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"You’re lanced at Drake "Both of you"

She threw her arrunted in surprise, his eyes widening comically Then he relaxed into her embrace and just held her for a minute, until she exhaled and stepped away from hiet back to"

Sully pointed toward one of Jada’s aunts, who already had left her flower on the casket and was hovering, not wanting to interrupt

"Go We’re here for days still"

Jada smiled, wiped at her tears, and then went to talk to her aunt Others gathered around her, and for a while Drake and Sully were forgotten

Sully straightened his tie, uncoht for the funeral

"Thanks," he said

"What for?"

"For coed "You’d do the saave a pensive nod and turned to watch Jada talking to other ive her their condolences

"Are you worried about her?" Drake asked

"A little But she’ll be all right She’s save Drake pause He cocked his head and studied Sully a little ave hiot a phone call froht Did you know he has a cousin who’s a cardinal in Rome?"

Drake frowned "No Did you?"

"No Point is, his cousin the cardinal isn’t a cardinal anymore Sixty-seven years old and he’s quit the priesthood, left the Vatican Disillusioned, apparently But he didn’t leave empty-handed"

"Spit it out, Sully," Drake said "Massi with him when he left So as it?"

Sully smiled thinly, alist--this is about ten years ago--who found a report in the Vatican archives about this missionary, Andres Lopez--"

"I know the story," Drake interrupted "What was it, end of the sixteenth century? Lopez supposedly found Paititi in the Amazon basin in Peru, but he and the Vatican kept it a secret for four hundred years We’ve heard a million stories like that There’s no evidence, and I need a break from lost cities and ancient treasure"

Sully arched an eyebrow "You do, huh?"

Drake nodded "I do"

"What if I told you Massimo’s cousin worked in the Vatican archives before he decided he didn’t want to be a cardinal anymore? What if I told you that not only was the Italian archaeologist right, that Andres Lopez did find Paititi, but that Massimo’s cousin has the secret et there? What would you say to that?"

Drake looked over at the minister and then at the casket covered with flowers that were spilling all over the ground He glanced at the trees and the autus in the distance, New York unfolding all around theo home to the embrace of her friends, she had family to check on her, and she had made it clear that the perilous adventure she’d shared with the to h, Drake shook his head "You know you’re going to get us both killed one of these days?"

"So to find Paititi, Nate," Sully replied "I’d rather it be us"

"Well, then," Drake said, turning up his collar as the October breeze turned chilly "I guess I’d say we’re going to Peru"

For o, Jim Moore