Chapter 14 #2
Twenty minutes later, she parked her car in a mostly empty lot on top of the high cliffs, which were part of a national park.
“I’m getting out of my car now,” she said to her watch, although she knew Mikel was watching from some vantage point she couldn’t see.
He had requested that she do one more sound check before starting the hike to the viewing deck.
If the device had stopped working, he would call her cell phone to let her know, but her phone remained silent.
She slung on her crossbody bag and got out of the car.
Somehow, the bag seemed heavy because of the amount of cash zipped into it.
She hugged it against her body as though someone would try to rip it away from her while she strode along the gravel path that cut through the pale green cliff grass.
The wind made the grass ripple and tugged strands of her hair out of its braid.
She loved being high on these cliffs. It reminded her of the rush of flying a small plane, riding the currents of the wind.
As she got closer to the platform, she could hear the roar of the waves hitting the boulders at the bottom of the cliff.
A handful of people stood at the wooden railings, while a few more strolled on the path that ran along the edge of the cliffs.
She recognized Mikel’s team members but kept her gaze moving as she looked for Ricardo.
An odd sense of deflation hit her when she stepped onto the platform, scanned the half dozen sightseers, and discovered Ricardo was not there.
For some reason, she had assumed he would arrive first and had geared herself up to face him.
It was only a couple of minutes past nine, so she walked to the end of the platform, leaned on the railing, and stared down at the waves hurling themselves against the boulders far below.
Legend had it that two people had survived being thrown off Acantilado Alto during Queen Isabella’s reign.
Both had been recaptured and tossed off a second time, which killed them.
Watching the lash of sea against stone, Erica could not imagine living through the landing, even if you were lucky enough to hit the water.
The idea of plunging into those enormous, powerful waves made her shudder with terror.
“Erica!” The wind and surf were so loud, it required a shout to be heard.
She jumped and turned to find Ricardo standing behind her. He wore jeans and a green windbreaker. Strands of his sandy hair had torn free from his ponytail and whipped around his face.
“Ricardo!” she shouted back and pressed her hand to her chest where her heart was racing. “You startled me. I was imagining the prisoners being thrown to their deaths on the rocks.”
She noticed that he carried nothing in his hands, nor did he have a pack or satchel.
“You weren’t able to get the dragon eggshells?” She let her disappointment sound in her voice even as she made sure to name the items he was selling her.
“Oh, no, I have them, but let’s go to my car where it’s less windy.” He gestured in the direction of the parking lot. “You’ll want to inspect them, and I’ll want to count the money. No offense.” His smile was apologetic.
She hadn’t expected that, and her heart jumped again.
“Well, I’m not sure about…” It would be perfectly natural for her to be concerned about going off with a stranger and a lot of money, so she let her nerves show. “You’re in the main parking lot?”
He nodded, still smiling. “There will be people within shouting distance, I assure you.”
As she walked beside him on the path to the cars, excitement twined with her uneasiness. She might be helping to find the missing dragon eggs. She slid a side glance at Ricardo. He strolled at a relaxed pace and seemed unworried.
As they got farther away and the noise subsided somewhat, she said, “I’ve only seen dragon eggs in display cases behind glass. To be able to touch one will be so cool.”
“The eggshells I’ve brought you are a particularly brilliant shade of teal,” Ricardo said. “I think you and your artist will be quite happy with them.”
They waited while a car passed and then crossed the road to enter the parking lot. She assumed some of Mikel’s people had followed them, but her nerves tightened anyway.
Ricardo led her past her own car toward a black midsize sedan parked in the far corner of the lot.
The sedan was fairly new but not flashy, so he wasn’t buying expensive cars with his ill-gotten gains.
Her stomach clenched with tension when they approached the isolated car.
For all Ricardo’s assurance that there would be people around, his parking space had clearly been chosen for its privacy.
She cast a glance around and was reassured to see one of Mikel’s people strolling through the lot as though headed to a nearby car.
The doors unlocked when Ricardo touched the door handle and swung open the door to the front passenger seat.
Pulling out a plastic food storage box, he put it on the hood of the car, flipped up the latches, and lifted off the lid.
She glanced around to see that he had positioned the car so it shielded them from sight of the rest of the vehicles in the lot. He had definitely done this before.
Her mouth felt dry, even as she reminded herself that Mikel was watching over her.
As Ricardo turned back to her, he held the box in one hand and peeled back a layer of cotton batting with the other. Five startlingly blue-green fragments nestled on another layer of cotton.
Her exclamation of delight was not feigned.
The luster of the shells gave the color a depth that she hadn’t expected.
She brushed one carefully with her fingertip and found the surface satiny but with a pleasant texture made by tiny indentations.
“These are stunning! And you guarantee that they are authentic Calevan dragon eggshells?”
