The Death Mask Murders Read online

  THE DEATH MASK MURDERS

  Jack Rogan Mysteries Book 7

  Gabriel Farago

  This book is brought to you by Bear & King Publishing.

  Publishing & Marketing Consultant: Lama Jabr

  Website: https://xanapublishingandmarketing.com

  Sydney, Australia

  Cover Design by Giovanni Banfi

  First published 2021 © Gabriel Farago

  The right of Gabriel Farago to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Smashwords Edition

  Free Novella

  Signup for the author’s New Releases mailing list to get a free copy of The Forgotten Painting* novella and find out where it all began ... Click Here to Download

  * I’m delighted to tell you that The Forgotten Painting has received two major literary awards in the US. It was awarded the Gold Medal by Readers’ Favorite in the Short Stories and Novellas category and was named Outstanding Novella of 2018 by the IAN Book of the Year Awards.

  Also by Gabriel Farago

  Letters from the Attic

  The Forgotten Painting

  The Kimberley Secret

  The Empress Holds the Key

  The Disappearance of Anna Popov

  The Hidden Genes of Professor K

  Professor K: The Final Quest

  The Curious Case of the Missing Head

  The Lost Symphony

  Dedication

  For Joan, who always reminds me to ‘either write something worth reading or do something worth writing’.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Contents

  Free Novella

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Author’s Note

  Part I. The Curse of the Golden Mask

  Part II. The Loss of the Golden Mask

  Part III. The Allure of the Golden Mask

  Part IV. The Return of the Golden Mask

  A parting note from the author

  New Release Bonuses

  More Books by the Author

  About the Author

  Connect with the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Because of the draconian COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns here in Australia, international travel – especially to South America and the Caribbean – hasn’t been possible. This had a significant impact on my research because I like to visit all the major locations mentioned in my books to get a ‘feel’ for the culture and the people. That said, I have been fortunate in some unexpected ways.

  To begin with, all the European countries and places featured in the book, I’ve visited before and know intimately. This was particularly helpful with the Bavarian scenes and Italian locations, especially Venice, Florence and Rome.

  Many of my dedicated readers have joined my Book Launch Team over the years, and as members of that select group they have been closely involved with the publication of my books. On this occasion, I turned to them for assistance with the extensive research involved – especially the Inca period, the Spanish conquest, and the treasure trove of historical records in Seville.

  Well, I was in for a pleasant surprise! I had no idea that among my readership there were so many experts in so many diverse fields, who generously gave of their time and offered guidance and advice on how to explore and master the many subjects and issues covered in the book. From university professors and lecturers, to librarians, archaeologists, criminologists and historians, I suddenly had access to a huge pool of knowledge and experience I was able to harness and draw upon in my research.

  As there are just too many to mention by name, a big thank you must go to my Book Launch Team generally, and especially those members who so willingly reached out and became involved in this complex and exciting project. Without their assistance, this book just wouldn’t have seen the light of day.

  Preparing a book for publication requires many skills, especially during these uncertain times. It is a team effort. I’ve once again been very fortunate to have a group of talented and dedicated specialists on my team to help me deal with the many challenges of a rapidly changing publishing landscape.

  As all my books are complex projects with multi-layered storylines, I work closely with my editor, Sally Asnicar of Full Proofreading Services, whose exceptional attention to detail and insights into the characters – old and new – and familiarity with all of my books have been invaluable in bringing this ambitious project to fruition.

  In many ways, once the manuscript has been polished and finalised and is in all respects ready for release, that is just the beginning of the next crucially important stage. Because just writing a good book is not enough; you have to get it out there, make it visible, and ensure it connects with the market and your readers. This is a complex process that requires the skills of an experienced specialist.

  Lama Jabr, my publishing and marketing consultant of Xana Publishing and Marketing, has been my adviser for many years and whose steady hand has patiently guided this project through the many challenges of a treacherous publication jungle. Her insights and expertise, especially when dealing with social media and complex publishing platforms, have been invaluable, and have made a huge contribution to the success of the Jack Rogan Mysteries Series and its worldwide popularity and appeal.

  Who says we don’t judge a book by its cover? In a way we all do, especially when surfing the Net for inspiration on what to read. In my view, an engaging cover and a clever design that reflects the ‘spirit’ of the book are essential components that give it visibility, and make it stand out in a fiercely competitive market.

  In Giovanni Banfi I have a talented artist by my side who understands my work and knows how I want to present it. It is for that reason that the imaginative cover designs of my books and social media banners have attracted much attention and received many compliments over the years.

  Sally, Lama and Giovanni are experts who always strive for excellence, and this is clearly reflected in the high quality of their work.

  And finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention my wife, Joan, literary critic, researcher, patient sounding board and cheerful travel companion. Without her encouragement and unwavering support, this project just wouldn’t have been possible, and the many literary awards and uplifting reviews belong as much to her, as they belong to me.

