“Fair enough,” Kenfield said. “I’ll run the coordinates to Petra tou Romiou, as it says on the chart, or the Rock of Aphrodite.”
Summer stiffened in her chair. “Did you say the Rock of Aphrodite?” she asked.
Kenfield nodded, then retrieved a dog-eared traveler’s guide to Cyprus shelved behind the chart table.
“I was just reading about it last night. Petra tou Romiou, or Rock of Romios, takes its name from a Byzantine folk hero who allegedly tossed huge boulders into the sea to ward off pirates. The large rock formations are still visible in the surf. However, the site is also known from ancient times as the place where Aphrodite, the patron goddess of Cyprus, emerged from the sea in a wave of foam.”
“Dad, that’s it,” Summer said, jumping from her seat. “The Aphrodite image was in the fresco. It didn’t represent the temple at Stavrovouni, where the monastery stands. It’s where the Roman galley was headed. Someone on shore, or perhaps the pirates themselves, saw the galley fleeing toward the rocks.”
“It’s roughly within sight of the Pissouri wreck site,” Kenfield noted.
“I’ll buy it,” Pitt said, smiling at his daughter’s enthusiasm. “The Rock of Aphrodite it is. Let’s go see if the goddess will show us some love.”
A short time later, they reached the end of the survey lane and pulled in the towfish. As the ship changed course to resume its search down the coast, a palpable optimism surged through the bridge. Caught up in the anticipation, no one noticed the small boat trailing a half mile behind, where Ridley Bannister followed the turquoise ship with a pair of binoculars glued to his eyes.
92
SIX HOURS LATER, THE GODDESS APHRODITE WAS SHOWING the NUMA surveyors anything but love. The seabed around the Petra tou Romiou proved void of any man-made objects. Dirk had taken over the next survey shift, staring at an endless scroll of rocks and sand on the monitor, while Summer and Pitt loitered about, hoping for a strike. Giordino stepped onto the bridge, surprised to see that Summer’s enthusiasm had waned to frustration.
“The AUV’s due up in about forty-five minutes,” he said to Pitt.
“We’re only a few minutes away from finishing this lane,” Dirk noted.
“All right, break off when we cross the end point, then we’ll go pick up the big fish,” Pitt said.
“Anything at all?” Giordino asked.
“If you have a fetish for rock gardens, you’d enjoy the seafloor here,” Dirk said.
Giordino eased over to the helm and gazed out the forward window. Seeing they were near the shoreline, he picked up a pair of binoculars and scanned a pebble-strewn beach that ran west of the large rock formation.
“Any Greek goddesses lying about?” Summer asked with a hint of disdain.
“No, the gods have deserted the beach on this sunny afternoon. Even the shady sea caves are empty of spirits.”
Pitt approached him with an inquiring look on his face. “Mind if I take a peek?”
As Pitt scanned the shoreline, Dirk announced that they had reached the end of the survey lane.
“Al, can you help secure the towfish?” he asked, turning off the sonar system.
“At your service,” Giordino replied, and the two men headed for the stern.
Pitt kept his eyes glued to the shore, then turned to Kenfield.
“Captain, would you mind taking us in a little closer to shore, on a bearing of twenty degrees,” he said.
“What’s up, Dad?” Summer asked.
“Just exploring the possibility that King
Al might have struck gold once more.”
As the Aegean Explorer eased into shallow water, Pitt got a better look at the shoreline. From a low, pebbly beach around Petra tou Romiou, the terrain climbed dramatically to the east, rising in high chalky cliffs several hundred feet high. The Mediterranean’s steady waves rolled into the base of the cliffs with a rumble, splashing foam high against the rocks at water’s edge. Across the lower cliff face, scattered indentations were worn into the limestone where the sea had scoured away a hole, or sea cave, as Giordino had called them. It was the caves that had caught Pitt’s attention, and he studied each one carefully. He finally focused on one in particular, a small black opening low above the water with tumbled rocks around its perimeter.
“Towfish is aboard,” Dirk announced, stepping back onto the bridge with Giordino.
Pitt put down the binoculars. “Captain, what’s the tidal stage right now?” he asked.