Gustavo gives King Tut a goodbye hug, locks the door, and returns the spare key to Makena's hiding place under a fern on her porch. When he and Aleksey return to the parking lot, Gustavo politely declines the driver's request to put the duffel bag in the trunk. After climbing back into the vehicle, Aleksey texts Zachary instead of speaking in front of the driver and Gustavo.
"The house was clean," Aleksey writes. "No indication of any rummaging."
"Any sign someone was watching you enter the house?" Zack replies, texting his question.
"None."
"Even with GPS blocking, we have to keep moving. Assume we are being followed every time we switch cars."
"Definitely agree," Aleksey writes. "Where to, boss?"
"The big river."
25
Balcony
Dropped off at the southern end of "casino row"-the string of resorts lining the Colorado River, which is Nevada's border with Arizona-Aleksey, Gustavo, and Zachary ride a water taxi to the northern end and check into an executive suite on the fourth floor of a hotel tower. While Gustavo showers, Zachary rests on one of the two queen size beds, which face balcony and river views, and texts Nathaniel and some other friends. Aleksey sits on the love seat in the parlor and gazes out the corner window overlooking the hotel swimming pool. A group of five young men, appearing partially intoxicated, are flirting with the lifeguard and getting away with cannonball dives into the pool.
"Nate wants us back in Sausalito," Zachary says to Aleksey.
"Is that where we are going?" Aleksey asks.
"No."
"Good. Have you decided on our next destination?"
"Not yet," Zachary answers. "But we are not returning to northern California until we figure out how to help our castaway."
"Is that what Gustavo is?" Aleksey questions. "Our castaway?"
"Something like that. He is an earnest young man."
"Do I catch a hint of something sweet between the two of you?"
"You know he is not my usual type," Zachary replies, "though I guess I should stop segmenting men into types. Why did that idea occur to you?"
"I am sensing a bit of a connection," Aleksey answers.
"If you are picking up on anything, it is only the friendly camaraderie he and I initiated this afternoon to earn each other's trust. Gustavo did not ask for any of this. Now he is a target and he is wholly unequipped to protect himself. We have to help him."
"The jewels are what? Necklaces? When I asked Gustavo about the long box he put in his duffel bag he referred to it as treasure. I highly doubt there is any jewelry in that skinny box."
Zachary summarizes for Aleksey what he has learned from Gustavo about the reason for being in Heather Wanda's lobby. He adds that Gustavo calls it a "cobra" and believes it has immense value.
"Do you think Gustavo can tell the difference between diamonds and white sapphires?" Aleksey asks. "Or cubic zirconia or other types of synthetic diamonds?"
"He admits he cannot," Zachary answers. "But he claims a knowledgeable friend of his claims they are real. And there are other stones and metals too."
"My guess is Gustavo is burdened by thinking he has something pricey when in reality it is just an heirloom or something else with only sentimental value. Did you get Nathaniel's take on this?"
"No. I am not mentioning Gustavo or his possessions to anyone. The last thing Gustavo needs is to be confirmed as being connected to us, even temporarily like this."
They hear the shower water turn off. Gustavo is still dripping as he emerges from the bathroom in a towel. Both Zachary and Aleksey are surprised by his toned body and smooth, creamy skin.
"I forgot to bring my change of clothes in there," Gustavo says, grabbing a t-shirt and sweatpants from his duffel bag.
"How did you get so fit?" Aleksey asks Gustavo. "I don't think of artists as having bodies like yours."
"Just because I am an artist doesn't mean I don't take care of myself," Gustavo laughs, then reenters the bathroom.
"Are you sure he is an artist?" Aleksey jokes to Zachary, once Gustavo is out of the room.
"That was unexpected, huh?" Zachary replies.
Gustavo is dressed when he emerges from the bathroom this time. He strolls out the sliding glass door and onto the balcony. Boat lights on the river and lamps along the riverwalk glow in the night sky.
"It is deceptively peaceful," Zachary says, joining Gustavo on the balcony.
"I never knew this place existed," Gustavo says. "I would like to come back here some day when I am not feeling hunted."
"Your shower helped relax you?"
"It did. I could have stayed under the shower head jets for an hour, but then the two of you might have been stuck with cold water. Please tell me you think we are going to emerge from all of this trauma in one piece."
