Page 37 of Where Secrets Lie

Hez didn’t remember having that hunch or telling Toniabout it. Should that worry him? “Do we know if they found anything?” He turned to Ed. “Have you heard from our source inside the smuggling operation?”

Ed’s expression turned grim. “I have. He’s okay for now, but he’s scared. Fortunately, he used a burner phone to contact me, but he thinks the smugglers will catch him sooner or later. They’ve put out the word that they’ll kill the traitor and his whole family. He begged us to catch them first. He sounded pretty desperate.”

“I’m sure he is.” Hez closed his eyes and suddenly felt very tired. He forced them open again. “I’ll need to think about what to do.” Unfortunately, thinking wasn’t his strong suit right now.

Chapter 21

Boo Radley gave Cody and Marley a disdainful glance before lumbering over to slide his nine-foot body into the pond. The tupelo trees and moss-covered oaks lining the water shook their leaves in the stiff breeze. “Stay.” Savannah tugged on Cody’s leash when he lunged. “That gator would swallow you in one bite.” Hez’s dog believed he was armor-coated and invincible, so walking him was always... interesting.

Dominga had joined her to walk the dogs, and Marley, always a perfect gentleman, trotted leisurely at her heels. “Have you talked to Professor Webster—I mean, the other Professor Webster—this afternoon?” she asked. “Ed, Toni, and I were there yesterday. He looks pretty terrible.”

Savannah guided Cody toward the statue of TGU founder Joseph Willard. “Everything was turning black and blue this morning when I was there. He’s going to look a little like Frankenstein’s monster for a while until his hair grows back to cover that scar, but if that’s the only effect he has from brain surgery, I’ll take it.”

“I’m not even sore today, but it would have been much worse if he hadn’t shown up.” Dominga held up her phone. “I finally got a new phone too.”

Cody’s short legs stiffened, and he growled ferociously at the statue. Savannah couldn’t budge him an inch. “It’s a statue, Cody, you weirdo.” She picked him up and carried him past the offending object before putting him in the grass. “Hez will be laid up awhile, and I’m not going to stand by and watch anyone else get attacked. Would you help me, Dominga?”

Her student had always been one of her favorites, and she had a quick brain and great insight. Plus, Jess was working with Toni to keep the Justice Chamber’s investigations going on the financial front while Hez was out of commission. It made perfect sense for Savannah to do the same on the smuggling front.

Dominga’s dark eyes lit, and she gave an enthusiastic nod. “I’d love to!”

“We’ve tried targeting the source of the artifacts in Mexico, and we’ve studied the provenance letters from TGU. Neither avenue has gotten us very far. What if we try catching them when they sell the artifacts?”

“I think you’re on to something. During my research I found some of the websites where the smugglers are offering the artifacts for sale. Their scam is good—very good. They have great pictures of the artifacts for sale as well as PDFs of what appear to be legitimate provenance documents. The descriptions say they represent a private seller and invite offers. From what we could tell, most of the artifacts are bought by legitimate dealers and galleries. They resell them in a more public forum.”

Cody started to eat a decaying piece of hamburger a student had tossed away, and Savannah quickly yanked him back as she tried to temper her excitement at the idea that sprang tolife at the details Dominga shared about the sales. “Maybe we could impersonate a dealer or gallery owner and offer a very high bid for an artifact! We could catch them when they deliver the item.”

Dominga’s expression gave nothing away as she thought about it for a moment. “We’ll need to set up a fake company. And it has to look legit to fool these guys. They aren’t dummies. It would be great if we could get someone good enough to put software on the fake company’s website that lets us collect data about anyone who checks us out.”

Savannah’s excitement spiraled into dismay when Cody gagged, swallowed, and licked his lips. She envisioned a night spent cleaning up dog vomit. And worse. She turned back to Dominga. “I think Hez knows a guy who might be able to help. I’ll give him a call.”

Dominga glanced at her phone. “I have class in five minutes. Think you can handle both dogs by yourself?”

“Marley is never a problem. It’s Hez’s demon dog that’s a challenge, but I’ll be fine. I’ll let you know what I find out.” She reached the bench overlooking the pond and settled onto it holding both leashes. Marley lay down with his head on his paws, watching the ducks gliding on the water. Cody gave an indignant sniff and circled her ankles several times, wrapping the leash around them.

“Cody, you’re a menace.” Savannah extricated herself and pulled out her phone to place a call to Hez’s hospital room. She’d ordered a phone for pickup from his carrier, which would be easier for him when he got it. Getting to the hospital phone required him to sit up and reach.

“Hello?” His deep voice sounded a little groggy.

“Were you napping?”

“Savannah.” His voice gentled. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Sure you were. With your eyes closed, right?” she teased. From the tender note in his voice, she didn’t doubt what he told her. Her thoughts continually went to that velvet box she’d found in the pocket of his pants and had taken to his condo. She’d wanted to peek at it, but of course she didn’t. Her heart still hurt at how her suspicions had kept him from proposing that night.

He yawned on the other end of the line. “I got off the pain pills right away and am on Tylenol. I don’t want to run the risk of getting hooked on them. My head is pounding, but hearing your voice makes me feel better. What are you doing?”

“I’m walking your crazy dog.” She told him about Cody’s behavior.

“He’s fun all right.”

“I don’t know if that’s the proper adjective for him.” She chuckled. “Dominga and I have a plan, but I need a little help. What’s the name of that computer genius friend of yours—the one who helped you defend Jess?”

“Why?” The caution in his voice came through loud and clear.

If it were possible to keep the plan to herself, she would—if only to keep his blood pressure in check—but she had no choice. “I have a plan, and I think it might work.” She proceeded to tell him what she and Dominga had discussed.

“Savannah, I don’t want you in danger! Look what happened to me.”

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