Countdown - Iris Johansen [84]
“It seems a long shot.” He looked up at her. “Two thousand years is a long time. Finding a lost treasure would be like a fairy tale. Do you believe it could happen?”
“I believe anything can happen.”
“That’s a generalization.”
She thought about it. She was generally a pragmatic, cynical person, but somehow she had never doubted that the gold still existed somewhere. Perhaps it was because of the dreams that had plagued her all these years. Perhaps it was because Cira seemed alive to her and so the gold was also very real. “Do you believe those scrolls were written by Cira?”
“Yes.”
“And what were the odds of them ever being found in that tunnel? That’s a fairy tale in itself.”
He smiled. “I guess you’re right.”
“Damn right I am.”
“Back to work.” He looked down at the scroll. “Get out of here and let me get to it.”
Her brows rose. “I didn’t bother you before.”
“You did, but I was willing to be distracted. I’m not now.” His smile faded. “To me all this has been more of a horror story than a fairy tale, but I want some part of this to have a happy ending. I’ll tell you if I find something.”
He was businesslike, even curt, and seemed years older than the man she had first met. She felt a ripple of sadness for the loss of that boyish eagerness. “Okay.” She got to her feet. “It’s time I called Eve and Joe and filled them in anyway. I meant to do it last night, but I was exhausted when I came back from Lucerne.”
“You’re telling them everything?”
“Of course. We need all the help we can get. Joe has contacts all over the country. Maybe he can shake the authorities up enough to put a full-scale effort into finding Grozak and Reilly.”
Mario shook his head. “Judging by what Trevor told me, it’s not likely. No proof. Who will they get to listen?”
“Joe will listen.” She headed for the door. “Eve will listen. And I’d rather have them on my team than any authority in existence.”
Christ,” Joe murmured when Jane finished. “What a god-awful mess.”
“We need to find either Grozak or Reilly to stop it. You know people. There should be some way to find and get rid of them before this happens. It can’t happen.”
“No, it can’t,” Eve said from the other extension. “And it won’t. We’ll work on it from this end. Joe still has lots of contacts with the FBI. And I’ll call John Logan and see if he can push some buttons.” She paused. “Come home, Jane.”
“I can’t do that. At least I’m doing something here. I may be able to get information from Jock.”
“Or you may not.”
“I have to try. This is where the action is, Eve. If I don’t get a breakthrough with Jock, we may still find out about the gold from the scrolls. That could be almost as important if Trevor can negotiate a deal with Reilly.”
“Bastard. I hate the idea of negotiating with that slime.”
“So do I, but I’ll take any way out right now.”
“But you said that according to that scroll Cira was going to try to move the gold from the tunnel. If she succeeded, it will be much harder to find.”
“Unless Cira tells us in the scroll Mario is working on where this Pia hid it.”
“And if it isn’t still buried beneath all that hardened lava that flowed over the city,” Joe said.
“Yes, we need a break.” Jane was silent a moment. “But, you know, I’ve been thinking. This whole thing with Cira and the dreams and the gold has been bizarre. It seems to be reaching out and touching all of us. Maybe Cira is trying to stop—” She broke off and then said in disgust, “Jesus, I can’t believe I said that. All this tension must be affecting my mind. Just call me and let me know what you’re able to do.”
“Don’t sound so discouraged,” Joe said. “The bad guys don’t always win. They won’t this time. We just have to work until we find a way to blow their sorry asses out of the water. I’ll phone you later.”
I never thought it would be this bad,” Eve whispered as she hung up the extension. “And I don’t like it that Jane’s ‘where the action is,’ dammit. I don’t care if she feels sorry for that boy. If she starts pushing him too quickly, he’s likely to