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what you were doing with a loaded firearm in the middle of a
bomb threat, Mr. Tunbridge?
His eyes shot wide. This was the first he d heard of what had
been going on down at the museum. A what?
McKendree was unfazed by his outburst. You heard me.
Rather incriminating, don t you think?
I would have thought having a bomb in my hand would be
more so, he said before realizing it was likely better not to
antagonize McKendree with smart remarks. He dismissed the
question of the threat to focus on smoothing McKendree s
annoyance. The gun wasn t mine, sir. It was Mr. Sultis s. The
Hungarian gentleman that was brought in with us.
But it was in your hand.
Only after my friend disarmed him. He sighed. I m afraid
it s a long story.
Considering neither one of us is leaving this room until you
tell it, I suggest you start.
Confined in an MPS office, taken in under such suspicious
circumstances, Ian saw no other choice but to do as he was told.
Haltingly, he began with the dig in California, and the attack that
had led to the flight for his life. He described the lengths Sultis had
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taken to contain him, and how meeting Lucas had very likely saved
his life. The more of the tale he told, the more he realized how
much Lucas had actually done for him. At the time, he d been
convinced it was all due to his desire for notoriety, the way he
needed Ian to find the Blood of Sheol. Now, after everything
they d gone through, after Lucas had been so adamant about
leaving Ian alone an excellent instinct, on hindsight he knew it
stemmed from more. The traits he d thought too stalkerish when
they first met now warmed him from the inside out.
Lucas knew him far better in the short period of time they d
been together than people who d known Ian his entire life. Until
now, he hadn t realized how badly he needed that.
He left out the specifics of Sultis s intentions, hoping
McKendree would assume he didn t know, as well as the
particulars of their various illegal acts, and focused instead on the
entrapment and later flight, their attempts to get away from Sultis
in California which culminated in their arrival in New York.
London was the logical next step, he said. My colleagues
were here, my life. I only arrived this morning, in fact.
Why didn t you go to the museum straight away?
He did his best to appear sheepish, and vaguely wondered if
he d been this good at pretense prior to Lucas s arrival in his life.
I ve slept poorly since this entire debacle began. I m afraid I fell
asleep. I went to the museum as soon as I was awake and cleaned
up, though.
Why would this Arpini bloke come with you?
To verify what happened, of course. I had no idea who this
Sultis was, or if he had any connections with the museum. It could
have come down to his word against mine, and then what would
happen? I needed every advantage I could get. That part was true.
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Much easier to present.
But Arpini isn t associated with the museum.
No, he s not.
Who is he associated with, then?
No one. He s a freelance photographer.
So you let an unauthorized person into the building without
first asking your superiors?
It dawned on him, then, that Lucas had very likely used the
bomb threat as a means of getting Sultis apprehended. The
measure seemed too extreme, though when it came to Lucas, he
couldn t say it surprised him. It did mean, however, he needed to
be careful how he answered McKendree. Threats of any kind were
a very serious matter. He didn t need Lucas going to jail because
of this.
Of course not, he said. He was waiting for me at the
Starbucks across the street. I m sure if you asked anyone who was
there, they d identify him. He hoped.
Then how did he come to be inside with his foot on the back
of a man s neck, in the middle of an evacuation?
I honestly don t know. I rang him to let him know I was in my
office, and while we were on the phone, Mr. Sultis walked in.
Lucas heard him, and then, Mr. Sultis forced me to disconnect and
took away my phone.
McKendree seemed less than pleased with this answer,
harrumphing with a scowl. He sucked loudly at something in his
teeth for several seconds, then unfolded his hands and sat back in
his seat.
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