“A rare element called byzanium.”
“Never heard of it.”
“It’s radioactive, like radium, once it’s refined out of its natural ore. Only a thimbleful of this stuff has ever been found, not enough to run any real tests, but enough to leave scientists speculating about its potential.”
Bell made a quick mental connection. Marie Curie, though Polish by birth, worked in Paris alongside her husband and was the world’s foremost authority on radium. He asked, “Valuable?”
“To call it the most precious substance on the planet is probably not an understatement. An ounce of gold is pegged at $20.67. An ounce of byzanium is estimated at about one-point-four million.”
“Dollars?”
“Dollars.” Patmore paused when Bell whistled his shock. “And Joshua Hayes Brewster found the motherlode of ore. He left Colorado two years ago to take a position with the Société des Mines de Lorraine, working under contract for the Tsar of Russia to open a lead mine on the Taimyr Peninsula. When the work ended a year ago last July, he was returning to the city of Archangel on the north coast of Siberia aboard a coastal steamer, which became lost in fog and eventually ran aground on the upper island of Novaya Zemlya.
“They were stuck on that hellhole for a month until they were rescued by the Russian Navy. During that time, Brewster did what prospectors always do in a new place—he crisscrossed the island looking for interesting minerals. One outcropping caught his attention, so he took some samples. Under the terms of his contract, he was obliged to turn over any and all geologic specimens. There were others from the Société aboard the steamer who knew he’d been prospecting, so he made sure his employers got what was their due. However, just like any good prospector, Brewster saved one for himself.
“Back in the States, fully two months after leaving the Taimyr Peninsula, he contacted the U.S. director of the Société to see what had happened to the minerals he’d found on Novaya Zemlya. He was told the samples were worthless and had been tossed out.”
“He didn’t believe them, did he?” Bell asked.
“Not for a second. He trusted his instincts. He gave the sample over to the Bureau of Mines in Washington. A geologist there, as well as another with the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian, figured out the sample was byzanium ore. Brewster was sitting on a find worth half a billion dollars.”
“Do the French know where it was?”
“No. Brewster never told them. What he did do is tell an old friend at the War Department.”
“You?”
“My boss in Army Intelligence. They knew Congress wouldn’t give them the money to mount an operation to recover the ore, and even requesting funds would announce to the world that there was something valuable on a desolate Russian island. This had to be hush-hush, and it had to be the French who bankrolled the expedition. By this point, the Société had sent teams back to Novaya Zemlya, with no luck. If they wanted a piece of the action, they needed Brewster.
“They agreed to Brewster’s terms. But here’s the thing. Joshua Hayes Brewster is going to double-cross the men of the Société and make off with the ore back to the United States.”
“I get that,” Bell said. “But what about the Little Angel Mine disaster? Why the ruse?”
“It was the French who insisted that Brewster and the others must work in complete secrecy. And rather than come up with nine different cover stories as to why the miners vanished from Central City, they cooked up the phony accident. Brewster is convinced that the real reason is the French plan to murder him and his men after they recover the byzanium ore.”
“Where are he and his men now?”
“They’re arriving in New York on a private train, along with a lot of gear they purchased in Denver. From there, they head to Paris for final briefings and to pick up more equipment. And then the French will return Brewster to the island. He’s going to tell them not to return until next June, but he assures us that he can be ready by May.”
“How are they going to open a mine off the north coast of Siberia in the winter?”
“It’s a tall order, yes, but Brewster told me that to reach the outcrop with the kind of equipment they have, the ground has to be frozen. When he was there in July, he had to wade through a chest-deep bog of melted permafrost to reach the outcrop.”
“And you have someone ready to evacuate them off the island?”
Patmore looked away for a moment. Bell thought the man was about to lie to him. However, the Colonel blew out a breath and looked Isaac in the eye. “I’m still working on that.”
“I appreciate the candor. And now I see your problem. Because Tony and I were looking into the accident, that we may know the truth, the Société’s plan has to evolve, and that focuses additional suspicion on Brewster.”
“And I need him to know that fact so he can alter plans as he sees fit.”
“You have no way of contacting him?”
“Absolutely none. That was part of our operational security arrangements. From the time Joshua bluffed the French into backing his expedition, he could do nothing to jeopardize the mission. He didn’t even know I was on overwatch following the disaster.”
“So, what exactly do you want from me?” Bell asked, knowing the answer.
“I’m sure Foster Gly has gotten some warning to the Société, so killing him now won’t do much good. Therefore, you’ve got to make contact with Brewster in Paris and warn him.”