Page 64 of The Hero
“He’s fine,” JJ said.
“Darn,” Marlowe muttered.
Bob couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that left his lips. So much for him thinking Marlowe was as sweet as pie. Even JJ chuckled.
“Sorry, that was rude,” Marlowe said with a shrug. “But seriously, what he did was awful. Not only did he steal from our dig site, he got me in serious trouble when he thought I might tell on him.”
“Well, he’s home in Boston, still living in his parents’ house,” JJ said. “But our sources indicate that he’s trying to sell the coins and has a potential buyer.”
“No! We can’t let him get away with that!” Marlowe protested.
“We’re working on making sure those coins don’t end up in someone’s personal collection,” JJ said.
“How?” she asked.
He frowned. “We know he’s had some interest from a few people on the dark web, but the offers have been made through third parties, from people who are very good at covering their tracks. But not good enough. Our guy, Tex, has been able to get in touch with two people who put in bids, and when they realized their real identities had been discovered—and the authorities notified—their interest waned, of course.”
“But there are others who still want to buy the coins? For how much?” Marlowe asked.
“Yes, and the top offer at the moment is one million each.”
“Three million dollars? Holy crap!” Marlowe exclaimed. “I knew they were worth a lot, but I didn’t expect them to sell forthatmuch.”
“Yeah.”
“So ... how are we going to stop the sale from going through if we don’t know who the buyer might be?” she asked.
JJ sighed. “We’re working on that, with the help of our guy. The FBI is working on it too. But there’s a major issue with trying to make Ian turn in the coins instead of selling them, and it involves you.”
“Me?” Marlowe asked.
“Yes. The issue is that any trouble we cause for Ian, he can turn around and cause for you right back.”
“What do you mean?”
“He can tell the authorities that you’re an escaped convict from Thailand, Marlowe. If he finds out you’re involved in trying to stop the sale of those coins, he can potentially get you thrown back in prison—unless there’s solid proof that he planted those drugs in your tent.”
“Can we go to the press?” Marlowe asked. “I mean about the coins? Give them an anonymous tip?”
“Maybe. Although I’m not sure the story will get the publicity we want or need in order to spook the buyer enough to halt the sale.”
“Yeah, coins aren’t sexy,” Marlowe agreed. “It’s a problem for many of the digs I’ve been on. People are eager to offer grants when what we’re digging for is interesting and exciting enough to gain worldwide attention, but when it’s a bunch of random bones, or shards of pottery, or just a few coins, it’s often not worth their time or attention.”
No one said anything for a full minute.
Then Marlowe quickly straightened. It was obvious she had an idea—and somehow, Bob knew he wasn’t going to like it.
“What if I called him? Told him that I know it’s him who got me arrested and I want in on the sale to keep my mouth shut?”
“What?” JJ and Bob asked at the same time.
“I mean, I could tell him that if he doesn’t return those coins, I’ll go to the authorities and the press. Make the coins so hot, no one would dare buy them. Not only that, no one would hire him to work on their digs ever again. He’d be blackballed. I realize he can get me in trouble if he knows I’m no longer rotting away in that prison in Thailand, but if I can somehow get him to admit that he not only stole the coins, but planted the drugs in my tent, that should be enough to get me off the hook, right?”
“No,” Bob said.
At the same time JJ muttered, “That’s not a bad idea.”
“What? No!” Bob said more forcefully. “I don’t want Marlowe talking to that asshole ever again. And we’re talking three million dollars. That’s a lot of money, and people get weird and desperate when that much is at stake.”
