Friedman was quick to explain—greeted Lori and the group near the entrance of the Museo Nacional de Antropología. After a brief inquiry inside, they were directed to curator, Frederico de Gala Espanoza, who genuinely welcomed them into his office, obviously curious about the five Americans who’d requested his assistance. Espanoza cautiously regarded them as he explained that the only donation made to the museum within the last week had been monetary in nature, of an undisclosed amount. That was before he laughed in a polite, almost apologetic, way when Derek asked about hiding an artifact behind the Aztec sunstone. “It is impossible to hide anything of such size you are describing behind the sunstone,” the curator said, pressing the tips of his discreetly manicured fingers together. Then, as if to dispel all doubts, he added, “See for yourselves.” Dr. Friedman obliged, but instead of cutting through galleries where terra cotta figurines, stone-encrusted funerary masks and mystical Mayan stellas might distract them, he whisked them through an outdoor patio covered by a large concrete canopy, past decorative flora adorning bronze statues and a concrete pond, and finally entered straight into the Aztec hall of the museum.
