Last Breath

19

“W here did they take him?” She stood in the dim light, anger radiating off her like heat.

“I’m assuming to the police station in Howeville,” replied the man who sat on the chair near the fireplace. He was taller than her by almost a foot, and outweighed her by seventy pounds. He was terrified of her.

“If he talks…”

The man shook his head. “He will not talk. We have discussed this possibility many times. I’d bet my life on it.”

“You already have.” She turned away and paced in a circle.

“I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. I’ve retrieved every one of the sacred artifacts you sent me after.”

“All but one,” she reminded him. “There’s still that woman in Massachusetts. You let her get away.”

“The FBI got there before we did.”

“You should have moved faster. You gave them too much time.”

Or you could have figured out sooner that you could locate some of the collectors by using the Internet, instead of stealing Daria McGowan’s list. But of course, he dared not say that. The priestess was neither a tolerant nor a forgiving woman.

“I’ll take care of her,” he said.

“What’s the point? The FBI has the necklace.”

“But shouldn’t she still be punished?” He was puzzled by her sudden lack of interest in the woman. Hadn’t she still sinned by having a sacred object in her possession? “And what of Dr. McGowan? Shouldn’t she be punished for what her great-grandfather did?”

“Let me think.” She barely heard him, and dismissed him with the wave of her hand as she continued to pace.

She needed a plan. She needed to focus.

But most of all, she needed to insure that there was no way any of this could ever be traced back to her.