But Edward didn’t share in John’s remembered light laughter. His face grew even more serious.

“Do you remember how to use the skip code?”

John frowned, “Yes I do. Every two then four, right?”

Edward nodded. “Right. But instead of just using every two then four, use the Fibonacci sequence, then two then four then the next number in the Fibonacci sequence, and so on and so forth, for the skip code. Round to the next whole number in the Fibonacci sequence.”

John and Edward had delighted in their math classes in university, and had enjoyed giving each other ever more intricate math-based puzzles to solve.

“And what will we use our code for?” John asked, after acknowledging he understood the skip code pattern Edward asked they use to communicate, based on the code words they’d formed.

“Use it to tell me where you have moved the gold to, and to mark the gold bullion, when you have a chance. I will write you back when it is safe, and to explain the arrangements I will make to move the gold back to London.”

John nodded, “How much gold do you think he has stolen from various places?”

“All in all, based on what the informant has told me, and what he has tipped me off to regarding the type and frequency of transport from the Cemetery to one of the barns that the gentleman has arranged to keep the gold in, I think this involves about 3 tons of gold. Approximately.”

“3 tons!” John exclaimed.

“Yes, and it’s from many different countries, so ownership of the gold will be quite difficult to unravel, because it sounds like he had arranged to have them smelted and otherwise combined in order to create bullions that he could use for trade later on.”

“Difficult indeed .. unless he chooses to unravel it all himself. Which I very much doubt.”

“And how much gold is being moved through London to Paris?”

“About 200 pounds.”

John blew out a low whistle.

“Alright. First things first. Let me see what I can do about finding out his plans,” John said thoughtfully, after a minute, as they both contemplated the enormity of the tasks that lay ahead for them. “And then I will make arrangements to retrieve all that gold. I cannot do this on my own, however, and I will have to call in Jack Browning.”