he rest, based on secondhand information. Short of an . . .”
“Exhumation.”
“Yes, an exhumation. Only that, and a DNA sample from his descendants, would be proof. Why do you ask? Do you have reason to believe—”
“No, not really. We’re brainstorming.”
Sam asked, “About these stories: do you believe any of them?”
“Part of me wants to believe. It is a thrilling adventure, yes? But, as I said, the official histories of De Terzi’s life contain none of these accounts.”
“A few minutes ago you said there is so little documentation. Does that mean there is some documentation?” Remi said.
“There are a few letters, but written by friends. None in De Terzi’s own hand. It is what your justice system calls hearsay, si? Aside from those, there is only one other source that may be related to the stories. I am reluctant to mention it.”
“Why?”
“It is fiction, a short story written by De Terzi’s sister a few years after his death. Though named differently, the protagonist is clearly intended to be Francesco. Most thought the sister was trying to make money on his fame by exploiting the rumors.”
“Can you give us the gist of the story?”
“A fanciful tale, really.” Moretti gathered her thoughts. “The hero of the story leaves his home in Italy. After braving many dangers, he is captured by a tyrant in a strange land. He is forced to build a flying ship of war. The ship crashes in a desolate place, and just the hero and two of his comrades survive, only to eventually die of their injuries. The hero then finds a mysterious treasure, which the natives tell him is cursed, but he ignores the warning and undertakes an arduous journey back to the tyrant’s castle. Once there, he finds that his traveling companion, who the tyrant had been holding hostage, has been executed.
“The hero returns to Italy with the treasure only to find more tragedy: his family has been killed by the plague. The hero is now convinced the curse is real, so he sets out to return the treasure to where he found it and is never heard from again.”
Sam and Remi struggled to keep their faces expressionless.
Sam said, “You don’t happen to have a copy of this story, do you?”
“Yes, of course. I believe I have it in the original Italian as well as a very good English translation. As soon as we have finished our conversation, I will send you an electronic version.”
38
GOLDFISH POINT, LA JOLLA
CALIFORNIA
With copies of “The Great Dragon” on each of their iPads, Sam and Remi thanked Professor Moretti for her help. Sam and Remi read the story and e-mailed copies to Selma, Wendy, and Pete. As Remi was sending a copy of the story to Jack, Selma connected with him via iChat.
“You two look absolutely giddy,” Karna said. “Don’t keep me in suspense. What have you found?”
Sam said to Remi, “You tell him.”
Remi first recounted their conversation with Moretti, then gave everyone a summary of “The Great Dragon.”
“Incredible,” said Selma. “You’ve both read the story?”
“Yes,” said Sam. “It should be in your e-mail. You too, Jack.”
“Yes, I see it here.”
“How closely does the story match the bamboo engraving?” asked Wendy.
“If you replace the clearly fictional bits of the story with De Terzi’s alleged testament, you get what reads like a factual account: the crash, the number of survivors, the discovery of a mysterious treasure, the trek home . . . It’s all there.”
“And the time line fits,” Remi said. “Between the secondhand accounts of De Terzi’s comings and goings, he could easily have been traveling to and from China.”
“I am flabbergasted,” said Karna.