As much as I hated Mario Guidry for his actions against us, I didn't want to see anyone else die from this. It was time for me to share a little more information.

"There are two aspects to the treasure," I said. "From everything we've uncovered so far, we believe part of it is gold." Mario nodded in agreement. That much of it he must have uncovered or deduced. "We assume it was gold stolen from some of the managers here who were smuggling gold out of the country. The second part of the treasure we are guessing at, based on some other clues we found. We're not going to tell you what it is, except to say that we think the killers are Russians. The items—if we are right—are important enough for these Russians to kill for. And again, if our assumptions are right, they know they're here. But, like Emil said, if they knew these items were here, why didn't they come sooner?"

"That just confirms my visit to you," said Mario. "In light of the danger we are all in, I suggest we join forces. If there is that much gold—and I would think there is by the use of the word 'treasure', there should be plenty for all."

"It doesn't belong to us," said Sabrina. "It belongs to the Brazilian government or the people of Fordlandia."

"Squatters, all of them. They have no more right to the treasure than we do."

Technically, he probably wasn't wrong. Morally, it was a different story. I didn't need to ask Sabrina for her opinion.

"We wish you well on your search—not too well, of course—but there is no way we can join forces with you," I said. "Frankly, I don't trust you. I believe you when you say you are not killers, but I don't like your tactics and I don't like you. No, we'll do it on our own."

"So be it," said Mario, standing. His goons were on their feet in a second, ready to go into action if called upon. But Mario wasn't ready to fight. He motioned his men outside.

"You're making a mistake," he said quietly. Then he turned and walked out.

"Are we making a mistake?" I asked, suddenly second-guessing myself.

"Absolutely not," answered Sabrina.

"As I said, I'm not part of all this," said Emil, "from my perspective, you made the right choice."

I felt better.

Emil continued. "I don't think sharing a B&B with those clowns would be smart. If you don't mind sleeping on the couch and the floor, you're welcome to stay here."

Sabrina said to him with relief in her eyes, "Thank you."

"I just hope we haven't put you in danger," I said.

"My choice," he replied, putting the topic to rest.

*****

The night was uneventful. Uncomfortable, but uneventful. We left word with Paulo and Luis that we'd be staying at least one night. From our trip down, they were also aware of the danger, so they moored the boat away from the dock, making it harder for someone to sneak up on them.