It was 6.30 am, but even so the airport bar was crowded with passengers, well-wishing families and friends and a bizarre variety of yet-to-be checked in luggage, including a unicycle, a surfboard, and what looked to Maggie like a suitcase-sized stealth bomber wrapped in brown paper.
Pierre struggled through the throng and handed Maggie a cup of coffee before taking his seat. "What do you suppose an American is doing in Paris with a surfboard?" he asked.
"Perhaps he thinks he's in Texas," Maggie suggested.
"I don't think there is surfing in that Paris either," Pierre stated.
Maggie shrugged, "Maybe he's taking my flight to Sydney. Do you really care?"
"No, but I am trying to…"
"I am going home, Pierre," Maggie said, placing her hand affectionately on his arm. "There is absolutely nothing you could say or offer to make me stay, so you may as well say goodbye now. There's no need to wait till my plane leaves."
"But Maggie, we see each other so rarely these days. And I do so enjoy your company," Pierre said, placing his hand over hers.
Maggie nearly choked on her coffee. "This tactic is beneath even you, Pierre," she laughed. "Are you saying that you wish me to stay here and share the flack from this hijacking, help you face the criticism regarding the safety and feasibility of eclectic exhibitions like yours, and deal with the international fallout in general, because you enjoy my company?"
Pierre shrugged and smiled. "What can I say, Maggie? I…"
"You can say 'goodbye Maggie' - that's what you can say," she said.
"This is a nightmare," Pierre intoned.
"That is an understatement, my friend," Maggie said. "But you don't really think Jorge is right about Escobar being behind the hijacking?"
"I doubt it," Pierre said. "That would mean his demand for a hearing of his case for rightful ownership was a complete charade. His claim on the bracelet, as you say, was dubious but if it was a sham to cover his part in a plot to steal the artefact in question then it didn't work because Escobar was the first person that Jorge accused."
"I agree," Maggie said, "but only because I find it impossible to imagine Dr Pablo Escobar as a criminal mastermind. I don't believe anyone could pretend to be that incompetent. Mind you if the real brains behind this operation sent Escobar in as the court jester then he certainly succeeded in creating a diversion."
"Merde, merde, merde," Pierre snarled, uncharacteristically. He shrugged at Maggie's surprised look. "I don't have energy for anything else at the moment," he said.
"There is one thing you haven't considered yet," Maggie said, trying to sound positive. "Maybe this has nothing to do with the Tahuantinsuyu Bracelet - specifically I mean."
"I don't understand," Pierre said.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, okay, but the Sicán ceremonial mask that was also hijacked was the one from the London collection wasn't it?" When Pierre nodded, Maggie continued. "The same mask that Alistair Nash found near Batán Grande in the early seventies and agreed to lend to your exhibition just before he died last year?" Pierre nodded again. "What do you think it's worth?"
"I have no idea," Pierre admitted.
"It's solid gold," Maggie reminded him. "It's worth twenty times what the Tahuantinsuyu Bracelet is worth - both for its intrinsic value and as a cultural artefact. I mean at least there's no question about where it came from. So maybe that's what the thieves were after; or perhaps they were just after what they could get."
Pierre looked miserable, so Maggie smiled and said, "of course the field of investigation is much narrower if we limit our, sorry, if you limit your suspicions to Escobar and the bracelet."
"Oh Maggie, please stay," Pierre pleaded. "Your thoughts on this debacle are much clearer than mine."
"That's because, unlike you, I am not accepting responsibility for this debacle."
Pierre ran his hand through his hair. "It is my fault, isn't it?"
"No Pierre, it is not. But for a while to come it will feel like it is, and you will be the one that everyone blames - except Professor Jorge who will continue to accuse Escobar, even if it turns out the hijack was carried out by soccer hooligans who wanted the van and not its contents."