“Yes, I guarantee it.” He lifted an eyebrow. “You are satisfied with my offering?”
“Very. I can’t wait to see what the artist does with them.”
Laying the cotton back over the fragments, he refastened the lid on the box and left the box on the hood. “You have the payment?”
She slipped the envelope out of her bag and handed it to him. He kept his hands low behind the car door as he counted the cash with swift efficiency.
“Muchas gracias.” He closed the car door and turned. For a moment, his genial facade disappeared, leaving his eyes hard and his mouth set in a thin, threatening line. “I would prefer you not mention who you got these from.”
Shock and a spike of fear made her stutter realistically. “I… No, of course not. I won’t say anything.”
He handed her the box, his smile back in place. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, mademoiselle .” Then he walked around to climb into the driver’s seat, and he was gone with a crunch of tires on gravel.
She stood for a few moments, breathing deeply to calm that last shock of fright, before she checked her watch.
The whole encounter with Ricardo had taken about fifteen minutes.
Now adrenaline surged in a good way. She had done it!
Mikel’s people would be tracking Ricardo from now on.
If he had the dragon, they would find it.
All that was left was to return to her apartment building and hand the eggshells over to Mikel.
“You are a natural at espionage,” Mikel said with a smile when she slid into his SUV in the lot behind her building.
“Excellent work. We got everything on audio, including Bertucci’s guarantee that these are authentic.
Of course, we will test them to confirm that.
If he’s selling counterfeits, that makes him of less interest to us. ”
A glow of gratification warmed her. Getting a compliment about her competence from someone like Mikel was huge.
Especially since she thought of him as being like her father in his more heroic moments.
She pressed her lips together in a small ironic smile.
Still looking for my father’s approval, aren’t I?
She tapped her fingernails against the plastic case that she held on her lap. “They look real, but I’m far from an expert. They’re quite beautiful.”
“I’ll take a look when we get back to my office,” he said, steering out of her building’s parking lot. “ El principe will not tolerate much of a delay in seeing that you are safe.” His tone was dry.
“I’m guessing that he didn’t like it when I went to Bertucci’s car,” Erica said with a little smile. She had almost forgotten that Raul was listening in on her conversation with the potential poacher.
“You would be correct.” His intonation was even drier.
“I wasn’t worried,” she said, not quite truthfully. “I saw your agent there.”
“Bertucci has no record of violence, or I would have stopped you,” Mikel said.
Soon, Mikel pulled into the private lot behind his building. The back door swung open, and one of Mikel’s people ushered her to the conference room, closing the door behind her.
Raul spun around. “Erica!” He covered the distance between them in two long strides and dropped his crutches to pull her into his arms. “ Mi corazón, I could not believe it when you went with Bertucci to his car. Are you crazy?!”
“Raul, you’re squashing me,” she said into his chest, but her heart thrilled at his concern for her.
“Disculpe.” He eased his grip slightly. “I was worried.”
“Thank you for being so protective, but I had you, Mikel, and several of his team there watching over me.”
“I know.” He rested his forehead against hers. “But these situations can go to shit very fast.”
Of course. He was still traumatized by Gabriel’s kidnapping. She wedged her arms between them to give herself some space. “I’m glad I could help with the search for the missing eggs in some small way.”
He shifted to give her a sweet kiss before he let his arms fall to his sides. “Gracias, carino mío.”
A knock sounded on the door. Her suspicion that Mikel had deliberately left them alone was confirmed when there was a long pause before Mikel entered after Raul said, “Come in.” That gave her time to move away from Raul and put her professional face on.
“Our expert from the Dragon Center has confirmed that the eggshells are authentic,” Mikel said. “Quinn is digging deep into Bertucci’s background, and I have twenty-four-hour surveillance on him. We’ll figure out if he’s involved in the poaching.”
“Muy bien,” Raul said. “You will let me know the moment you have further information.”
Mikel gave a half bow of agreement.
“I have a question,” Erica said. “You heard what Ricardo…Bertucci said at the end. If it’s legal to sell the shell fragments, why does he want to keep his involvement a secret?”
“It would depend on how he procures them,” Raul said.
“Taking them from the Dragon Center would be theft, of course. Destroying intact eggs to get the fragments would subject him to even worse punishment. Perhaps he worries about being suspected of that.” Raul made a wry face.
“Right now, though, no law prevents him from picking up fragments around nests in the wild. That was due to sloppiness in writing the original law protecting the dragons. I’ve already spoken with the Ministro de Conservacion about closing up that loophole.
Soon, Bertucci’s little side business will be against the law. ”
“Glad to hear that,” she said.
Raul smiled for the first time since she had returned before he asked Mikel, “Do you need us for anything further?”
Mikel’s lips curved into the hint of a smile. “I assure you that I will not need you for the rest of the day.”