Present Danger by Elizabeth Goddard (shoe dog free ebook .txt) 📗

it for a friend. And then it was stolen. No harm, no foul—at least in his mind.”

“And what was he planning to do with it then?” Terra shook her head.

“You know, we could just ask Gramps,” Owen said, “but if he’s in danger of having a heart attack, I agree that all this can wait. We know the main player now.”

“Briggs mentioned to me that with Neva taken out, he would have to deliver the artifact himself.” Terra sighed. All this murder. Leif had definitely been tightening the screws around Briggs’s operation.

“We learned that Neva and Jocelyn Porcella, daughter of the Bar Wars owners, had been close friends in high school,” Nathan said. “We are looking into that relationship, and the private auction house activities. Neva might have traveled back from Algiers with items or to Algiers with items. Back and forth to the auction house, or to secure items for collectors.”

“So that could be why Leif wanted to plant the murder weapon—another part of Briggs’s network he wanted to take down. But who was this crown heading to?” Terra asked. “Who had Marcus sold it to—some wealthy rancher collector here in Montana?”

“That part of the investigation is still ongoing.”

“The artifact isn’t worth the cost of so many lives,” Jack said.

“Which brings me to this,” Terra said. “I’d like to know exactly what it is worth. Can I borrow your cell?”

Nathan handed it over, and Terra used it to call Jeremy.

“You know his number?” Jack asked.

She shrugged. “Come on, I’ve called him plenty of times.”

Jeremy answered, despite the late hour.

“Hey, it’s Terra,” she said. “You texted that you had more information. What can you tell me?”

“I can tell you the FBI Art Crime Division is closing in on buyers and sellers in a big trafficking ring. They were already here today because I’d been asking questions. I happened to overhear something about an auction house operating out of a bar there in Big Rapids.”

Terra shared a look with Nathan and Jack. “Anything else?”

“Yes. I tracked the piece you showed me to one of fifteen thousand that have gone missing in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.”

“I’m looking at a golden crown and a tablet right now. I heard the word Nimrud. What would that be worth?”

Jeremy released a breath. “Nimrud was an ancient Assyrian Mesopotamia city, a thriving metropolis from 1350 BC to 610 BC. Much of the Nimrud collection was thought lost but then discovered in a vault. That’s probably the only reason it wasn’t looted and lost forever during the Iraq Museum looting in 2003. Still, some of the collection was smuggled out of the country. Something like fifteen thousand items are still missing today. If this is one of those pieces from the Nimrud collection, I would say it could be worth millions. But maybe . . . now . . . it can now be returned to Iraq.”

Millions? She steadied her voice. “Okay. I appreciate your work on this, Jeremy.” She started to end the call—

“Terra?”

“Yes.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s over. The bad guys are dead.”

“Congratulations, I think.”

“Thanks, Jeremy.”

“Don’t end the call yet. I’m not done.”

Aware that three sets of eyes were watching her, she said, “Listen, Jeremy, I really can’t talk right now.”

“Are you and that detective together?”

Seriously? She locked eyes with Jack. Warmth flooded her. “I hope so.”

SIXTY-FIVE

Jack wanted to rush down the sterile hallways to Aunt Nadine’s hospital room, but he took it slow and easy. He might need to get his wound looked at—and soon. No telling what he’d done to his arm last night while fighting with Briggs/Gray and then getting Terra up that cliff to safety.

He’d do it all again, of course. Whatever was necessary.

But right now, he gritted his teeth because fire burned through his arm. He’d give the NSAIDs some time to take effect. Now that he had answers about the murders, he could take a few days to recover.

Jack entered Aunt Nadine’s room and found her sitting up and smiling. She was her old self again. Jack had learned from his neighbor that Aunt Nadine had woken up on the sidewalk outside her house disoriented and confused. She could have gotten lost. Succumbed to the elements.

He exhaled his relief. She sat safe and secure in that hospital bed. A bump on her head, but that was all.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner.” He grabbed her hand, hoping she understood just how much she meant to him.

“Did you get him? Did you get that murderer, Jack?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I know how hard this has been on you.” Aunt Nadine sighed as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”

Jack released her hand and crossed his arms. Was this about his dad? He didn’t think he could go through this again.

“Growing up, you were so driven to prove yourself. You said you wanted to be a hero. You had to do something to prove you weren’t like your father.”

Jack covered his eyes, released a pent-up sigh, then dropped his hand. “Aunt Nadine, I—”

“Don’t interrupt me. I have to get this out. I should have told you this long ago.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“You’re just like your father.”

Jack wanted to turn his back. Not this. Not now.

“You don’t understand. He was a hero, Jack. Your father was a good guy. He . . . he took down some bad guys in a drug cartel.”

Okay. Aunt Nadine . . . His heart cracked. He didn’t think there was anything left to break.

“Before you were born,” she said. “He worked undercover for the DEA. He was a hero. The story was that, unfortunately, he had played his role so well that he’d also become addicted to drugs. He quit the job. Got into rehab. He got a desk job at the county. Met your mother and got married. Had a baby—you, Jack. But the truth is that he was never addicted to drugs. The brother of the cartel gang leader your father