The Ford Journals 1.6

Episode 6: The Medallion Heist

Mallorca was golden. The kind of gold that comes with old money, well-aged wine, and sunsets that spill across the Mediterranean like molten metal.

I hadn’t planned on running into Elise again.

But there she was.

I spotted her at a cafe in Palma, effortlessly put together, sipping an espresso like she owned the place.

Elise: “So are you following me now?”

Me (grinning, sliding into the seat across from her): I could ask you the same.”

We caught up. Talked in circles. I let slip just enough—about Venice, Utah, Marrakech, Iceland—but not everything. She listened, fascinated. Maybe too fascinated.

At some point I told her why I was now in Mallorca, chasing a lead—something about a hidden estate, an auction, and an artifact that shouldn’t be for sale.

The air in Palma’s old town smelled like fresh espresso, sea breeze, and baked pastries. I had just sat down at Cafe La Lonja, flipping though my notebook, when I heard a voice.

Elise: “Twice in one lifetime? Either the universe is pushing us together, or you’re following me.”

I looked up, Elise. Sun-kissed, casually effortless. The kind of woman who made running into her feel scripted.

Me: “What are the odds?”

Elise (setting down her bag): “Slim, or maybe you’re just predictable.”

She ordered a cortado and leaned in, her eyes scanning my notebook.

Elise: “Still playing detective?”

I slid the page toward her. Roman numerals. A compass rose. A sun with an elongated shadow."

Me: “I need your help to solve this..”

She studied it, tapping the sun symbol.

She pulled up an auction listing on her phone.

Elise: “Because this--this symbol—it’s on a medallion being auctioned off tomorrow night.”

I stared at the screen. A gold medallion, identical markings.

Me: “Of course it is.”

Elise: “It’s part of an estate sale. Invitation only.”

Me: “Get me a ticket.”

She scoffed.

Elise: “Ford, you don’t just stroll into a high-security auction—but fine I can get your name on the list.”

THE HEIST—THAT WASN’T

The villa was straight out of a billionaire’s Mediterranean dream. Terraced gardens, marble archways, guards who looked like they moonlit as hit-men.

I blended in, tux pressed, drink in hand. Elise slipped between guests, making it look effortless.

This job was able to happen largely in part due to Elise flirting with one of the guards, and allowing me to lift his key card that was attached by clip to his suit coat pocket.

The medallion was Lot 47. A 17th-century artifact, gold, inlaid with a compass rose. I just had to get my hands on it see what was hidden inside.

Once I had the key card I would need about 5 minutes to get in and get out, I would have access to the study room where the keys were held for each lot, I would need to get the whatever was hidden inside the medallion and get out. I would then drop his key card on the floor next to him and would let Elise pick it up for him pretending she was helping him out by picking it up for him. it should have been a pretty straightforward job—-until it wasn’t.

As the plan was about to be set in motion, the auctioneer announced:

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lot 47 has been removed from bidding. It has been pre-reserved for a private collector.”

Elise leaned over and murmured: “Tell me that’s not what we’re here for.”

Ford: “It most definitely is.”

The medallion was already gone.

A GAME OF HIGH STAKES

My eyes scanned the room for any unusual activity. I saw a gentleman shaking hands and it seemed like he was saying goodbye to people before the actual auction was starting. I knew the table he was seated at based on there was only one seat where the food and drink was not even touched, which I found odd.

I asked Elise to snap a picture of the seating chart, which was tucked away near the entrance. Then, to follow me back to my hotel so we could figure out what was next.

Elise and I arrived back at my hotel. And we took a look at the seating chart. then a name: Don Mateo de Alarcón.

Alarcón was not just any name, he was a super successful businessman. Private Collector. Ruthless Buyer.

FINDING ANOTHER WAY TO THE MEDALLION

We tailed Alarcon, and figure out where he was staying, that wasn’t the hard part.

Now it was time for Elise and I to head back to where I was staying, Cap Rocat and sit down in the lobby bar, and devise our next move.

We both agreed if that’s where Alarcón was staying, so was the medallion.

Now we just had to get it.

THE PLAN

Breaking into a five-star suite without setting off alarms, raising suspicion, or ending up in handcuffs required creativity. We didn’t have time for elaborate disguises or weeks of surveillance. This had to be quick and clean.

Breaking into Alarcón’s suite wasn’t an option. Too risky. Too obvious.

So we wouldn’t break in.

We were going to be invited in.

Elise smirked over the rim of her wine glass at Cap Rocat. “I assume you have a plan?”

I set my glass down. “Of course. We’re going to deliver him something he never ordered.”

