Donovans 01 - Amber Beach

it.” Jake cradled the object in his hand. “It’s as though the artist didn’t want to make the mannequin too real, for fear of what it had been or might become. Stone Age people didn’t view life as we do, a straight line to death. I suspect they knew many kinds of life, many levels of death.”
    Jake replaced the statuette without performing any tests on it other than simply weighing it in his hand and running his fingernail over its surface.
    “Is it real?” Honor asked.
    “It looks right, feels right, and didn’t scratch beneath my nail. In any case, it’s too big for the containers I brought.”
    “No hot needle?” she asked.
    “Bite your tongue.” Then he looked up from the statuette and smiled slowly at her. “Never mind. I’ll do it for you later.”
    “I’m breathless.”
    The words didn’t carry quite the sting Honor wished. There was something about Jake’s smile that could disarm a tank. Unfortunately for her peace of mind, she was made of much softer stuff than armor plate.
    “Superb,” Jake said, touching the figurine delicately as it lay in the box. “Art, artifact, and gemstone in one. Literally priceless.”
    “Everything has a price,” Resnikov said. Though he said nothing more, his attitude made it obvious that he included Jake in the things that were for sale.
    Honor held her breath, expecting him to go for Resnikov’s throat. Instead, Jake smiled. It wasn’t the kind of grin that made a woman feel all warm and tingly.
    “I’m listening,” Jake said, packing up his small suitcase as he spoke.
    “If you agree to work for me, Emerging Resources will once again be welcome in all of the Russian Federation.”
    Jake’s hands stilled for an instant, but no more. It was his only reaction to being offered exactly what he had been looking for—a means of removing his company from the Russian least-wanted list.
    “When you successfully complete your task,” Resnikov continued, “you will become the sole representative to the world of all Baltic amber, whether raw or worked. If you wish, every single piece of Russian Federation amber will pass through your own hands before it is sold.”
    Honor drew in a swift breath at what Resnikov was offering to the man who loved amber more than he loved anything else. Yet when she looked at Jake, he was closing up his suitcase as though nothing important had been said.
    “Whether or not you are wholly successful in your task,” the Russian added, “you will receive one hundred amber artifacts that equal or exceed the quality of those which you have deemed genuine tonight. You will be allowed to choose them yourself from a selection of four hundred museum-quality goods.”
    Jake’s eyes widened fractionally, then narrowed. “Then you’re still working for the Russian government.”
    “Does it matter? No matter who is my employer, the quality of your payment is assured by your own pertise.”
    Silence. Then Jake asked, “What do you want me to do?”
    “Find the panel from the Amber Room that Kyle Donovan stole in order to—”
    “My brother didn’t steal anything!”
    Resnikov gave Honor a hooded glance and a smile that was no deeper than the enamel on his teeth. “Of course. Forgive me. I will modify my request.” He looked back at Jake, who was closing his suitcase. “Find the panel of the Amber Room that was hidden in the shipment that Kyle Donovan drove from Kaliningrad to Russia. The panel is intended to be a bona fide for the sale of the entire room. I believe sixty million U.S. dollars was mentioned as a beginning price in the auction.”
    Honor made a startled sound.
    “What makes you think I didn’t steal the amber panel and set Kyle up to take the blame?” Jake asked blandly.
    “You?” The Russian laughed. “You are too—how is it said?—honorable as a long day?”
    “As honest as a day is long.”
    “Yes.” Resnikov nodded quickly. “That is it precisely. Even if you were less honest, betraying a friend is not your style.”
    The Russian’s certainty irritated Honor. “Just how long have you known Jake?”
    “Many years, both as ally and, shall we say, competitor. I have intimate experience with his lack of desire to betray friends.” He looked back at Jake. “What do you say?”
    “Whose interests do you represent?” Jake asked.
    “The amber you will receive has no blood on it. Each piece was dredged from lagoons behind Samland sula.”
    “Recently?”
    “No. Many museums donated pieces