Misplaced (29 page)

V
ictoria
nodded
and
kept
w
alking.
Reaching
into
her
purse,
she
felt
the
third
bracelet
still
at
the
bottom
of
her
bag,
the
one
she could not bring herself to hand o
v
er, e
v
en to her uncle.
The Lady of the Castle belonged with Khara.

Chapte
r
Thirteen
Elias

Pre-Columbia
n
ar
t
w
a
s
hi
s
specialty
.
H
e
ha
d
spen
t his career studying the mysterious Olmec as they evol
v
ed into
th
e
firs
t
grea
t
cultur
e
o
f
Mesoameric
a
befor
e
mysteriously
v
anishing
.
Egyptology
?
Bette
r
lef
t
t
o
th
e
blue-bloode
d
British
or
,
whe
n
absolutel
y
necessary
,
th
e
Egyptian
s
themsel
v
es
. Besides,
if
his
expertise
w
as
lacking,
his
contacts
w
ere
plentiful and al
w
ays happy to do him a favor.

H
e
ha
d
bee
n
blesse
d
wit
h a
kin
d
o
f
sixt
h
sens
e
regarding
work
s
o
f
art
,
an
d
thi
s
pai
r
o
f
bracelet
s
ha
d
th
e
scen
t
o
f
a
relic
.
Elia
s
belie
v
e
d
tha
t
becaus
e
h
e
ha
d
dedicate
d
hi
s
lif
e
t
o
preser
v
ation
,
suc
h
thing
s
ofte
n
sough
t
hi
m
out
.
An
d
w
asn’
t
this
proo
f
?
H
e
ha
d
don
e
nothin
g
t
o
coa
x
the
m
fro
m
thei
r
resting
place, but here these amazing beauties
w
ere.

Elias had tossed Catholicism aside early in life, embracing history as his true religion. While his classmates
w
ere chasing soccer balls or pulling pigtails, he spent e
v
ery free moment at
th
e
loca
l
museum
.
Thi
s
distresse
d
hi
s
sociall
y
ambitiou
s
mother,
who
deemed
his
lo
v
e
for
ancient
things
and
places
unholy
and
a
famil
y
disgrace
.
Sh
e
ne
v
e
r
understoo
d
tha
t
i
t
w
a
s
a
thing
completel
y
ou
t
o
f
hi
s
control
.
H
e
becam
e
a
v
ers
e
t
o
spending
an
y
mor
e
tim
e
tha
n
necessar
y
i
n
thei
r
comfortabl
e
home
.
Whe
n
she
condemned
his
first
summer
job—hunting
artifacts
in
the
v
erdant s
w
amps of
T
abasco—as menial, he left home for good.

Hi
s
grea
t
fortun
e
i
n
lif
e
w
a
s
t
o
ha
v
e
foun
d
th
e
ultimate
treasure
while
still
a
young
man—or,
as
Marta
often
reminded
him, his treasure found him in search of a free meal.
On
the
day
of
their
w
edding,
his
mother
pulled
him
aside,
her
patrician
features
ugly
with
jealousy.
“
Y
ou
could
ha
v
e
any
w
ealthy
debutante
and
you
choose
her?
This,
this
peasant
girl
I
wouldn’
t
ha
v
e
peelin
g
chilie
s
i
n
t
h
e
k
i
t
chen
!
Y
o
u
d
o
t
hi
s
t
o
torture
me.
Marry
her,
and
you
won’t
get
another
penny
from
this family,” she spat.

Why
the
image
of
his
mothe
r
’s
angry
face
had
come
to
him
a
t
thi
s
moment
,
h
e
di
d
no
t
know
.
Elia
s
locke
d
th
e
door
.
The
ornat
e
furnishing
s
i
n
hi
s
o
ff
ice
,
liquidate
d
fro
m
th
e
estat
e
o
f
a
long-forgotten
Spanish
go
v
ernor,
lent
a
colonial
ambiance
to
the
room.
He
settled
into
a
burgundy
v
el
v
et
armchair
normally
used by visitors, then tested the door to be sure it
w
as locked.

H
e
smile
d
a
t
th
e
possibilit
y
tha
t
anothe
r
grea
t
treasure
had
come
his
w
ay.
Je
w
ele
r
’s
loupe
in
his
e
y
e,
he
fondled
and
stroked
the
bracelets;
it
w
as
as
if
two
exquisite
virgins
had
just
offered
their
naked
bodies
to
him. Satisfied,
he
made
his
w
ay
to
the
file
cabinet.
From
the
third
dra
w
er,
he
took
a
square
of white flannel
and wrapped the bracelets in it.

Whe
n
h
e
returne
d
t
o
hi
s
desk
,
h
e
remo
v
e
d
a
fau
x
panel
from
its
front,
re
v
ealing
an
opening
the
size
of
a
shoe
box.
Elias
retrie
v
ed
the
bundle
he
had
stashed
during
his
niece’s
surprise
visi
t
an
d
allo
w
e
d
himsel
f
a
momen
t
t
o
admir
e
th
e
singular
elegance
of
the
ja
d
e
m
ask
before
returning
the
Olmec
piece
and
bracelets into the secret space. He reached in further to remo
v
e
a cell phone, and turned it on.

“I need to see you as quickly as possible.”

A
mil
d
voic
e
wit
h
a
disdainfu
l
ai
r
ans
w
ered
,
“
I
though
t
you
w
anted to lay low for a while.”