Vanderman, the FBI agent, said, “Do you want to hand everything over voluntarily or should we begin to search for it?”

Caine lifted his briefcase to the table and produced a thick, nine-by-twelve-inch envelope full of photographs. He turned to Vice Chancellor Strohm, who looked sick. “Albert—”

“I’m sorry, Professor Caine. The university’s legal staff says the law is clear. The codex belongs to the country where it was found. We have no choice but to comply with the official request for immediate repatriation.”

Agent Vanderman glanced at the photographs in the envelope, but then took Caine’s briefcase too. He said, “We’ll need your laptop too.” He gestured toward the open computer near the codex.

“Why?” asked Caine. “You can’t say that belongs to the Mexican government.”

Vanderman spoke quietly. “It will be returned to you as soon as our technicians have looked through the hard drive.” He stared at Caine for a moment, his eyes taking on the flat, emotionless expression that cops use on suspects. “Just some friendly advice. If there’s anything on the drive about selling, hiding, or transporting the Mayan codex, then you’ll need to hire a good lawyer. I’m sure Vice Chancellor Strohm will tell you that the university’s attorneys can’t defend you in a criminal trial.”

Strohm didn’t meet Caine’s gaze.

Caine stood, helplessly watching them pack up the codex, his notes, his photographs, and his computer. He turned to the two Mexican officials. “Minister Montez, Señor Juárez,” he said. “Please believe me, this was never a scheme to do anything unethical. The people who found the codex risked their lives to protect it during a time of catastrophe. They alerted the mayor of the nearest village. They called me in and I immediately began consulting with scholars all over the world, including Mexico.”

Montez said, “You should know that neither I nor the Mexican government can countenance what you’ve done here. The steps you and your friends took seem to have left out the only legitimate authority, and the legal owner of the artifacts. Saying that the only way to protect the codex was taking it to the United States is presumptuous and paternalistic.” He stepped past Caine and the others, with his assistant, Señor Juárez, following.

After that, the men from the FBI and customs seemed uncomfortable. They took only a minute to finish packing up and walk off, leaving only Strohm and Caine in the room.

“I’m sorry, David,” said Strohm. “The university had no choice but to cooperate in a situation like this. Of course we’ll do everything possible to vouch for you and support you. We’ll also vouch for the probity of your conduct. But, you know, you might want to consider what Agent Vanderman said.”

“You mean find a criminal lawyer?”