Carmen looked at several of those around her then said, “We have to leave tomorrow.”
Zane’s brow furrowed. “And?”
“So what’s the bad news?” Mortensen asked.
A playful grin played on Carmen’s face. “What? You think it’s good news we have to leave?”
Zane and Mortensen shook their heads in unison.
“Don’t do that,” Skinner said. “I thought someone had died or that we were being shipped off to some far corner of the globe.”
“So what about the interviews?” Zane asked.
“We aren’t going to have them. The French government has already talked to every one of us, so they’re going to skip the formal sit-downs.”
Skinner frowned. “One of them told me they wanted every little detail of our time here.”
“They said they’d accept our final written reports instead,” Carmen noted. “When you think about it, that makes sense.”
“It does,” Zane agreed. “It also confirms what I thought all along, that keeping us here was punitive.”
Skinner smiled as he rocked in his chair. “Some punishment.”
“I have a confession to make,” Carmen said. “There is one more piece of bad news.” She looked at Zane. “Unfortunately, you and I are going to have to file our reports on the go.”
Zane frowned. “Why? What’s up?”
“An artifact was stolen from the vaults at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. An American is one of the prime suspects, so Ross wants us to look into it, without the Israelis knowing we’re there.”
Zane leaned forward and put his head in his hands. He wouldn’t even get one night in his own bed. At least they got two days in paradise, although that didn’t seem like enough. Maybe the Israelis would have the theft wrapped up by the time they arrived, but something told him not to count on it.
Pratt reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Can I get you another drink? I’ll even put one of those pretty umbrellas in it.”
A WORD FROM JOHN
Thank you for reading THE ISLAND. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, would you consider taking a brief moment to post a review?
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ALSO BY JOHN SNEEDEN
The Signal
The Portal
The Hades Conspiracy
Betrayal
The Island
Death List
Cold Blood