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Back at the hotel, Gil showered and dressed. He cleaned the dirt off of the gold statuettes and brought them to the Greenfield Police Station. Karen was on the phone at her desk, so he stood behind her, reached around, and put one of the figures on her desk. She jumped out of her seat. “I’m sorry, I have to call you back. Something’s come up.” She ended her call and said, “Oh my God, you found it!”
Gil said, “Karen, Lili escaped. She’s safe.”
Karen yelped and gave Gil a long hug. “What happened?”
“I don’t have the whole story yet. She’s at the American Embassy in Moldova.”
“Moldova?”
He shrugged. “She’s not injured. I’m meeting with Special Agent Elsayed at the hotel in an hour.”
Gil placed the other figurine on her desk. One was about ten inches tall, and looked like a chubby guy without a shirt, wearing jewelry and a huge headdress. He had a dour expression. The other was a a couple of inches shorter. It was a slim guy, no shirt, with the head of a bird and a smaller headdress. Both figurines were somewhat heavy, but they were probably hollow. “The powder horn inscription said they were from the Orient, but I’d say these are from Central or South America. I bet they’re worth a lot of money, but I think the real value is their historical significance. Can you imagine how the Indians in New England got their hands on gold figurines from South America? I wonder why they had them.”
“I was expecting more treasure,” said Karen. “Didn’t the powder horn say there was jewelry?”
“It did. I was expecting more also, and I thought I’d find remnants of the sack. But I didn’t.”
“Hmm. My gut tells me to book the figurines into evidence, although they really aren’t evidence of a crime. Well, maybe a theft from four hundred years ago. Let me go get the Chief.”
Chief Reyes came to Karen’s desk and looked down at the statuettes. He picked one up to see how heavy it was. “Unbelievable. Your robot really works! Let’s book them into evidence for the time being. We should lock them in the heavy-duty safe in the evidence locker. What do you think we should do with them, Gil?”
“I’d give them back to the Indians.”
Chief Reyes nodded. “I think that would be the right thing to do. Why don’t you figure out who specifically we would give them to? Karen, let me know what the DA has to say about this.”
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GIL PACED BACK AND forth in the lobby of his hotel. Special Agent Elsayed walked in a few minutes after four o’clock. She walked right over to Gil and asked, “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
“Follow me. There’s a little business center room over here. Would you like some coffee?” Mayet poured herself a cup of coffee from the urn in the lobby and put a creamer in it. Gil poured himself a decaf and added two creamers and a packet of sugar. After they sat down at the meeting table, Gil asked, “Is there any more news on Lili?”
“No. I’m sure she’s still sleeping. There’s a seven hour time difference, so she’ll probably leave for London while you’re sleeping tonight. So, what’s this theory of yours?”
“Before Martha went into hiding, she asked Lili to help her look into the results of a DNA test she had done to find out about her ancestry. She was adopted as a child and doesn’t know anything about her background. Since this whole situation seems to be international, I’m thinking maybe it has to do with her ancestry testing.”
“What do you know about her ancestry?”
“What I’m telling you is private, but I suppose if it could put a stop to an attempted murder, it’s all right. Jeanie Peridot is a genealogist Lili hired to look into Martha’s family history. She said that Martha has close relatives in the UK, Israel, and South America. She also discovered that Martha has a daughter living in the UK, who Martha apparently doesn’t know about. But, I don’t have a theory of how any of this information could endanger her life.”
“I don’t know either, but it’s a theory worth looking into. There are definitely well-connected people in the UK, Israel and South America that might be able to get information from the high levels of our Federal government, like the US Marshals. I’ve been trying to find out how Martha’s location was compromised in the witness protection program. Knowing I could search for an international connection could be helpful. How is it possible that Martha doesn’t know she has a daughter?”
“Martha said that she and her husband had a baby in England, but they were told it was stillborn. Apparently, the baby was stolen from them.” Gil stood up and started pacing. “I want to fly to London to meet Lili.”
“Do you have your passport?”
“It’s back in New York.”
“Let me see if I can get you an expedited one today in Boston. I’ll make some calls.” Mayet used her phone while Gil drank the rest of his decaf. “It’s all set. You have a high-level security clearance.”
“I do. It’s from my work before I retired. I thought it would have lapsed by now.”
“I’ll drive you to Boston while you book your flight. You can catch the red-eye.”
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IT WAS NINE-THIRTY a.m. when Gil stepped up to the passport control window at Heathrow. The agent scanned his passport, looked at his computer monitor and gave a wave to his supervisor. They conferred for a few seconds and the supervisor waved to someone behind her. Gil was sent through the gate where a young woman intercepted him. “Gil Novak, I’m Special Agent Adams with the FBI. I’m here to take you to the US Embassy. Do you have checked luggage?”
“No, just my carry-on.” Gil looked very weary.
Adams led him to a kiosk and bought them each a coffee. Gil had his usual decaf. She led Gil to her car, a black Tesla Model Y. She drove expertly and they reached the Embassy in less than an hour. It was a jarringly futuristic-looking building, to Gil’s eye. A guard checked their IDs at the gate and let them through. Adams drove into an underground parking garage and brought Gil up in an elevator. They walked along the corridor until Adams stopped, knocked on a door, and stuck her head in. She entered and motioned for Gil to enter. Lili jumped out of her seat and ran to him. She hugged him hard, put her head on his chest, and burst into tears. The agent in the room motioned for Adams to follow her out, and they left Gil and Lili alone.
A few minutes later, Adams returned and said, “We’ve booked a room for you in a nearby building with good security. You can rest up, but I’d like you to stay in your room until I come this afternoon. You can order room service. We’ve scheduled a video-conference with Special Agent Elsayed at one thirty.”
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“LILI, I’M SO GLAD YOU made it out of Transnistria,” said Mayet. “This whole situation was terrifying, but also very intriguing. Gil has a theory that the threats against Martha might have something to do with her genealogical research. Based on this idea, I was able to get a warrant for Martha Eames’s genealogical information. I’m also trying to figure out how her underground railroad involvement could be a motive, but I haven’t come up with anything yet. I’d like you to work with Special Agent Adams to contact some of Martha’s closest DNA matches in the UK, if you think you’re up to it. What do you think?”
Lili smiled. “I’d like to do that. Gil, what do you think?”
“How much danger is Lili in, here?” Gil asked.
“I think she’s probably safer here than in Massachusetts, for now. Even if whoever is behind this has been able to infiltrate the FBI, it would take them a while to find Lili. I don’t think either of you will be in any one place for very long. Also, Special Agent Adams will be in charge of your protection.”
“I guess that makes sense. I’m in,” said Gil.
“I’ll need the contact information for the genealogist.”
“I don’t have my phone, so we’ll need to search online,” said Lili.