Page 49 of Dawn Caravan
“Why not?” Juvan shrugged. “We were going to sell them to humans.”
“So not on the open market?”
“No, no.” Juvan’s brother Alcide waved a hand. “Only to criminals.”
Tenzin asked, “Is there a market for forged icons in the human criminal class?”
She was next to him at the table. Ben had a feeling she might have been taking notes for future business opportunities. Selling forged icons to mobsters for hard cash would be exactly the kind of thing Tenzin would find hilarious.
Not your problem anymore.
“More than you might think,” Juvan said. “Most human criminals are extremely stupid, so the gold that’s on icons makes them think they are worth more than their actual value. If the story is good and we put up enough resistance to selling the piece, they always buy. Icons have become a good source of income for us.”
“Interesting.” Tenzin sipped a glass of blood-wine. “Of course, if you hired the Dominican, then you must have photographs. He won’t work without them.”
“We did.”
“Really?” Tenzin cocked her head. “Then you weren’t selling it to humans.”
Juvan and Alcide froze.
Ben kept his lips glued together because he had no idea why a photograph… Ohhhhhh. Right.
The icon had disappeared from public records long before photography had been able to record it, so no living human had ever seen it. Which meant absolute accuracy—which necessitated an expert forger working off photographs—would only be important for an individual who had actually seen the icon in their lifetime.
In other words, a vampire.
Juvan and Alcide exchanged a look.
“We were,” Juvan said. “On my honor, we would not have tried to pass a forgery to an immortal. Too many opportunities for the transaction to go wrong.”
Alcide said, “We don’t need the money or exposure. It wouldn’t be worth the risk.”
Ben asked, “So why did you need the pictures?”
“We didn’tneedthem. We had a written description and references. Our partner offered them, and we saw no reason to say no.”
“Partner?” Ben said. “So this wasn’t your own idea?”
Juvan and Alcide narrowed their eyes.
Tenzin put a hand on Ben’s arm. “He means this wasn’tonlyyour idea of course. Tell me about your partner.”
Alcide cursed under his breath, and Juvan spread his hands. “Are you going to tell us about your client?”
Tenzin smiled. “You know we can’t do that.”
Alcide said, “So you must know that we cannot tell you either.”
“You can’t tell me a name,” Tenzin said. “But surely you can give me something.” She looked out the window of the yacht. “I would consider it a favor.”
Juvan and Alcide both perked up. Giving Tenzin the meeting was fulfilling their favor to her. Offering information would gain them a new favor from one of the most powerful vampires on the planet.
“She gave us the pictures, but we don’t have a name,” Juvan said. “Only a bank number and a voice on the phone.”
“Voice?”
“Female,” Alcide said. “Immortal. The accent wasn’t recognizable.”