"I am dedicated to it," Zachary replies. "There is no other option."
"I wish I had your self-assurance."
"I just shared the basics about your possession with Aleksey," Zachary says, leaning his elbows down onto the railing beside Gustavo. "He needs to know everything too. Can you trust him like you are trusting me?"
"I think I have to," Gustavo answers. "Tell him anything and everything you believe he should know to be able to help."
Zachary turns toward Gustavo, drawing his attention away from the river. Gustavo's amber eyes lock with Zachary's dark eyes.
"Show us the cobra," Zachary says. "Aleksey put a GPS blocker in your bag, but I still want to see if there is a tracking device inside your box. Also, Gustavo, we need to know if it really has some kind of value and figure out what we are dealing with here. I pledge to you that neither of us will take it from you or coax you into doing anything with it you don't want to do."
Zachary follows Gustavo back into the executive suite hotel room. Gustavo pulls the box out of his duffel bag and sets it on the bed between himself and Zachary. Aleksey joins them and watches as Gustavo slides out the contents and cautiously removes the snippets of tape. All three men are leaning forward and looking down at the instrument as Gustavo unwraps the plastic coating.
Zachary inhales a rush of air and backs away, involuntarily touching Gustavo's leg with a firm arm.
"So you think it is real too," Gustavo states. "Do you agree, Aleksey?"
"Oh shit!" Aleksey exclaims, catching his breath.
26
Magic
After inspecting the full length of the cobra, Zachary and Aleksey are confident it remains sealed closed, as originally designed and created, convincing them that it is not accommodating a tracking device. Gustavo wraps it back in its protective packaging and slides his duffel bag under Zachary's bed.
"Clairvoyant snake?" Zachary asks Aleksey. "What did you call it?"
"No, upon seeing it I immediately thought of The Clairvoyant Serpent," Aleksey answers, "which is sometimes referred to as The Clairvoyant Cobra. Most film historians consider it to just be another Hollywood legend. All fluff and deception based on rumors and myths. There is no publicly available image of it, so the assumption has been that the serpent is fake. The prevailing theory is that if it exists at all, it is composed of simple metals and worthless stones."
"Not this piece."
"I agree, boss."
The three men move to the parlor. The turquoise glow of the swimming pool waves reflect through the window into their dimly lit suite.
"What do you know about this legend?" Zachary asks Aleksey, sitting across from on the love seat beside Gustavo. "Start from the beginning. I know precious little about Hollywood lore."
"In the so-called Roaring Twenties-the 1920s-the silent film era's megastars were forming cinema and Beverly Hills. The actors at the top of the heap-who were arguably more famous in their time than any celebrities are nowadays due to fractured audiences-specialized in physical comedy. They did their own stunts. Nearly a hundred years later these stunts are still audacious and awe-inspiring. Which ones come to mind?"
"Charlie Chaplin," Gustavo answers. "Buster Keaton. Douglas Fairbanks too."
"Yes, but there is one more," Aleksey says. "He was just as successful as those men at his peak."
"The guy with glasses?" Gustavo guesses. "The one who dangled from a clock tower at the top of a Hollywood skyscraper trying to escape from the police?"
"Exactly right," Aleksey answers. "The 1923 film is called Safety Last! The actor was Harold Lloyd."
"I have never heard of him," Zachary says.
"He is fantastic," Gustavo adds. "I heard he did all of those stunts despite having a prosthetic thumb and index finger."
"Harold Lloyd is my favorite of the silent film stars," Aleksey says. "He supposedly lost his thumb and finger from a bomb. All of his movies in the 1920s are spectacular and daring."
"Connect the dots," Zachary says to Aleksey. "Harold Lloyd owned Gustavo's cobra?"
"Briefly, he did. In the middle of the 1920s Harold Lloyd had an enormous mansion built in the Benedict Canyon region of Beverly Hills, only a thousand or two feet from Buster Keaton's mansion and the world-famous Pickfair Estate of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Lloyd's mansion, called "Greenacres," was much more than just a gigantic house modeled after Italy's Villa Palmieri. Greenacres was 15 acres like a fairy tale. It had a golf course, waterfalls, automobile courts, a plethora of gardens, elaborate play castles and cottages for children, horse stables, and even its own canoe stream."