Misplaced (84 page)

Mieley
found
his
sanc
t
imony
in
t
olera
b
le.
“Those
b
racelets
ar
e
goin
g
t
o
b
e
bigge
r
tha
n
Kin
g
T
ut
!
Thin
k
o
f
it
,
man
!
Y
our
day
s
o
f
runnin
g
tha
t
shit
t
y
lit
t
l
e
museu
m
ar
e
o
v
er
.
Th
e
gir
l
your
niec
e
i
s
protectin
g
know
s
wher
e
th
e
res
t
o
f
th
e
treasur
e
is
.
I
know it.”

Elia
s
ga
v
e
hi
m
a
murderou
s
look
.
“
V
ictoria
?
Ho
w
di
d
you—
you ne
v
er left town, did you?
Y
ou’
v
e been here all along—”

“Wha
t
I’
v
e
bee
n
wonderin
g
i
s
ho
w
a
nic
e
gir
l
lik
e
he
r
got
mixed up with a smuggler in the first
place.”

“Y
o
u
wil
l
sta
y
a
w
a
y
fro
m
m
y
niece
.
Th
e
Egyptia
n
girl,
too,”
Elias
ordered
menacingly.
“I
ga
v
e
you all there
w
as.
It’s
a
famil
y
relic
;
that’
s
th
e
en
d
o
f
it
.
I
f
she
’
d
ha
d
an
y
ide
a
wher
e
they
came
from,
do
you
think
she
’
d
ha
v
e
accepted
the
trivial
deposit
w
e offered
her?”

“Don’t lie to me! I saw it on her arm.”

“Y
ou’
v
e been following them?
Y
ou’
v
e lost your mind.”

“Listen
.
Befor
e
h
e
died
,
Ma
x
v
erifie
d
th
e
firs
t
two
;
they
’
re
coronation
bracelets.
But
they
don’t
tell
the
entire
story—only
the
dynasty
and
pharaoh.
W
ithout
the
last
one,
there’s
no
hope
of
disco
v
ering
the
name
of
that
crucial
ruler.
Y
ou
didn’t
know
she
’
d
held
the
most
important
piece
back,
did
you?
Don’t
look
so shocked. It’s a common enough trick of the trade.”

Elias
sank
into
his
chair,
seeming
to
deflate
before
Mieley’s
e
y
es. “
Y
ou knew Max Cotts?”

Miele
y w
a
v
e
d
of
f
th
e
question
,
whic
h w
a
s
reall
y
a
n
acc
u
sa
t
ion
,
a
s
t
hou
g
h
i
t
w
er
e
a
fly
.
“H
e
promise
d
t
o
k
ee
p
quiet,
but
did
he?
No.
He
contacted
the
Egyptian
authorities.
I
couldn’t
ha
v
e
that,”
Mieley
asserted.
“Now
get
your
niece
on
the phone.”

Elias
shook
his
head.
“
Y
ou
’
re
delirious
if
you
think
I
’
d
tell
a
murdering bastard like you where they are.”

His
words
sent
Mieley
o
v
er
the
top
of
the
desk.
As
the
two
fle
w
back
w
ar
d
o
n
th
e
leathe
r
chair
,
h
e
grabbe
d
Elias’
s
throat
and
squeezed.
They
tumbled
onto
the
terracotta
floor,
legs
and
arms
thrashing.
The
fall
had
knocked
the
breath
from
Mieley,
an
d
hi
s
hand
s
cam
e
loose
.
Suddenly
,
somethin
g
crashe
d
into
the
side
of
his
face,
and
pain
exploded
in
his
head.
As
Elias’s
unrelenting
fists
continued
to
pummel
him,
the
best
he
could
do
w
as to curl into a ball and try to protect his face.

Just
when
the
purpose
of
his
life
had
finally re
v
ealed
itself,
it
w
as going to be o
v
er. “Stop! I quit!” he ho
w
led.

Elia
s
leap
t
back
,
panting
.
Hi
s
s
w
eate
r
w
a
s
twisted
,
an
d
a
loc
k
o
f
slic
k
hai
r
co
v
ere
d
on
e
e
y
e
.
“
Ere
s
u
n
animal
,
”
h
e
spa
t
a
s
h
e
searche
d
th
e
floo
r
fo
r
hi
s
glasses
.
“
I
regre
t
th
e
da
y
I
lai
d
e
y
e
s
on
you.
Opening
his
desk
dra
w
er,
he
withdrew
a
pistol.
Get
out,”
h
e
comma
n
d
e
d
q
u
i
e
t
l
y
.
“
A
n
d
i
f
y
o
u
com
e
n
e
a
r
m
e
o
r
m
y
f
ami
ly
again, I s
w
ear to you, it will be the last thing you do.”

“Y
ou
can’t
see
it,
can
you?”
Mieley
whined,
stepping
closer.
“
Archaeological
finds
al
w
ays
come
at
a
cost.
In
this
case,
it
w
as
Max—a
small
price
to
disco
v
er
who
ruled
during
those
critical
s
e
v
ent
y
d
ay
s
.
A
ren
’
t
yo
u
c
uri
o
u
s
abou
t
wh
o
d
ro
ve
E
gypt
for
w
ar
d
an
d
change
d
th
e
world
?
Tha
t
scrawn
y
gir
l
ha
s
th
e
key.
W
e
o
w
e
it
to
oursel
v
es,
to
our
profession,
to
get
our
hands
on
the last piece of the puzzle!”