than two, especially when I have such a clever partner with me."
We both pore over the lines and shaded areas on the drawing, which has an off-white background as if it's made of parchment. Maybe it's animal skin. Vellum was popular in medieval Europe, and it was fashioned from sheepskin. Would the Havasupai use that sort of paper? The type of material hardly matters. I need to focus on the imagery. I see nothing that resembles words, in any language I know of, so I assume the map is strictly an image. Like any good treasure map, it contains symbols that seem to represent natural features.
"Doesn't this look like the Colorado River?" I ask. "But there's another river-like feature that might be an offshoot."
"Aye, that must be the Colorado." He traces another line with his fingertip. "This looks like the Little Colorado River, and that might be the Pariah River. There are also smaller waterways, like Knob Creek and Havasu Creek."
His list of Grand Canyon waterways makes me stop and look at him. "How do you know so much about the Grand Canyon? Have you been there before?"
"No, I haven't. But my cousin Munro used to be a river guide in the canyon, so he told me all about the various rivers and streams."
"He used to be a river guide? What does he do now?"
Errol shrugs. "Not sure. He's kept himself to himself ever since he gave up his job. He loved being a guide, so I donnae understand why he quit."
"Does he live in Scotland?"
"No, not for years. He went on holiday in America, visiting all sorts of places. But when he saw the Grand Canyon and went on a river excursion, he fell in love with that place. Never wanted to leave, apparently."
Though I'd love to hear more about his cousin—all his cousins, actually, and any other family members he wants to tell me about—we have more pressing issues. Figuring out this map might take days, but we have half an hour. Less, in fact. We've already spent eleven minutes examining the map and chatting about his cousin. Only nineteen more to go.
"What about these faint lines here?" I ask. "Do you think that could be a route to a specific place in the canyon?"
"You're hoping it marks the way to the secret system of caverns."
"Of course I am. That's what we're looking for."
"Aye, but the lines aren't clear. I'd need to study this for hours, not minutes, to decipher what meaning, if any, those faint streaks hold."
I bow my head and sigh. "We have seventeen minutes left."
"Donnae worry. I have a backup plan."
"You don't need to pretend for my sake. There's no way Ellsworth will let us take the map with us, or give us more time to study it. He seems very protective of the map, like it's his sacred family legacy."
"To him, it is. The Havasupai made this map for his great grandfather and gifted it to him. That must've meant a great deal to the elder Mr. Ellsworth."
"Yeah, I'm sure it is important to the family." I stare down at the beautifully rendered map, with its mysterious symbols and enigmatic lines. And I suddenly get a naughty idea. So I sidle closer to Errol and whisper in his ear, "Let's take high-resolution pictures of the map. Lots of them. Close-ups and full views, everything in between. We have enough time for that."
"Breaking the rules our host set? Ashley, I'm shocked." He palms my ass. "And randy too. Your bad-girl side arouses me."
"I'm desperate. That's the only reason I'm willing to break the rules."
"All right. We'll use the camera on my mobile. It has higher resolution than yours, and a better quality lens."
"How do you know that?"
Errol's lips form a mischievous smile. "Because I took a peek at your mobile while you were staring out the window during our flight to Manchester. I had the same idea as you, to snap high-res pictures of the map. Didnae expect you to suggest that, though. I assumed I'd need to talk you into it."
"Shush. We need to take those pictures now."
For the next fifteen minutes, we take as many photos as we can from as many angles as possible, and we also use different types of lighting. The desk lamp casts a golden light on the map, while the sunshine coming through the window provides natural tones. We've just finished, and Errol has just stashed his phone in his pocket, when Ellsworth walks into the room.
"Are you finished?" he asks. "I have errands to run."
