Page 34 of Etched in Stone
It lit up when she touched it. His residual DNA on her fingertips was enough for it to sense his presence.
“You see? They can’t even be tasteful with their fakes. They have to make it light up. I’ve checked but I haven’t found any wires or circuitry. At least not without destroying the outside of the case.
Jesse picked it up. She circled around to the windows to look at it in the light. The crystal in the center shone a bright sprinkle of red dots across the room as she held it up to the sunlight.
“It’s so pretty. Looks a little like that ‘Staff of Ra’ gizmo from that movie.”
Jesse circled back around the cabinet and put it back in the drawer.
“Now, you were saying something about sticking it to the Rose Syndicate,” Morris inquired.
“Well, honestly, it would probably cost you a lot of money, and I wouldn’t want to do that to such a good friend of my aunt.”
“Child, I have more money than I can spend before I die.”
“If you give us the contents of that drawer, we can make sure the Rose Syndicate is blown wide open,” Ray said quietly. “Everything they’ve been working for over the past century will lead to jack
shit.”
“And how do I know I can trust you?” Morris said, looking up at him with a critical eye.
“As you said, what do you have to lose?” Jesse said. “At worst, we take some fakes off your hands. At best, you get sweet, sweet revenge on the assholes that cheated and scammed you.” She leaned down toward Morris. His eyes once again undressing her as he stared down her cleavage.
“I’m personally invested in this since one of those bastards tried to kill me. Threw me off a roof.”
Jesse realized a moment after she spoke that it might lead to unanswerable questions. “Tried to, anyway,” she added. “Do you know why? Because I refused to cheat someone. Refused to cheat you, as it turns out.”
“Bunny!”
The blonde came bouncing to the room. She must have toweled off, but was still wearing the barely there bikini.
“Get these nice people a crate. And you sweetie,” he said to Jesse. “Why don’t you have some champagne? I think your friend over there got the hot tub working again.”
“I’ll take some champagne, but we’re kind of on a tight schedule.”
Morris wheeled off with Jesse to the other room, leaving Bunny and Ray to pack up the drawer.
Bunny did so with surprising care for a poolside eye candy.
“Don’t look so surprised. I have a degree in archaeology. This is only a side job for a gap year.
And before you get into it, yeah, I know. But it pays the bills. More than pays the bills.”
Ray shrugged as he helped put the artifacts into the crate. He had a moment of panic when touched the sigil and it did not react. He realized then that Jesse had already switched it out. She must have done so when she’d examined it the first time. Smart and smooth, that’s what she was. Just in case Morris changed his mind, they’d still have what they want.
He picked up the crate and handed Bunny a card with his number. “You ever need a real job, or if he collects any more of these artifacts, give me a call. I can probably give you a hand.”
Bunny looked skeptical, but she took the card and stuffed it in her bikini.
Jesse was laughing way too loud and patting Morris on the shoulder when he came out into the lobby carrying the crate. She put down her champagne flute and smiled down at him.
“Thank you so much, Morris. I can’t wait to make that horrid man pay for what he tried to do to me.”
She winked at him and then walked out the door. Moments later, they were back in the car and on the road.
“That creepy old man tried to get up my skirt three times in five minutes!”
Ray wanted to tell her that she deserved it for wearing such a skimpy outfit, but he knew that had been the best way to butter up Morris. Fending off the hands of a wheelchair bound geezer was nothing compared to keeping The Rose Syndicate at bay after they learned Jesse had been successful in getting multiple objects from Morris. His stomach churned with the thought.
