A Thousand Tombs Read Online Free PDF Page B

smile. “If you need more, you’ll have to take me in.”
    “Sounds like you’ve been down this road before. But then if you’re really a private dick, you would be familiar.”
    Gen winced at the moniker; she hated that. “I’m also an attorney.” Not that active, but still. It should be enough to earn her a little more respect.
    “Oh yeah? You got a card?”
    She pulled a business card from the side pocket of her purse and handed it over. “Will that do?”
    Lee tapped his fingertips on his thigh, then shook his head and waved her away. “Yeah, you better go put a steak on that mouse. If I need to talk to you again, I know where to find you.”
    “Thanks.”
    She turned toward the kitchen to say good-bye to Vitelli. But before she’d taken five steps another knock sounded on the front door, and Officer Lee went to open it.
    An attractive couple stood on the porch.
    The man pulled some kind of ID from the inside chest pocket of his suit jacket, then pointed it in Lee’s general direction while he inspected the living room.
    “We are Carabinieri,” he said. “We have been notified there may be ancient Italian artifacts in this house that were illegally obtained.” His look was grave. He took his job seriously.
    “We are here to take them home.”

Chapter Five
     
     
    Officer Lee studied the stranger’s credentials, then stepped aside and let them pass. “I’ve heard of your outfit, Luciano,” he said. “You’re the Italian Art Squad, the antiquities cops.”
    The man smiled. “That is correct.” His accent was light and barely noticeable, but he was heavy on looks, with high cheekbones and pale skin and thick, dark, wavy hair worn semi-long. His features could have been rendered in marble, they were that classic.
    His eyes flicked to Gen, and he nodded.
    “Whatever you are, you’ve got no authority here.” Lee snapped the wallet closed and handed it back.
    His female counterpart had slipped past Lee and was roaming the room, arms crossed, casually checking out the furniture. She was a duplicate of Luciano, with porcelain skin and piles of nearly black hair that waved to her shoulders, longer than his and much sexier. But while Luciano was a statue come to life, the woman was Sophia Loren in Boy on a Dolphin , large chested and amply hipped but with a waist so small Gen herself could circle it with two hands.
    Not that she’d want to.
    The woman was in Gen’s peripheral vision when she spoke. “Italy and the United States have a bilateral agreement that guarantees Americans will not be allowed to import illegally excavated material.” Her formal words were delivered without force or accent. She either had a great voice coach, or she’d been in the country a long time.
    “This is my partner, Carla Salvatore,” Luciano said. “A merchant in the neighborhood notified us of a transgression.”
    So the pawnbroker had made good on his threat. She wondered if he’d also fingered Luca.
    Lee’s shrug gave off a dismissive vibe. “I don’t see how that ties in here.”
    Luciano slid a hand into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. “We have a document that allows us entry, and permission from your superiors.”
    Carla added the zinger. “We also have the blessing of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We are going to look around.”
    For some reason the FBI mention zeroed Gen’s thoughts in on her ex-Secret Service boyfriend, Ryan Connolly. She’d had trouble dealing with her feelings after they broke up, but she hadn’t thought about Ryan much since the first time Mack Hackett kissed her. Overriding the drama, her mind followed the thread to a visual of Mack’s lips.
    Earth to Gen. Shake it off, girl.
    Lee studied the search warrant with the same intensity he’d given Luciano’s badge. “I’m going to have to make a call and check on this before you proceed,” he said. “You two sit tight.” He strode out toward his black and white, leaving the front door open behind