“So do I.” He reached across the seat to squeeze her hand. “Wally would have been proud of you today. He always was, but you went above and beyond the last few days, manipulating a black-market criminal as well as any undercover operative.”
She blinked, surprised by the emotion that tightened her throat. “Thank you.” The thought of making her father proud warmed a place inside her that had been cold for too long.
They drove for another minute before she realized they weren’t headed toward the Winter Palace Hotel. “Where are we going?”
“I can only think of one place where this thing will be truly appreciated and where it will be safe until we turn it over to the authorities.”
One obvious answer jumped to her mind. “Hakim?”
“He’s an expert on ancient Egypt, and the one man Wally trusted above all others. Wally would haunt me forever if I took it anyplace else.”
“But we were attacked outside his shop. Someone followed us there.”
“I’m pretty sure our attacker is still licking his wounds and won’t be a problem. I broke his arm and probably gave him some colorful bruises.” A grim smile of satisfaction told her what an understatement that was. “As far as they know, we’ve moved on, looking for the two students. They have no reason to think this ‘sale’ has anything to do with that. Even if they suspected, they don’t know where we are.”
A nervous ripple somersaulted through her stomach. She hoped he was right.
Hakim and his grandson Saja were sitting among the baskets and pottery outside their shop, along with another man. They looked up in surprise when Donovan and Jess pulled up in the little Fiat. Donovan opened the car door and motioned them over as he called out, “Hakim, I’ve got that new shipment of pots you wanted.”
Hakim waited until he was helping pull the crate out and was close enough to speak without being overheard. “What is this?”
“Something I think Wally would want you to see. But privately. Let’s take it upstairs.”
Hakim raised his eyebrows but said nothing more, merely asking his friend to watch the shop for a moment. Saja opened the curtain that covered the stairway, then followed them up to the living quarters along with Jess.
The men laid the crate lengthwise on the floor. “Do you have something to pry this open with?” Donovan asked.
Saja dashed off to fetch a claw hammer, which he handed to Donovan. Hakim helped pull as Donovan pried, finally setting the lid aside to reveal a pile of wood shavings. “Jess, would you do the honors?”
She knelt beside the crate and lifted out handfuls of packing, setting it on the lid. When she felt the cool alabaster beneath her fingers, she pushed the curls of wood shavings aside. Two of the long, tubular handles were exposed along with part of the body of the vase.
Hakim’s mouth opened with surprise, and then he dropped to his knees beside Jess, digging like a squirrel, shoving wood shavings aside until most of the vase was exposed. He sat back, staring at each of them. “What have you done? Did you rob the Cairo Museum? This is from the Tutankhamun exhibit.”
“Look again,” Jess said. Slipping a hand beneath the vase, she lifted it slightly so he could see the cartouche.
He leaned closer. “Yes, yes, the cartouche of the pharaoh, Tutankh…” He stopped abruptly, then jerked his startled gaze toward her. “This is not Tutankhamun. This is Ramesses VIII.” He examined the vase again, as if expecting to see Made in China stamped on the alabaster. “Where did you get this?”
“From a black-market dealer,” she told him. “It’s the real thing, isn’t it?”
She expected an immediate confirmation, but apparently Hakim was cautious about authenticating something so valuable. Carefully, he lifted it out and stood it on the linoleum floor of the apartment. He ran his hands over it, both outside and inside, and looked at it from every angle, even asking Saja to bring a flashlight so he could shine it on various parts of the stone. Finally, he sat back on his heels with an amazed look. “It appears to be authentic. Do you know what you have here?”
“Grave goods from a tomb no one found,” she said. “Until now.”
“But…that is incredible. Where? Where was it found?” Excitement rose in his voice, as if he was ready to jump up and go to the tomb right now.
“We don’t know the location yet,” Donovan said. “But we hope to before another night has passed. Then the authorities will be involved. Until then, we must keep this vase safe. I know of no one I can trust more than you.”
Hakim nodded. “Of course, of course. This is marvelous. Fantastic.” He stroked the vase, lost in rapture, then suddenly stopped and looked up. “This is what Wally found?”