sister, I didn’t even barter with him. Just gave him what he wanted. She’s been pulling strings from all sides, right from the start.”
“She hired Winters and Kimbel to follow us?” Something didn’t make sense. “Why? If Stone’s the buyer you lined up for me, then they could have had all three, if they’d just waited.”
“Revenge is a sticky thing, my friend. Maybe they didn’t want to wait. Maybe something set them off. I don’t know their reasons, but when Winters told me Swanson was planning to corner you guys, I knew I had to find you first.”
“And Hailey?”
“Radioed the boat, had her move locations and remove the GPS Winters planted onboard.”
Thank God for Pete.
“Swanson has Tisiphone.”
“So we get it back,” Pete said as if it were fact.
Rafe studied his friend. Pete had been happy to finance his little treasure hunt, to get Rafe what ever he needed to make it a success because he knew he’d get a cut, but he hadn’t been personally involved. Something in his eyes now said he was. “You got a plan to do that?”
One side of Pete’s mouth curled in a knowing smile. “Yeah. And I know the perfect woman to help us.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Maria smoothed her hair as she moved across the walk. Tall palms lined the front gardens. Bougainvillea ran along the edge of the building. Sweat slicked her skin under the blush-colored suit, but she ignored it, focusing instead on what she had to do next.
Beside her, Billy shrugged in the sweltering afternoon heat.
“Don’t fidget,” she said sharply. “And don’t speak. Do what I say and stay in the background. We don’t need you drawing any unnecessary attention.”
He rolled his eyes but didn’t respond.
Maria climbed the cement steps to the wide front porch of the stately Coral Gables mansion. She knew security cameras were watching their every move and that the guard at the estate’s front gate had alerted Stone they were here.
The front door opened, and a Latino woman dressed in an apron greeted them.
“Dr. Maria Gotsi and her assistant to see Mr. Stone.”
The woman nodded and gestured them into the two-story entry. A sparkling chandelier hung from above. Marble tile flowed from the front door through the long hallway ahead. To the right, a curved staircase swept up to the second floor.
“Wait here, please.”
The woman disappeared through a door at their left. Maria gripped the soft-sided briefcase in front of her with both hands. Billy glanced around and let out a low whistle.
She struggled to resist scolding him. She shouldn’t have brought him, but Peter had assured her he was necessary. Sure, she’d hired him to follow Lisa and Rafael in Chicago, but that was before she’d realized how incompetent he was. When he’d returned without the information she needed, she’d tried to scare him into getting it for her. It hadn’t worked. An odd twist of irony had her stuck with him here. Now.
She forced back the irritation. If this went as planned, it would all be worth it. She didn’t care about the Furies anymore. All she wanted at this point was for Stone to pay for Alan’s death. She owed Alan that much.
The maid reappeared, closing double doors at her back. “This way, please.”
They were led into a large open room at the back of the house with windows on every side. At the moment it was barren but for a long table in the middle of the tile floor.
Maria set her briefcase on the shiny surface and turned at the sound of shoes clicking behind them.
“Dr. Gotsi. Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
Maria nodded and held out her hand in greeting. “Ms. Swanson.” She gestured to Billy. “This is my assistant, Mr. Ramos. Will Mr. Stone be joining us?”
“No. He had a previous engagement.”
Maria’s brow lifted. What kind of previous engagement could a crippled recluse in dwindling health have? But she didn’t ask.
Christy’s gaze swept over the table. “You were brought here to verify the piece, Dr. Gotsi. I don’t see any equipment.”
“It’s impossible to bring the necessary equipment for the in-depth analysis you’re after, Ms. Swanson. My assistant and I can give you a cursory examination and take scrapings from the back to compare the chemical structure of the stone with the other pieces. That will tell us if the artifact was created in the same time frame as the other two. However, for a more thorough analysis, you’re going to need to bring the relief to Athens.”
Christy’s brow lowered, considering. “When