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“You’re welcome.”
“We’ll be coming by this afternoon to look in on him.”
Sam hung up and filled Remi in on the discussion. She shut down her computer, a look of concern on her face as she gathered her things.
“I don’t know, Sam. I mean, he’s delivered a small miracle with the manuscript, but it sounds like he’s still on thin ice.”
“No question. But I think it would be good for him to work with us, and it certainly won’t hurt to have another set of eyes on the data. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“There you go again.”
“Sorry.”
Remi sighed. “Let’s grab something to eat and go see how he’s doing. If he seems fine, we’ll make the call then, okay?”
Sam nodded. “You bet. But just in case, you might want to put together a care package for Lazlo.”
She held up a flash drive. “I’m way ahead of you.”
Aware of being followed but now resigned to it, they made their way acro
ss town to the clinic. Lazlo was sitting up in bed, reading a book, when they arrived.
“How’s the life of leisure?” Sam asked, rounding the bed as Lazlo stood and shook his hand.
“I’m about bloody ready to crawl the walls with all this clean living. Who knew that virtue could be so boring?”
Remi smiled. “You look good.”
“Flattery will get you whatever you desire, young lady. Please. Have a seat. Tell me all about how the hunt for your tomb is going,” Lazlo said, motioning to the sofa. “Can I offer you some water? I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got, unless you want me to ring for some coffee. I’ve given up on a proper cup of tea.”
They explained their theory. Lazlo followed along, seemingly without effort, asking direct, probing questions that were as precise as they were relevant. After half an hour of back-and-forth, Sam and Remi exchanged a glance, and she leaned forward, hands folded in front of her.
“Lazlo, we could use some help. How would you like to look over what we’ve gathered and give us your expert opinion?”
“Well, I’m not sure how expert it is compared to all of you, but if there’s anything I can add to the party, why not? It’s not as though I’m figuring out cold fusion at the moment.”
Remi reached into her purse and extracted the flash drive. “These are photos of all the material we’ve collected. Pictographs from the newly discovered Toltec tombs, everything that’s relevant from the Institute archives, URLs for anything in the public domain, maps—the whole shooting match.”
Lazlo took the small device. “Well, this should keep me busy for a time, I’d imagine. When are you planning to do your dig?”
“We’re still waiting for the permit. There was a complication,” Sam said.
“Oh?”
He told Lazlo about the kidnapping and the effect it had on their project. Lazlo frowned and shook his head. “Bloody bad luck, that. So you’re stalled?”
“I wish I could say otherwise, but that’s what we are.”
“Only ray of light is that it will give me time to get up to speed. Doors closing and windows opening, and all that.”
“Yes. Well, hopefully, we’ll get the go-ahead soon. When we do, we want you with us,” Remi said.
Lazlo raised one eyebrow. “You think my jailers will allow that?”
“If you swear to be on your best behavior, I think they might.”
“My best behavior is usually everyone else’s worst . . .”