Both the colonel and Brad watched for her reaction. She thought Brad might explode with excitement. “It’s Leonardo’s machine, all right.” She couldn’t help that her eyes filled.

“Da Vinci?” Casey’s voice was sharp.

Lucy nodded. She could hardly see his light eyes in the dim room.

Brad tried to calm himself. He cleared his throat. “If the book is right, this machine could be more important than you’ve been thinking, Colonel.” Was Brad excited only to prove himself to Casey? Maybe.

Casey’s hard eyes reassessed her. “And you, Dr. Rossano, know what it is.”

She nodded slowly. Well, at least he’d never believe her. “Yeah. It’s a time machine.”

“A time machine,” Casey snorted. “Right. Are you crazy, Steadman?”

“No, you’ve got to see the book, Colonel,” Brad protested. He hurried to a long table that faced the machine and switched on a small work light. “Luce, bring the book and show him.”

Lucy hefted her bag off her shoulder. The book wouldn’t help a military guy believe. Huge girders loomed in the ceiling far above her. The place had that peculiar sterile environment that left only a faint metallic odor. She pulled out the book and spread it open. Casey leaned over it. Lucy pointed. “Leonardo’s signature.” She flipped pages to show the diagrams on assembly, key notes in the margins, mathematical equations. Then she flipped to the full drawing. Casey drew in a breath. She paged back. “Here’s where he says that time is a vortex. And here . . . he says the jewels focus the power.”

“How do I know that’s what it says?” Casey asked softly, his eyes darting over the text.

“You can check it with another expert in archaic Italian.” There. That would buy time. She could feel the machine looming above her, heavy with . . . with purpose. That was bad.