“There will still have to be further investigation into what happened in Peru—and the Peruvian government has outstanding charges against Eddie for assaulting two police officers. But”—another slight smile—“I have persuaded them this is not a matter that calls for extradition.”
Eddie counted names on his fingers. “So that’s Zimbabwe, Syria, and now Peru I can cross off my holiday list, then. And Monaco, too.”
Beauchamp’s look of curiosity returned. “What happened in Monaco?”
“Uh, nothing,” Nina said quickly, not wanting to remind Interpol of the couple’s involvement in the crashing of a multimillion-dollar yacht into the middle of the wealthy principality’s annual motor race. “But we’ll be happy to cooperate with Interpol to make sure Eddie is fully cleared. Won’t we?”
“No arguments here,” Eddie assured her.
“For now, though,” Beauchamp continued, “Eddie, you are a free man.”
Eddie let out a long sigh of relief. “I’m bloody glad to hear that, Renée. Thanks.”
The Interpol officer nodded. “I will speak to you again, no doubt. Good-bye.”
She disconnected. Nina turned to her husband. “How do you feel?”
“Relieved. As. Fuck.” He slumped in his chair. “Being on the run really bloody takes it out of you.”
“Well, now you can stop running,” said Penrose. “So, they found a connection between Jindal and Harald Glas? Interesting.”
“You knew Glas,” said Nina. “Can you think of any reason why he might have been paying Kit to obtain the statues?”
He shook his head firmly. “I wouldn’t say I was exactly a close friend—I knew him through the United Nations, that’s all. But no, I can’t think of anything.”
“Kit was on his payroll before we even found the first statue in Egypt, though,” Eddie noted. “So Glas must have been looking out for the statues even then.”
“I suppose having someone inside the Cultural Property Crime Unit would give you a heads-up if they turned up on the black market,” Nina said thoughtfully.
“But how would he even have known about the statues in the first place?” asked Eddie.
“I wish I knew,” said Penrose. He stood. “I have to go and brief the UN bigwigs on all this; Nina, I’ll forward you the minutes. And Eddie … congratulations.”
“Thanks.” The two men shook hands again, then Penrose departed. “So,” said Eddie, “now what?”
“First of all, before anything else …” Nina leaned over, placed both hands on Eddie’s cheeks, and kissed him deeply. “That.”
He was startled—but appreciative. “No tongue? Ah,” he added as she returned for a second helping, this time with an open mouth. He was slightly breathless when she finally released him. “No sex on an office table?”
She grinned. “Don’t push your luck. But I just wanted to show that now that I’ve gotten you back, I’m not letting you go again. From now on, we stick together, no matter what. You and me, always and forever. Okay?”
He pretended to give the matter deep thought. “I can cope with that. So we’re back?”
“We’re back, baby.”
“And we’re not going to have any more arguments?”
“Well, let’s not say anything crazy.” They both smiled. “Anyway, second of all—”
“Bollocks! I knew you’d be straight back to work.”
“Second of all,” she repeated, touching a finger to his lips before becoming more serious, “we need to decide how we’re going to deal with all this. Glas and the statues.”
“The statues are safe, for the moment,” Eddie told her. “I left them with a mate of mine in Chinatown. But if Glas wants ’em destroyed, maybe we should just do that and get him off our back for good.”
“Maybe. But he might still want me dead, no matter what. We need more information; we need to find out why the statues are so important. The Brotherhood had some, but it was incomplete.”
“Who else’d know?”
“A very good question. And …” Realization lit up her face. “I think I know who could have the answer. Popadopoulos told me that the only organizations that might have more information than the Brotherhood would be certain powerful governments. And which is the most powerful government on the planet?”
“Liechtenstein?”
“No, they’re number two. Come on.”
They left the conference room and headed back to the reception area. Lola did a mild double-take. “Eddie, are you wearing lipstick?”
“Damn, the secret’s out,” he said, wiping his mouth.
“Lola, I need you to contact someone for me and put them through to my office,” said Nina.
“Sure, no problem,” the blonde replied. “Who?”
Nina paused before answering. “Victor Dalton.”
“Mr. President!” said Nina with a big fake smile. “So good of you to agree to see us.”
Victor Dalton waited until the Secret Service agent