[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
would ring across the ages, that would illuminate the Maya past as never
before, and ensure Maya civilization its rightful place among the truly great
civilizations of the world.
And these people were going to take it, sell it for profit to someone far
from Mexico, far from the people to whom it rightly belonged.
You will be found out, you know. You can t keep something as important as
this a secret.
I think you are the last one, other than us, to know, Jonathan said. I
thought about Antonio, and hoped the proverbial wild horses wouldn t drag his
name out of me.
You ll kill me, no doubt, just as you killed Don Hernan and then, taking a
deep breath, I added and Luis Vallespino.
Regrettably, yes.
The figure behind him shifted in an angry movement. Then I knew who it was.
And Montserrat, I said. Does she steal from her own father, or is he part
of this, too?
Steal his beloved art? I hardly think so. Loves it too much. Prepared to go
down the tubes financially, but wouldn t sell a single one of them. Wouldn t
Page 196
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
ask his fancy-pants wife for money either. His shipping company was useful,
though, for getting the stuff out of the country. You might as well take off
the balaclava, love, she s figured out who you are, he said, turning slightly
to the figure behind him.
Fortunately for him, and of course for me, his daughter has no such
inhibitions. And she s good at math, too. Figured out that if she stole the
art, her father would collect on the insurance, and she and I could keep the
proceeds from the sale. Worked out well for the whole family.
Montserrat Gomez.
Under different circumstances, I would have found my own stupidity laughable.
I had assumed that because so many trails led to the Gomez Arias household, it
was he who was the guilty party. It had simply never occurred to me that what
applied to him applied equally to her. If he was in trouble financially, then
so was she. Wasn t she a director of all his enterprises, vice-president of
the investment company, manager of the hotel?
Can t she speak for herself? I asked bitterly.
I m sure she can. What else would you like to know, since it s not the
amount you know, only that you know anything at all about our plans that is
problematic under the circumstances?
Why didn t you save yourselves a lot of time and trouble and just steal a
Picasso or a Matisse?
But I knew the answer even as I asked it. A Picasso or a Matisse is easily
recognized, and possibly traced. And Jonathan and Montserrat would not have
had the unwitting help of their erstwhile accomplices, the self-named and
essentially self-deluded Children of the Talking Cross.
How did she& you, I said, addressing the retiring figure in the rear,
convince Alejandro Ortiz and Ricardo and Luis Vallespino to get involved in
this?
The figure to the rear whipped off the balaclava, dark hair tumbling across
her face.
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Stupid, sentimental children! They never even knew who was directing them.
Spent more time deciding on the name of their organization than they did
actually accomplishing anything, she said. They thought they were stealing
these art pieces for the cause, for the revolution. They saw the Zapatistas
negotiating with the government and quarreling among themselves, and decided
that it was they who were the true champions of the oppressed. But Luis wasn t
part of this.
So why did you kill him?
Ricardo was stupid enough to boast to his brother about his exploits. Luis
headed right for Castillo to tell him about it. He d heard Castillo give a
lecture at the museum about how the museum and the indigenous communities
could work together to preserve Maya heritage, thought this might be a better
way to go. Castillo wasn t there, of course, but there was no point in waiting
for Luis to come to his senses, she said very matter-of-factly.
And Don Hernan? Figured it out, too, did he?
Not him. He just figured out about the codex, and was determined to get it
before my father did. He was just a silly old man who got in the way. The fact
that he knew there was a codex just complicated things for us. He might have
figured out that too many things were disappearing from Jonathan s digs. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
would ring across the ages, that would illuminate the Maya past as never
before, and ensure Maya civilization its rightful place among the truly great
civilizations of the world.
And these people were going to take it, sell it for profit to someone far
from Mexico, far from the people to whom it rightly belonged.
You will be found out, you know. You can t keep something as important as
this a secret.
I think you are the last one, other than us, to know, Jonathan said. I
thought about Antonio, and hoped the proverbial wild horses wouldn t drag his
name out of me.
You ll kill me, no doubt, just as you killed Don Hernan and then, taking a
deep breath, I added and Luis Vallespino.
Regrettably, yes.
The figure behind him shifted in an angry movement. Then I knew who it was.
And Montserrat, I said. Does she steal from her own father, or is he part
of this, too?
Steal his beloved art? I hardly think so. Loves it too much. Prepared to go
down the tubes financially, but wouldn t sell a single one of them. Wouldn t
Page 196
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
ask his fancy-pants wife for money either. His shipping company was useful,
though, for getting the stuff out of the country. You might as well take off
the balaclava, love, she s figured out who you are, he said, turning slightly
to the figure behind him.
Fortunately for him, and of course for me, his daughter has no such
inhibitions. And she s good at math, too. Figured out that if she stole the
art, her father would collect on the insurance, and she and I could keep the
proceeds from the sale. Worked out well for the whole family.
Montserrat Gomez.
Under different circumstances, I would have found my own stupidity laughable.
I had assumed that because so many trails led to the Gomez Arias household, it
was he who was the guilty party. It had simply never occurred to me that what
applied to him applied equally to her. If he was in trouble financially, then
so was she. Wasn t she a director of all his enterprises, vice-president of
the investment company, manager of the hotel?
Can t she speak for herself? I asked bitterly.
I m sure she can. What else would you like to know, since it s not the
amount you know, only that you know anything at all about our plans that is
problematic under the circumstances?
Why didn t you save yourselves a lot of time and trouble and just steal a
Picasso or a Matisse?
But I knew the answer even as I asked it. A Picasso or a Matisse is easily
recognized, and possibly traced. And Jonathan and Montserrat would not have
had the unwitting help of their erstwhile accomplices, the self-named and
essentially self-deluded Children of the Talking Cross.
How did she& you, I said, addressing the retiring figure in the rear,
convince Alejandro Ortiz and Ricardo and Luis Vallespino to get involved in
this?
The figure to the rear whipped off the balaclava, dark hair tumbling across
her face.
Page 197
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Stupid, sentimental children! They never even knew who was directing them.
Spent more time deciding on the name of their organization than they did
actually accomplishing anything, she said. They thought they were stealing
these art pieces for the cause, for the revolution. They saw the Zapatistas
negotiating with the government and quarreling among themselves, and decided
that it was they who were the true champions of the oppressed. But Luis wasn t
part of this.
So why did you kill him?
Ricardo was stupid enough to boast to his brother about his exploits. Luis
headed right for Castillo to tell him about it. He d heard Castillo give a
lecture at the museum about how the museum and the indigenous communities
could work together to preserve Maya heritage, thought this might be a better
way to go. Castillo wasn t there, of course, but there was no point in waiting
for Luis to come to his senses, she said very matter-of-factly.
And Don Hernan? Figured it out, too, did he?
Not him. He just figured out about the codex, and was determined to get it
before my father did. He was just a silly old man who got in the way. The fact
that he knew there was a codex just complicated things for us. He might have
figured out that too many things were disappearing from Jonathan s digs. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]