Step One: The Room Service Setup

At Hotel Son Vida, VIP guests had one thing in common: they ordered everything to their room.

“Elise, what’s the most expensive thing you can order here?” I asked.

She barely looked up from her wine. “1940 Macallan. €75,000 a bottle."

I let out a low whistle. “Subtle.”

She smirked, “You asked.”

“We need something that won’t make the concierge suspicious but still requires staff to deliver.”

I though for a second. “What was Senor Alarcón drinking at the event?”

She quickly responded “Whiskey, why?”

“Look here” I pointed at the menu, “they have a private collection whiskey tasting. And I’m guessing it will require a full set up in the room.”

Perfect.

We slipped one of the valet guys €100 to text me when they saw Senor Alarcón leave.

Now we were in a waiting game. We knew he would be leaving in the late afternoon/early evening for another art collector event.

Step Two: The Whiskey Delivery

Elise called posing as Senor Alarcón’s assitstant. She said she needed to have a private whiskey tasting set up for Senor Alarcon in his room prior to returning from his event, and it was a gift from the host of the auction earlier.

I got a text.

It was from our Valet boy. “that gentlemen you showed me a picture of just hopped into a car with his driver.”

It was showtime.

That afternoon, I had been shopping in the markets and got the exact outfit the hotel staff wore.

I slipped into the hotel through the back, and followed one of the workers that was finishing up their smoke break. In the kitchen I found the whiskey tasting being setup.

I interrupted, “For Senor Alarcón, right?”

The staff-waiter replied, “Yes, it’s almost finished.”

I waited urgently, I knew I had to do this as quickly as I could to not get caught.

It was ready, and the cart was a work of art, rate Macallans, crystal tumblers, an engraved decanter. As I was heading out of the kitchen, I asked, “I forgot, which room number again?”

The head chef, busy with prep work for the evening, shouted, “312!”

Got it, I texted Elise immediately to head to floor 3 and spill her wine in the hallway and call down to the front desk to have it cleaned immediately.

I got to room 312, and I patiently waited. A couple minutes went by, although it felt like 30 minutes. Housekeeping showed up, and pulled out my hotel room key from my place and acted like it wasn’t working.

I pleaded with the housekeeper I needed to set this up in Senor Alarcón’s room before he got back, and my key wasn’t working, so she let me in.

Okay now I was really on the clock. I had to find the Medallion, assuming Alarcón didn’t have it on him. Then had to figure out what it was I needed from it and get out of there like nothing happened.

I had Elise back in the lobby bar to scout when Alarcón arrived back at the hotel, I knew I would only have a couple minutes from there.

I started searching, In hist suitcase, under bed sheets, in his dop kit, etc. It was no where to be found.

The last thing I wanted, a text from Elise… “He’s back. Hurry!”

Then I noticed the jacket he was wearing from the event hanging up in the closet. I reached inside the jacket interior pocked, and bingo.

It was there.

I slid it out and immediately opened it to find nothing inside…I was confused.

How could this be? Was I to take the Medallion? Stealing wasn’t really my forte, I took out my phone and took pictures of it, the exterior, interior, everything. As I went to slide it back his jacket, something caught my eye.

A subtle engraving: “Whispers And Dust Illuminate Rocky Untamed Mysteries.”

I went as fast as I could, heart pumping, and slipped out the stairwell as I heard the elevator door opening.

We did it.

BACK AT CAP ROCAT

It was late, a long day. The bar at Cap Rocat hummed with quiet conversation, the kind that lingered in the air like the last notes of a song.

Ford sat across from Elise, a bottle of wine breathing between them, and them discussing the medallion photos I had taken on my phone.

Elise tilted her glass toward him. “So? Any idea what it means yet?”

I smirked, swirling the wine. “Oh, I have ideas. Whether they’re good ones is another story.”

She laughed, standing up. “Hold that thought—I’ll be right back.”

As I watched her walk away, it happened.

A passing waiter bumped into Elise’s chair, and her bag went tumbling to the floor.

Instinctively, I leaned down and scooped up her lipstick, some makeup, a folded receipt, a small notebook.

And then—a red ink pen.

My stomach tightened. I just stared at it for a full two seconds. It was the same shade as all the notes and letters I had been sent before leading me to all these different places.

My mind raced.

“Is it the same red pen from all the prior clues...?”

“Is she involved?”

“Is this a coincidence?”

I quickly put everything back and put her bag back onto the chair before her return from the ladies room.

Now—everything was different.

Elise came back, and it was my job to act normal, and not look at her any different.

“Alright, let’s hear it..what are your breakthroughs?”

I leaned back, masking my internal shift— “I was thinking through it"…” stalling and trying to play it cool.

