The Alexander Cipher Page 0,75
Now, there isn’t a wide market for Ptolemaic papyri, even with good provenance. But stolen papyri? I mean, most of the usual buyers are academic institutions, and they won’t touch anything hot. But Philip Dragoumis is interested in anything Macedonian, particularly if it’s got a connection with Alexander.”
“And you think these papyri do?”
“I think there’s a good chance. The names Kelonymos and Akylos cropped up in a lot of the Mallawi papyri. Look.” He turned the laptop around so that Rick could see the list of file names, dominated by “Akylos” and “Kelonymus.” “And we found these same two names in a necropolis in Alexandria, and there’s no doubt that they’re related to Alexander. Akylos was one of Alexander’s shield bearers, and Kelonymus was his brother. And Nicolas and Elena recognized the name Kelonymus yesterday. I’ll swear to that.”
“Okay. So there’s a link between the Mallawi papyri and this Alexandrian tomb of yours. But that doesn’t explain what we’re doing in Tanta.”
“The Dragoumis Group is funding an excavation near here. They’re not people to sponsor just any dig, not in a foreign country. They’re looking for something specific.” They reached the hotel that had acknowledged Elena as a guest, then parked across the street to monitor its front door. “I think it’s all part of why Nicolas came personally to see the tomb in Alexandria, which means it has to be important. I want to know what it is. But I can’t exactly just ring up and ask. All the excavation crew have signed confidentiality agreements, so no one’s going to talk, particularly not to me.”
“Ah,” said Rick, nodding at the hotel. “But they’re staying there, are they?”
“Exactly. And in an hour or two, they’ll set off for their day’s work, so we’re going to follow.”
ELENA WOKE EARLY, sunlight streaming in the open window of Augustin’s apartment, noises reaching them from below: cars starting, doors slamming, families bickering. She had had every intention of breaking it off with Augustin when she returned to Alexandria late last night, before their fling could grow serious. But then he had appeared at her hotel room to take her out to dinner, and he smiled that smile at her, and she suffered an exquisite cramp in her stomach, and she knew that she’d been fooling herself.
She lay there, staring fondly at him. It was strange—and utterly unfair—how men could look beautiful even when a complete mess. His hair was a medusa of lank snakes all over his face, and a thin trail of saliva leaked from the corner of his mouth to darken the pillow. Yet still she desired him. For the first time in a decade, she found herself helpless with lust. And to think, she and Gaille were off to Siwa later this morning! She needed to make the most of their remaining time together.
She drew back the cotton sheet, the better to look at him. She reached down and began to tickle softly the inside of his thigh from just above his knee rising all the way up to his scrotum. He swelled, unpeeled, and flopped upward onto his belly. A wicked grin spread across his face, though his eyes were still closed, and not a word was said. She kissed him on his brow, his nose, his cheek, his mouth. His breath tasted sour but not at all unpleasant. Gradually their embraces grew more intimate, both too eager to wait. He turned onto his side and fumbled in his bedside table for a condom, which he tore open with his teeth and unrolled deftly with one hand. He grimaced as he forced himself inside her, resting his weight on both hands, holding himself up high. He half withdrew, jiggled and teased, so that she ached for him and pulled him back in. She craned up her neck so that she could look down at the point of junction between them, the long, hard, dark shadow of him drawing out of her, pushing slowly back in. She’d forgotten what a mesmerizing sight fucking could be—so ruthlessly animal, so distinct from all the effete ritual of romance that surrounded it. He pushed her back down and they stared hard into each other’s eyes until it was too much for her, and she twisted and cried out as she came, and they spilled together onto the floor. They lay there for half a minute or so, wrapped together, grinning, gathering breath. He jumped up easily to his feet. “Coffee?” he asked.
“Chocolate.”
He padded naked