  Thank you all for believing in me, and what I’m trying to achieve with my writing.

  Gabriel Farago

  Leura, Blue Mountains, Australia

  Author’s Note

  Memories are the little gems that link us to our past. They can appear in surprising ways when we least expect it, and have a profound effect on the present.

  I can still remember the fascinating little book very well. It was hidden beneath a set of dusty novels by Alexandre Dumas. Faded pages stained around the edges whispered ‘Open me. Come inside and discover my secrets’. I found it by accident one afternoon after school, up in the attic of my grandfather’s hunting lodge in Austria. I must have been about twelve or thirteen a
t the time, and the attic was a wonderland – especially for a young boy. Just to get to it was an adventure. I could only reach it by way of a narrow set of winding stairs, which always creaked.

  Once I made it to the top, I was met by a low, wood-panelled door with solid, wrought-iron hinges. The attic, a narrow rectangular room at the very top of the spacious house, where a maze of massive exposed wooden beams held up a steep roof, became my secret world. It was a place where I could dream and let my imagination run free. And there was certainly a lot to stimulate the imagination – books mainly, hundreds of them – and a few fascinating, exotic artefacts from Africa and Asia to enchant a curious boy.

  There were no shelves or bookcases; the books were all in old trunks covered in cobwebs. As a career soldier – a high-ranking officer in the Austro-Hungarian army – my grandfather travelled a lot. He was stationed in various parts of the Empire, often for years, and his most treasured possessions travelled with him in those trunks.

  Sadly, I never met my grandfather – he died many years before I was born – but in that attic I believe I got to know him through his books. I became a voracious reader. After school, I headed straight to the attic. Not to do homework, but to read. It was my introduction to the wonderful world of books, a passion that has never left me and which today, more than ever, guides my life. I believe this was my grandfather’s legacy; a gift to the grandson he never met: literature.

  The most memorable feature of the little book in question was the picture on its faded cover. It was a picture of a striking golden Inca burial mask in the Prado in Madrid. I cannot remember the title of the book, but it mentioned a lost treasure and Inca gold. I can still recall sitting in my grandfather’s leather chair, devouring the faded pages of this intriguing book telling the story of Atahualpa, the Inca king captured by Pizarro in Cajamarca, and the legend of a fabulous treasure hidden by Ruminahui, the Inca general who came to rescue his king, only to find that Atahualpa had been murdered.

  Many years later I visited the Prado, and there in one of the glass display cases, I saw the golden mask. It was just as I remembered it. Surprised, I kept staring at it as memories of that little book I read up in my grandfather’s attic all those years ago came flooding back, and my mind began to wander. What if that fabulous treasure hidden by Ruminahui did in fact exist and was still waiting somewhere to be discovered? What if ...?

  These tantalising questions stayed with me and became the inspiration for this book.

  Gabriel Farago

  Leura, Blue Mountains, Australia

  Part I

  The Curse of the Golden Mask

  ‘There lies Peru with its riches;

  Here, Panama and its poverty.

  Choose, each man, what best becomes a brave Castilian.’

  Francisco Pizarro

  Prologue

  Inca city of Cajamarca, northern Peru: 16 November 1532

  It had begun to rain again. Low clouds and mist obscured an angry sky above the remote, almost deserted Inca city high up in the mountains. Francisco Pizarro looked up at a condor circling like a messenger of doom, the piercing call of the huge bird of prey making him uneasy. The battle-hardened commander could sense danger.

  Consumed by ambition, lust for gold and riches, and yearning for glory and recognition, this illiterate, illegitimate son of a nobleman and an impoverished commoner from Extremadura – a western Spanish region bordering Portugal – was prepared to do almost anything to achieve his deep and dark desires.

  When Pizarro with his band of one hundred and eighty profligate conquistadors entered the once beautiful and flourishing city of Cajamarca in November 1532, the timing couldn’t have been better. A bloody civil war had weakened and torn apart the empire, and a fierce battle between Atahualpa and his brother Huascar had snuffed out the lives of thousands. Atahualpa had emerged victorious and had been proclaimed the undisputed king, or ‘Inca’, of the vast empire stretching southward from the Ancomayo in present-day Colombia, all the way to the Maule River in Chile. With an estimated population exceeding sixteen million, it was one of the four great pre-Colombian civilisations.

  After the battle, Atahualpa was on his way to Cuzco with his army when news reached him that a strange band of foreigners from the north, with apparently supernatural powers that were feared by the priests, had entered his kingdom. His curiosity aroused, Atahualpa decided to meet them and see for himself what the unsettling rumours were all about. With an army of eighty thousand brave warriors behind him, he thought he had nothing to fear from a mere handful of men, however powerful and mysterious. This was a miscalculation that would cost him not only his empire, but also his life.