“It’s gotta be something simple. Something obvious—but no, nothing yet.”

I pulled out my journal and started jotting down the words from the engraving.

“Whispers And Dust Illuminate Rocky Untamed Mysteries.”

A string of seemingly random words.

Ford ran through his current theories.

A cipher? No. Too clean. Nothing random enough.

Geographical location? I mean sure, but too vague.

Historical reference? Once again, too vague.

And staring at it for another 10 minutes—not a word spoken between us, Elise was getting tired—and so was I.

I told Elise to get some sleep and if I came up with any new breakthroughs I’d let her now.

I sent her off, back to her place to get some rest.

I stayed up just staring at the clue, and I kept coming up with blanks, running into dead-ends.

My mind was split, half spent thinking about the clue and trying to solve it, and the other half thinking about that red ink pen falling out of Elise’s bag, and whether I should confront her about it, or keep that fact close to my chest for the time being.

I thought maybe I should just go to bed and let my brain reset…

Then. A disheveled-looking guy in an unbuttoned linen shirt and a scarf that looked like it had been through an archaeological dig was leaning over the bar, staring at the clue like it was a particularly easy crossword puzzle. Ge had a wild mess of unruly dark hair, round glasses that kept slipping down his nose, and an energy that suggested he had either stumbled into the wrong conversation or knew exactly where he was.

Ford had a puzzled look with a slight frown on his face.

The guy shrugged. “Nothing. Just-this? This is the thing giving you trouble?”

I responded, “I’m sorry? Can I help you?”

The guy grinned, “Actually, I think I can help you!”

“Oh, you’re more confident than you look. How can you help me?” I said.

He grinned. “Will, I could tell you, but that kinda ruins the fun, doesn’t it?”

I studied him. Total wildcard. Either a genius, or smartass—perhaps both. Either way, he might have just solved something I seemed to have no chance at doing, so I had to take this moment to swallow my ego and introduce myself.

“My name is Ford, what’s your name?”

He pushed his glasses up with his finger. And answered like he was a wannabe James Bond. “Quinn. Sebastian Quinn. But you can call me Bash.”

Ford glanced down at the clue. Then back at Bash, who was now enthusiastically flagging down the bartender to order what looked like an absurdly elaborate cocktail that came out with more accessories than inspector gadget.

I sighed…this was going to be interesting.

Bash told me he had been eavesdropping on me and the girl for over an hour. “I’ll tell you the answer… on one condition.”

I leaned back, watching him. “Oh, so now you’re making demands?”

Bash shrugged. “Not a demand. More like…a friendly proposal. You’re clearly onto something interesting, and I like interesting things. You want the answer? Take me with you.”

I just studied him—messy hair round glasses, an unearned sense of confidence but clearly sharp. too sharp to ignore.

A risk, but one I decided I was willing to take.

“Fine. Pack your bags.” I begrudgingly said.

Bash grinned, clinking his glass against mine. “Excellent choice.”

Ford still didn’t know what to make of him, but as he pocketed the clue, I left Bash with one question. “Where we headed?”

Bash answered. “Jordan.”

Can you solve it? I will give you this week to solve it, and Bash will explain to us how he solved it at the beginning of next episode.

Until then, check out my hotel journal entry from Cap Rocat, and some other recommendations if you ever find yourself in Mallorca.

.FORD’S HOTEL JOURNAL ENTRY

CAP ROCAT HOTEL ESSENTIALS

• Location: Secluded clifftop, 25 minutes from Palma, Mallorca, Spain

• Vibe: Former military fortress turned ultra-luxurious retreat

• Accommodations: 30 exclusive suites, each with stunning sea views

• Dining: 

  • La Fortaleza - Michelin-starred dining inside the fortress

  • Sea Club - Laid back, fresh Mediterranean fare by the water

• Rates: Rooms start at appoximately $800 USD per night

• Nice to Know: 

  • No cars allowed inside the property-guests are driven by golf cart to their suites

• Perfect For: High flyers looking to unplug in style, honeymooners craving privacy, or adventurers with a taste for luxury.

• Must Have Experience: Private sunset dinner on the rooftop of the fortress

• Awards: 

  • Member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World

• Amenities:

  • Infinity pool overlookin gthe bay

  • Private access to a hidden cove

  • Open air spa with sea view treatments

  • 24 hour concierge

ON THE HORIZON…

OTHER HOTELS FORD WOULD RECOMMEND TO CHECK OUT

If Cap Rocat is fully booked or you’re seeking a different vibe, here are some alternative boutique and luxury stays in Mallorca:

Always seeking the extraordinary,