‘Damn. Story of my life.’

‘Somebody is an extremely lucky man,’ said Father Bugnolio, looking benevolently at her.

After dinner, Schulz and Nielsen returned from their posts for some food and a pleasantly unexpected beer, and Baldacci and Liebowitz took the next watch. Ben and Madison remained by the campfire and talked into the night. Wolf and Father Bugnolio sat on rocks nearby, mostly listening. Ramin was deeply lost in his own thoughts as he gazed into the dying flames. Aziz had fallen asleep, head lolling, snoring softly. ‘He gets tired,’ Madison said quietly, with a worried look. ‘He’s not a well man, but he tries to hide it. On the climb up here I thought he was going to drop dead of a heart attack.’

‘With God’s blessing, he will be well,’ said Father Bugnolio. ‘I will pray for him. That said, without wishing to sound self-pitying, I had similar concerns for my own health as we made that arduous, interminable ascent.’

‘I remember Dad telling me what a tough time he’d had of it when he came here with his guides that last time, back in ’89. Their vehicles weren’t up to the slope and they had to hack all the way up here on foot. Said he’d lost about ninety pounds by the time they reached the top.’

Wolf said, ‘Ben told me your dad was this world-famous archaeologist.’

‘Sure was that. He was my hero growing up,’ Madison said. ‘Mom died while I was still very young, so it was Dad who pretty much raised me on his own. How he managed to make such a great job of that while travelling all over the world and making all these incredible discoveries – well, that’s just another tribute to what an amazing guy he was. I often used to go with him. Been to all kinds of remote and crazy places.’

‘I liked him a lot,’ Ben said. ‘The one time I met him.’

‘That was the very last phase of his life,’ she reflected wistfully, and her gaze turned inwards for a quiet moment. ‘I wish you could have known him before, Ben. He was just a shadow of what he’d once been. But he was still my dad.’

‘Bless his memory,’ Father Bugnolio murmured.

‘Amen to that,’ Ben said.

‘Thanks, guys.’ Madison looked down, and went quiet for a while.

‘So is this your first time in Afghanistan?’ Wolf asked her. ‘Speaking of remote and crazy places.’