  Alone and isolated in a strange, hostile land, Pizarro realised that any show of weakness would result in annihilation. Retreat was therefore impossible. Fighting an experienced army of this size in open battle, even if armed with only primitive weapons, was also out of the question and would end in disaster. The only alternative was to outwit his opponent and fight, but on his terms.

  Pizarro sent word to Atahualpa that he would like to meet him in the great plaza, and was looking forward to making the acquaintance of the mighty Inca ruler he had heard so much about. Irritated by this arrogance, Atahualpa nevertheless agreed and decided to put on a show to impress. He entered Cajamarca surrounded by six thousand warriors, counsellors, and commanders, confident that he would capture the annoying interlopers and put an end to the rumours of supernatural powers, weapons that could kill like magic from a distance, and wild beasts that could trample seasoned warriors to death in battle.

  Unbeknown to Atahualpa and his scouts, Pizarro had strategically positioned his men in fortified laneways and empty buildings leading to the central square, and were lying in wait, ready to attack. Concealed behind massive stone blocks and walls, Pizarro and his men watched in silence as the royal procession approached, oblivious of the deadly ambush awaiting them. Carried in a litter by eighty chanting noblemen and priests, and surrounded by hundreds of warriors and their commanders, Atahualpa looked like a god in his precious ceremonial cloak, heavy gold jewellery, and a magnificent headdress fashioned from exotic parrot feathers, which reflected the sunlight like a halo.

  A veteran and cunning fighter, Pizarro knew the value of audacity and surprise. He also recognised the value of his reputation as a mysterious outsider from some faraway land, who commanded a small band of warriors armed with frightening weapons of supposedly supernatural powers that sounded like thunder and could kill from afar, and four-legged beasts that could paralyse an army of brave Inca foot soldiers and spread panic and fear.

  As soon as the litter reached the centre of the plaza, Pizarro lifted his hand and gave the signal to attack. Several small cannons opened fire from all sides, causing mayhem, horror and death in the crowded square full of terrified warriors who couldn’t see their attackers. Within minutes, hundreds lay dead or dying on top of one another, their maimed, blood-soaked bodies trapping the uninjured and making it almost impossible to fight back or escape. Their work done, the cannons fell silent, making way for the next wave of terror: the cavalry charge.

  The Inca had never seen horses. They watched in awe as twenty-eight horses with heavily armed riders came charging at them from all sides, like an army of evil spirits carving trenches of destruction through the petrified crowd trying in vain to get out of their way.

  Shouting orders, his sword drawn, Pizarro hacked his way unopposed through the confused multitude towards the litter. Paralysed by fear and confusion, the Inca warriors threw down their weapons and then fled in terror towards Pizarro’s men waiting for them in the laneways with loaded arquebuses. The terrified nobles carrying the litter were cut down. Many had their hands or arms hacked off before the litter crashed to the ground and Atahualpa was captured by a jubilant Pizarro.

  Mounting a surprise attack on Atahualpa and his army against all odds and taking the Inca king prisoner, was a stroke of genius. Audacity and courage fuelled by
desperation had carried the day in a way no-one could have imagined. A small band of one hundred and eighty desperate men had managed to defeat an army of thousands, and in doing so had toppled a mighty empire and changed the course of history not only in the Americas, but in Europe as well. It marked the beginning of the famous treasure fleets crossing the Atlantic, with unimaginable wealth flowing into Spain, and ushered in a new era of international commerce on an unprecedented scale.

  But everything has a dark side as well. Fabulous riches floating on the high seas presented extraordinary opportunities for the ruthless and greedy, eager to make a quick fortune. Enter the Golden Age of Piracy, a period between the 1650s and 1730s that gave rise to legends and buccaneers such as Pierre Le Grand, who made his mark by attacking galleons full of plundered treasure returning to Spain, and Henry Morgan, who audaciously raided Spanish ships and burned down Panama City. He was to be executed in England, but instead of a date with the noose he was knighted and made governor of Jamaica. And then there was Amaro Pargo, the legendary, womanising corsair who operated mainly in the Caribbean and gave rise to romantic fireside stories of piracy and fabulous treasure hidden in distant island caves. He is buried in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Engraved on the headstone marking his grave is a skull with a winking eye and two crossbones.

  In a desperate attempt to save himself, Atahualpa made Pizarro an offer he couldn’t refuse. Well aware of the terrifying stranger’s obsession with gold, Atahualpa promised to fill the chamber in which he was being held prisoner with gold in exchange for his freedom. Stunned by the enormity of the offer and its far-reaching implications, Pizarro agreed, and messengers were sent out by Atahualpa into every corner of the empire with orders to begin to assemble the ransom treasure consisting of countless tonnes of gold.