“Of course. After a day like today, we needed a little homecomfort,” she said, trying to take her mind off Rafa’s satisfied moans.
They took turns reaching into the can, nibbling in relative silence minus the calls from the birds and the hoots from the monkeys. It was almost better that they couldn’t see too far into the forest surrounding them. Miri didn’t want to know whether there were jaguars or panthers watching them. If this was going to be their demise, she’d rather not see it coming.
From where they sat, Miri couldn’t see Logan and Felix inside the cabin, but it sounded like they were laughing and telling jokes. Hopefully they weren’ttootraumatized by what had happened. It had taken a while for all of them to settle down, but thankfully everyone seemed to be doing okay. This wasn’t what any of them had signed up for, and Miri certainly hadn’t made matters any better by taking unnecessary risks.
They’d called ahead to the rest of the group at the base camp, giving Anissa a warning about Hunter and Kevin. Something told Miri it wouldn’t be the last they saw of them, but at least they’d have greater numbers once they made it to Florestacasa. What they were going to do with the boat once they got there, however, was beyond her. Surely Vautour and his cronies would come looking for it. Looking forthem. For now, they were safe. But Miri had no idea for how long.
“Do you know who this Vautour guy is that Hunter mentioned?” Rafa asked, breaking into the silence.
Miri’s shoulders dropped, stopping her snacking mid-chew.
She was starting to wonder if Dr. Quinn’s ramblings to Anissa weren’t quite as rambly as they’d thought. It didn’t seem possible that Dr. Quinn, a world-renowned archaeologist, would fraternize with the likes of a criminal like Pierre Vautour,but if what he’d said about losing his house was true, perhaps Dr. Quinn was in some financial trouble and Vautour was his ticket out of that mess. It wouldn’t be the first time Vautour had taken advantage of someone with money problems. Ford had apparently witnessed that firsthand.
But they were in it now. If Vautour was involved, the stakes had just gotten a lot higher.
And since they were in it together, she decided to tell Rafa what little she knew.
Mostly. She couldn’t spillallthe beans simply because she got twitterpated in Rafa’s presence.
“He’s a notorious artifact thief,” she said. “Corrie and Ford encountered him in Mexico last year when he posed as the landowner of the site where they were searching for Aztec artifacts. And when Ford got suspicious and refused to keep up the dig, Vautour extorted him by threatening to release photos of him and…” Miri paused for a moment, her cheeks heating up at talking to Rafa about what Corrie and Ford were doing in those photos. “Photos of them being intimate.”
“Nude photos,” Rafa said, as if he’d already heard the story.
“Yep.”
“That was him?”
She nodded. “He was the brains behind the whole scheme. He has a penchant for getting others to find what it is he wants, and then he takes it from them.”
“Hence his name, I take it?”
“Huh?” Miri cocked her head.
“Vautour? It means ‘vulture’ in French. It can’t possibly be his real name. I mean, you’ve got to hand it to him. He’s bold if he’s going around convincing people to work for him with a name like that.”
Hmm. Maybe I should have paid more attention during French class.
“Well, I think he might be searching for the Moon City, too,” Miri continued. “And that maybe Dr. Quinn was working for him.”
Rafa cocked his head and gave Miri a quizzical look. “What makes you think that?” he asked.
“Just some things he said to Anissa at the hospital.”
“Such as…?” His brow rose as he waited for her to answer.
“He mentioned needing to call his boss or he’d lose his house. I’m thinking he made some sort of deal with Vautour. He’s got a knack for finding people in dire straits.”
“Did he say anything about working with anyone else?” Rafa almost seemed nervous, which was understandable. Miri was nervous, too. Who knew how many other people Vautour had working for him and where they might pop up next?
She shook her head. “Anissa didn’t say. Though maybe he was working with Hunter and Kevin? The timing of their arrival was too coincidental otherwise. They clearly knew we were out there.” Given Dr. Quinn’s present state, however, how they knew was a mystery.
“This doesn’t make any sense. What are the odds that not one, but two expeditions are out here searching for the Cidade da Lua at the exact same time? It’s been lost for centuries. So why now? And what makes this Vautour guy so sure he’s going to find it?”
“He’s using lidar.”
The words escaped her mouth without warning. Shoot. Miri hadn’t meant to say that.
Rafa’s forehead wrinkled and he cocked his head. “What doyou mean he’s using lidar?” he asked, turning his body toward hers.
