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Where was Simon?

Hez walked down the hall to the men’s room. No one there. His stomach muscles tightened.

He dialed her number. “Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up!”

The call went to voice mail.

He jerked open the bathroom door and raced for the staircase leading to the exit nearest the parking lot. He took the stairs two at a time, almost falling on the narrow, worn steps. Then he was out in the pale November sun, sprinting for his car.

He prayed he wouldn’t be too late this time.

***

“Nothing. Like I said, I just came to retrieve Simon and prevent him from confronting you.”

“Nothing, Erik. I don’t have any real idea of what’s going on at TGU.”

Her phone sounded with an incoming call, and she started to answer it, but Erik stepped forward and snatched it out of her hand. He held it aloft, and she caught a glimpse of Hez’s face on the screen before he clicked the side button and sent the call to voice mail. When the screen went black, he tried to turn it on again, but it was set for face recognition. Erik gritted his teeth and swore.

***

Andersen reacted first. He held up his hands, each of which gripped a cell phone. “Whoa, whoa. No need for violence.”

Hez stepped into the room, keeping the tire iron cocked and ready to swing. “What’s going on here?”

“He’s not calling the cops,” Savannah said, her voice tight with fear. “He’s calling his boss!”

Hez tensed to bring the tire iron smashing down on Andersen’s phone, but a better idea hit him. He nodded and pulled out his own phone. “Good, the state police can arrest both of you when they get here.”

Andersen looked up from his phone. His finger hovered over the surface. “The state police?”

Hez nodded. “I have friends there. Former prosecutor, you know.”

“I...” Andersen breathed a shaky sigh. “Look, we all need to talk.”

Simon gasped. “My dad framed my mum?”

So Simon and Erik both knew the truth. That was unfortunate. “I’m afraid so, Simon.”

Hez flicked a glance toward the statuette on Andersen’s desk. “Then where did that come from?”

“It... was brought to me. I don’t know where it came from. I just get the artifact and write the letter—that’s it.”

“And you get paid, right?”

“Where I’ll join you, I guess.” Hez smiled and held up his phone. “You just confessed to aiding the trafficking of stolen goods, and I recorded the whole thing.”

Andersen’s face went gray under his tan. “Turn that off!”

“What... what do you want?” Andersen’s voice was barely more than a whisper.

“Answers. Let’s start with who you were about to call when I came in. Who’s this boss of yours?”

“I—I can’t say.”

“Sure you can.”