Misplaced (41 page)

His
footsteps
w
ere
hollow
on
the
concrete
and
grew
fainter
a
s
h
e
disappeare
d
bet
w
ee
n
row
s
o
f
precisel
y
stacke
d
pin
e
crates.

Khara
w
as
not
w
aiting
in
the
lobby;
she
had
been
unable
to
mo
v
e past the staircase. E
v
en now she
w
atched it suspiciously,
he
r
fac
e
w
a
n
an
d
fearful
.
On
e
loo
k
a
t
th
e
miser
y
writte
n
on
V
ictoria’s face, ho
w
e
v
er,
w
as enough to distract her.

“I
cannot
be
the
cause
of
your
family’s
turmoil
any
longer.”
Fo
r
a
ful
l
minut
e
V
ictori
a
w
a
s
silent
,
bu
t
whe
n
sh
e
spoke,
he
r
frustratio
n
w
a
s
palpable
.
“D
o
yo
u
kno
w
wha
t
th
e
coyote
said
when
he
brought
you
in?
He
said,
‘Let
her
be
deported,
I
don’t
care.’
Right
now,
I’m
the
only
one
who
cares
about
what
happens
to
you.
Whether
you
w
ant
to
admit
it
or
not,
you
need
me.

“Elia
s
i
s
right,
”
sh
e
declared
,
“bu
t
it’
s
no
t
a
s
muc
h
about
you
as
you
’
d
like
to
think.
I
w
ant
to
know
that
you
’
ll
get
home.
Mor
e
tha
n
that
,
I
’
d
lik
e
t
o
pro
v
e
tha
t
it’
s
possible
.
Wh
o
knows—
maybe
I
’
ll
gi
v
e
it
a
try
myself.”
V
ictoria
searched
for
her
keys,
pulled
the
two
en
v
elopes
from
her
purse,
and
w
a
v
ed
them
in
Khara’s face. “Now let’s go.”

Chapte
r
Eighteen
Arlan Miel
e
y

Sinc
e
th
e
unfortunat
e
inciden
t
wit
h
Max
,
Arlan
Miele
y
ha
d
seize
d
upo
n a
beguilin
g
dream
;
th
e
ruinou
s
life he
’
d
know
n
woul
d
soo
n
b
e
o
v
er
.
“
Y
ou
’
l
l
b
e
th
e
rocksta
r
of
th
e
archaeologica
l
world,
”
th
e
bracelet
s
whispered
.
The
pompous bastards
responsible
for
his
professional exile
would
b
e
reduce
d
t
o
pubescen
t
groupies
,
beggin
g
fo
r
th
e
chanc
e
to
discuss his incredible disco
v
ery. He imagined himself
w
earing a
grey
cashmere
suit
with
tortoise-shell
buttons.
P
eople
would
commen
t
tha
t
despit
e
hi
s
all-America
n
presence
,
ther
e
w
as
definitel
y
somethin
g
Britis
h
abou
t
him
.
Fo
r
once
,
hi
s
skin
would be just tan enough to pull it all off.

Se
v
eral times a day he took the bracelets from the safe, one
o
f
si
x
h
e
ha
d
installe
d
throughou
t
th
e
con
v
erte
d
w
arehouse.
Mieley had been meticulous enough to stage two of the most
o
b
v
i
ousl
y
loca
t
e
d
o
n
e
s
w
it
h
f
a
k
e
w
at
c
h
e
s
a
n
d
t
h
i
n
r
oll
s
o
f
currency
.
A
thie
f
woul
d
tak
e
th
e
deco
y
objects
,
h
e
assured
himself
,
leavin
g
th
e
rea
l
treasures—som
e
o
f
the
m
i
n
plain
sight—untouched.

He kept the bracelets in his most cle
v
er installation, which
w
as
under
the
kitchen
trash
bin.
Mieley’s restoration
skills
had come
in
handy,
and
he
’
d
pieced
the
hardwood
slats
together so seamlessly
that
no
traces
w
ere
visible.
But
the
devil
w
as
al
w
ays in the details, and he made sure that there
w
as al
w
ays a bit of something rotting
in the trash can abo
v
e.

Holdin
g
th
e
bracelet
s
i
n
hi
s
hand
s
onl
y
intensifie
d
his
dreams. Licking
his lips,
he
caressed the
gentle
cur
v
e
of metal and thought them too beautiful to ha
v
e been fashioned by the
han
d
o
f
man
.
Fo
r
reason
s
h
e
di
d
no
t
full
y
unders
t
and
,
they
made him hard. It took e
v
erything he had to lock them up for safekeeping before leaving New
Y
ork.

Si
x
day
s
an
d
tw
o
thousan
d
mile
s
later
,
h
e
w
a
s
leaning
for
w
ard in the seat of a rented deli
v
ery
v
an, chewing his right
inde
x
finger
.
Whe
n
h
e
ha
d
a
fir
m
gri
p
o
n
a
loosene
d
piece
o
f
cuticle
,
h
e
pulle
d
i
t
withou
t
mercy
.
H
e
foun
d
th
e
pain
mar
v
elous,
e
v
en
exquisite.
As
a
boy,
his
mother
had
sprinkled ca
y
enne
pepper
on
his
fingers
to
discourage
this habit;
nothing
cam
e
o
f
he
r
effort
s
excep
t
tha
t
Miele
y
coul
d
inges
t
le
v
el
s
of spic
e
other
s
foun
d
positi
v
el
y
corrosi
v
e
.

H
e
w
a
s
oddl
y
proud
of that.

Elia
s
ha
d
mad
e
t
h
e
si
g
nifican
t
mis
t
a
k
e
o
f
sayin
g
t
h
e
b
racele
t
s
ha
d
practicall
y
w
alke
d
int
o
hi
s
office
,
an
d
Miele
y
kne
w
hi
m
a
s
a
ma
n
o
f
hi
s
word
.
Fo
r
fi
v
e
days
,
he
’
d
bee
n
w
atchin
g
th
e
comings an
d
going
s
o
f
hi
s
long-tim
e
partner
.
H
e
note
d
sta
ff
schedule
s
a
s he kept vigil from a strategic spot across the street. It
w
as only a matter
of time…

Scratching
the
graying
stubble
on
his
face,
he
realized
that it
w
as almost e
v
ening. Soon Elias would depart for his adoring
wif
e
an
d a
home-cooke
d
dinner
.
Unabl
e
t
o
remembe
r
i
f
he ha
d
eate
n
anythin
g
sinc
e
th
e
previou
s
night
,
h
e
decide
d
to
call
it
a
day.
He
laid
the
binoculars
on
the
passenger
seat
and
considere
d
hi
s
options
.
Tomorro
w
h
e
woul
d
b
e
bac
k
wit
h
a
different
v
an.
If
he
w
as
really
ambitious,
he
would
grab
a
quick
dinner
and
w
atch
Elias’s
home
tonight.
He
didn’t
sleep
worth a shit any
w
ay.