Part 17 (2/2)
Connor glanced at Polly, then told Daria, ”That's what we were discussing when you came in. John's asked me to hold the reins on this one, to do exactly what you just described. Liaison between the Bureau and the various police departments.”
”Is that the sort of thing you usually do?” Daria asked him.
”Not in this context, but I serve as middleman, so to speak, quite often.” He smiled faintly. ”In this case, I'll be working here, at Howe, since this is the hub.”
Daria turned to Polly. ”Will you also be handling the theft here? The original theft from the museum?”
”Yes, once we've located and secured the missing artifacts, but that aspect of the case will be much more complicated, and might never be solved. No one knows when that theft occurred. The perpetrator may well be deceased. Right now, given the fact that someone else is hunting down the collectors, and has a head start, we need to make them our priority.”
”I agree completely,” Daria said, ”and I do appreciate how hard it's going to be to-”
Polly's phone rang. She excused herself and answered, then listened intently. Finally, she said, ”I should be there by three o'clock. Secure the scene and keep out everyone except the ME until I get there.”
She closed her phone with a snap.
”I'm afraid we're a day late in Connecticut.”
”My G.o.d, not another one!” Daria gasped.
”Two, actually.” Polly Kingston's relaxed demeanor had disappeared in a heartbeat. ”The preliminary report indicates Cloris Porter was home alone when the killer or killers entered her home.” She looked at Connor. ”They killed her in the manner you previously described, then apparently waited in the home until her husband, Justin, arrived. Their son-in-law went to the house around ten-thirty last night when he was unable to contact either of them by phone. It's believed that theft was the motive, but it's unknown what was taken from the home.”
”Connor, do you have the list of collectors and the pieces they own?” Daria asked.
He opened the folder and skimmed the list until he found what he was looking for.
”One two-handled ceremonial goblet, gold, encrusted with emeralds.”
”Well, at least I'll know what to look for when I get there.” Polly made notes in a small notebook she took from her bag.
”What about the woman in Ma.s.sachusetts?” Daria asked.
”We have someone trying to contact her right now. I hope we get to her in time.” Polly was all business. ”I have a plane to catch in an hour. Tell me everything you know about this Shandihar culture, everything you know about the missing artifacts, and who you think might have a reason to be killing these people and why. I also need a description of the artifacts you think the Porters might have had.”
”I can do better than a description.” Daria went to the counter where she'd placed the box she brought back from Louise's office and opened the lid. She took out the envelope. ”These are photographs that were taken at the site. Many of the artifacts were photographed as they were discovered. With luck, we'll have pictures of the missing items. If not, we still have the drawings Alistair made.”
Her heart was pounding as she opened the envelope and carefully removed the many photos, none of which she had seen yet. The first photo was of a man standing between two stone pillars. He wore field clothes, a large straw hat, and an enormous smile. Daria lifted the photo and stared at it intently, as if taking in every detail, before placing it on the table.
”If my guess is correct, this is Alistair McGowan at the portals of Shandihar. Let's see what wonders he found, shall we?”
Daria pa.s.sed the photograph to Connor, who gave it a cursory glance before pa.s.sing it on to Polly. She studied it momentarily before placing it to one side on the table.
”And here we have a bronze statue of a woman. Maybe one of the priestesses.” Daria said. ”I think we saw this statue the other day.”
She handed the picture to Connor and went on to the next. ”Some sort of chalice. Looks to be of gold, judging from the way the light is reflecting off it on the side.” She glanced across the table at Connor. ”We've seen this one, too. Let's look for the artifacts we haven't seen.”
Daria went through the first envelope, then the second. With each stack of photographs she set aside, she became more confused. When she'd gone through all the envelopes and had pa.s.sed along each photo, she turned to Connor and said, ”No large bronze statue of Ereshkigal, no golden griffins. No gold necklace...there must be another envelope of photos somewhere.”
”You're sure?” Polly asked. ”Maybe you should take another look.”
”Daria's right,” Connor said. ”The photos of the missing artifacts are missing as well, and I don't think that's a coincidence. I don't think you're going to find another envelope that just happens to have all those pictures in it.”
”What do you think happened to them?” Daria asked.
”I think whoever is behind the thefts has the photos,” he told her.
”So there's no proof that the items even existed.” Polly thought aloud.
”Alistair wrote in his journals about every item he found, and he even sketched many of them himself. We know they existed. We know he brought them back,” Daria said.
”I think it's more likely that the person who took the photos pa.s.sed them on to whoever had been sent out after them,” Connor said, ”so that the killers would know what they were looking for.”
”That would explain how they knew to take only the Shandihar pieces.” Polly said thoughtfully. ”Doesn't it make you wonder, though, why someone would kill to recover these specific pieces, but completely overlook other very valuable artifacts? The Blume's house was reported to have had a fortune in artwork. Why didn't they touch anything else? A common thief wouldn't have left it all there.”
”These aren't common thieves,” Daria told her. ”Whoever is doing this believes he's on a holy mission to recover the artifacts that were stolen from the museum.”
”Frankly, I have a hard time with that 'holy quest' thing, Daria. If that's true-if the point is to return the artifacts-where are they? Nothing's been brought back.” Connor shook his head. ”Forgive my skepticism, but I think there's more to it than that. I'm a lot more comfortable with the common thief thing.”
”Well, unfortunately, holy crusader or common criminal, I don't think they're finished. There are still several artifacts out there,” Polly reminded them. ”I just hope we can track them down before someone else does...”
TWELVE.
D aria spent the rest of the day in an almost religious state of bliss in the museum bas.e.m.e.nt, matching photos to artifacts and envisioning where and how this piece or that might be displayed for the reopening. The photos themselves were nothing short of miraculous. To be able to see, one hundred years later, exactly what her great-grandfather had seen just as he'd first seen it was an experience Daria would never forget. Once she got past the fact that the photos of the missing artifacts were missing as well, the importance of matching the original photographs to the artifacts had Daria's heart and head pounding for hours. In her mind's eye, she saw the sepia photos enlarged greatly and serving as the backdrop for the display of the corresponding pieces. Had any such exhibit ever been possible in the past? She was unsure. She knew only that the Shandihar exhibit at Howe University would be a magnet for the public as well as for scholars for years to come.
And to think she'd scoffed when Louise mentioned the possibility of a book. Daria had no doubt that the university would benefit financially from the venture. With visions of a handsome coffee-table book dancing in her head, Daria lost all track of time.
”So how'd it go today?”
Daria was startled by the voice coming from the doorway.
”Oh, Connor. Sorry. I was tuned out for a minute.”
”More than a minute, I'd guess. Any idea what time it is?” He walked into the room, and immediately the room seemed smaller.
”None.” She stood and found her legs stiff. ”But my knees are telling me that I've been here for more than an hour or two.”
”Try six hours.”
”Really? That would make it-”
”Six-thirty.” Connor nodded. ”Are you hungry yet?”
”I guess I am.” She stood and stretched. ”I just got wrapped up in all this.” She waved her hand around the room. ”The photographs are amazing. Just to see so many of the artifacts exactly where they were first found-I felt as if I were there with him. It's almost overwhelming.”
”I thought you were going to work from the house today?”
<script>