Ajax shook his head. “We don’t know, we never saw it. Lilith came to us and admitted what she’d done. She said the thief she’d hired refused to give it to her, and so she refused further payment.”
Mike said, “I see, this all came as a great surprise, and neither you nor Ms. Kohath had anything to do with the theft.”
“Of course not. The staff at the Topkapi is a fake, everyone knows this. There was no reason to steal it. When Lilith admitted what she’d done, we told her how badly she’d compromised our company’s values, and severed her from service.” He shrugged. “Stealing isn’t how the Genesis Group works.”
“Lovely sculptures you have in your garden,” Mike said. “All acquired through digs you’ve sponsored, yes?”
Cassandra looked ready to slap her. Oh yes, sister, come on, try it.
Instead, Cassandra stood. “I’m afraid I am terribly behind schedule, and as you can tell, there’s a problem with our electricity, so I must attend to it before my next appointment. I hope your concerns have been answered. Ajax, could you see our guests out?”
“Of course.”
Nicholas
said, “I fear we will need affidavits from you.”
Mike said quickly, “However, we cannot do it now, we will need to hire a stenographer. Would tomorrow morning suit you?”
“Let me check my schedule.” Cassandra pulled out her cell phone. It had to be dead, no way it had survived Nicholas’s micro EMP. Mike caught Nicholas’s eye, made a small gesture toward the door. He finally stood.
Cassandra frowned. “Ajax, may I have your phone, please? My battery seems to have died.”
Ajax pulled his from his pocket.
“Strange. My battery is dead, too.”
Cassandra looked at Nicholas. “I don’t suppose your cell phone is working, Agent Drummond?”
He pulled it out of his pocket. “Yes. Not sure what your problem is. Perhaps the Italian mobile service has gone down.”
“Perhaps. Well then,” she said. “Seeing as I have twice as much work to do, I would ask that you call before you arrive in the morning.”
• • •
As they walked to their car, Mike said, “Nicholas, sorry to rush you out of there, but Kitsune was captured. I saw a man carrying her over his shoulder down in the tunnels. I don’t know if her husband is down there, but it looked like a bunch of storage rooms, perfect for hiding people. Or bodies.”
“Now we have to rescue her and Grant.”
“And we need to plan it better. I’m very glad we got out of there alive, it was close there for a moment. I saw blood on Ajax’s shirt cuff, and I’m willing to bet he didn’t cut himself shaving. You don’t think—”
“That Lilith is the sacrificial goat? That she’s dead? Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“I just hope they don’t hurt Kitsune before we can get to her.”
Why was nothing ever easy? Nicholas wondered. But as Mike said, at least they were still alive.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Eyes followed them all the way to their car. Nicholas got inside before calling Adam in Venice.
“You hear all that?”
“Yes, I did. They were fast, Nicholas, throwing the blame immediately on Lilith.”
“Adam, let’s treat her as a missing person. Look for a cell phone, credit card usage, the works. Maybe you’ll find her. Maybe she’s still alive.”
“Or not,” Mike said.