“Oh?”
“Robert Crane. I understand the two of you were colleagues.”
Suddenly, Tyson’s smile didn’t seem so pleasant. Dima managed to keep her own grin firmly in place as she replied.
“Yes, but it’s been a few years. What do you want with him?”
“I had negotiated on behalf of my company to buy something from him. He didn’t show up for our meeting and hasn’t returned my calls. I won’t deny that my primary concern is to conclude our business, but I am worried about him. He’s a good fellow.”
“He is.” Thoughts exploded in Dima’s mind like fireworks. Robert wouldn’t sell antiquities. Would he? Maybe he was desperate for money? In any case, why would anyone come to her for information about Robert? And then it hit her. Tyson was after the document. Why hadn’t it occurred to her in the first place? She realized she’d been silent for far too long. Tyson continued to smile down at her. “Forgive me, but if you’re looking for Robert, why come to me? We’re friendly, but we aren’t exactly close.”
“He mentioned you. You have a pretty name, so it stuck in my mind. If you don’t mind my saying, I think Robert might have a thing for you. His face lit up when he spoke of you. Said you were one of the best in the field of Middle Eastern history, and that you had an interest in ancient literature.”
Well, that was interesting, since Robert was gay and the last time they’d spoken, he was planning to propose to his partner. Furthermore, Dima was hardly a leading expert in her field. Tyson was lying.
“Ancient literature? So it was a book you were going to buy from him?”
“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say. Confidentiality agreements and all that. You understand, of course.”
“Certainly I do.” Her heart hammered in her chest. How hard would Tyson press her if he thought she had the Noah fragment? “Well, like I said, I haven’t heard from Robert in some time. I have your number.” She held up the business card he had provided. “I’ll call you if I hear anything.”
“Are you sure you haven’t heard from Robert? Not even an email, text message, Christmas card?” Still smiling, Tyson took a step closer. “Think hard.”
Now Dima was pissed. Bullying misogynists were one of the prime motivating factors behind her move to the States. She met his eyes with a hard stare. “I’m sure.”
Footsteps padded in the hallway and Addie appeared in the doorway, followed by Wayne, a fellow grad student who often trailed along behind Addie like a lovesick puppy. Though he was a gentle soul, Wayne was a bodybuilder who looked like a young Mr. Clean. Dima was thankful for the backup.
“No luck. The cute guy isn’t there today.” Addie froze when her eyes fell on Tyson. “Hello there. I’m Addie.” She swept over to Tyson’s side and offered her hand.
“I’m Tyson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gave her hand a gentle shake, stepped back, and turned to Dima. “Thank you very much for your time, Miss Zafrini. I’ll be in touch.”
Addie stared, a tiny smile playing across her lips, as Tyson strode from the room.
“Where,” she said to Dima, “have you been hiding that? He’s tall but it would totally be worth the climb.”
“It was just business. I don’t know the guy.”
“Well you should get to know him. He gave you his number, didn’t he?” She pointed to the card Dima still clutched. “I’ll bet he did that for a reason.”
“Trust me, that’s not the reason.” Dima turned to her desk, reached for the mouse, intending to shut down her computer, and froze. The browser window was still open to the wacky Noah’s Ark theory site. There was no way Tyson could have missed it. She felt a heavy lump form in her stomach. If he had suspected her before, now he knew for certain. What was to stop him following her home, or accosting her somewhere?
Addie must have seen the look on her face. “Dima, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’ve just got a few things on my mind.” Dima cleared her internet search history and shut down the computer. She turned to see Addie still staring at her with a look of deep concern painted across her face. Wayne still leaned in the doorway, looking forlorn. Dima had an idea.
“Let’s go out tonight.”
Addie blinked. “What?”
“You’re always telling me I work too much. Let’s go out, have a few drinks, act stupid.”
“Seriously? Dima Zafrini is going out for a night on the town?”
“Nothing wild, but yes. Somewhere I can get a beer and a burger. Wayne can come too!” Dima hated crowds, noise, and drunk people, but it was worth it just to see the way Wayne’s face brightened while Addie’s fell. “Wayne, do you still have that king cab pickup truck with the shotgun rack in the back?”
Wayne nodded, apparently rendered mute by this turn of good fortune.
“Great. You drive.” She glanced at her watch. It wasn’t close to quitting time, but she wanted out of here. “Let’s go early. Meet me around back. There’s something I need to do before we go.”
Addie fixed her with a quizzical look but didn’t argue. “Okay, if you say so.” She turned to Wayne. “You heard the lady. Let’s go out on the town.”
When the two had left, Dima opened her briefcase and removed the box that held the document Robert had sent her. She wanted to keep it with her, but she couldn’t shake her bad feeling about Tyson and, should she run across him or someone else who wanted it, a briefcase or pocketbook would be too obvious a hiding place.
The document was still inside its protective envelope. Inventing wildly, she removed the document from its box, slipped it inside a padded envelope, sealed it, and tucked it in the waistband of her pants at the small of her back. Next, she removed everything she actually cared about from her briefcase and stuffed it all in a desk drawer along with the box.
She pulled an old book off the shelf — a volume of Mark Twain short stories printed in the early 1900s, tore out a page at random, shredded the edges a bit, and put it inside a protective sheet. Finally, she placed the decoy page inside her briefcase and locked it. It wouldn’t stand up to any kind of scrutiny, but it might fool someone at first glance should they try and rob her.
“Dima,” she said to herself as she stepped out of her office and headed for the emergency stairwell at the back of the building, “I really hope you’re just being paranoid.”
Chapter 8
Bones kept a close eye on the calm, dark lake. He tracked Maddock's progress by the bubbles rising to the otherwise smooth surface of the water until, finally, the turbulence around the waterfall hid all signs of his partner.
“Good luck, Maddock. And hurry in case Eddings shows up.”
The roar of a vehicle speeding up the dirt road caught his ear. Was it the nosy ranger coming to check up on him? Bones turned his camera on and aimed it at the waterfall, trying to look like a sightseer. Since he’d already voiced his concern that Eddings might make in appearance, he had every confidence that Maddock would be cautious about his return to the surface. They didn’t need the hassle.
The roar grew louder and Bones realized that, in fact, several vehicles were approaching. A keen sense of vulnerability pierced his heart and he suddenly wished he had not left his Glock in the car. Abandoning any pretense of casual sightseeing, he hurried back around the edge of the lake toward the place they had parked, but he had not gone more than twenty paces when a pickup barreled out of the woods. The truck shot out onto the grassy valley floor, fishtailed as it turned, and then headed straight for Bones.
An open-top jeep, its driver looking stern and the fellow in the passenger seat hooting like a hog caller, and two more pickups followed behind. The lead truck skidded to a halt right in front of Bones. The driver gave a friendly wave before climbing out of the cab. The jeep pulled up alongside the truck. The young man on the passenger side was smiling and waving as well.