Polly Kingston was older than Daria had first thought. Maybe early fifties, but she’d kept herself together very well.

Sweet Thing greeted Daria enthusiastically, and she leaned over to give the dog a pat on the head.

“Connor was just bringing me up to date on the case. I have to admit, this is more complex than what I’ve handled in the past.”

“How so?” Daria took the chair between Polly and Connor.

“Well, our art-theft cases don’t generally have this element of murder running through them. Yes, of course, there are cases where people dealing in stolen art or antiquities have been killed, but I’ve never seen a case like this. We were just discussing the best way to handle it. I think my first priority will be to recover the artifacts that are still in the hands of private collectors. Hopefully before someone else is killed.”

“The people in Connecticut and Marion, Massachusetts,” Daria noted. “And then you’ll contact the museums and galleries?”

“Yes, though I’ll have another agent working on the institutions,” Polly told her. “As luck would have it, we are really shorthanded right now. There was a big theft at a gallery in California over the weekend, and some Picassos were stolen in Michigan on Friday, and there’s an ongoing investigation of some Internet sales that’s just heating up. So we’re stretched pretty thin right now. I was just thanking Connor for doing some of the legwork for me. I appreciate having the list of stolen items and their probable locations handed to me.” She smiled at Connor. “You’ve saved me a great deal of time.”

“Actually, Daria was the one who knew to use the Internet to locate the collectors. We found the collectors, but unfortunately, someone else found them before we did.”

“Shouldn’t someone be warning the others?” Daria asked.

“That’s already being done,” Polly assured her. “John Mancini has contacted agents in each of the locations to make contact with the individuals ASAP.”

“And then you’ll go in and see about getting the university’s property back?”

“We’ll do our best,” Polly assured Daria, “but Howe could very well end up in litigation if any of the institutions don’t want to cough up important pieces. Especially since Howe is planning on placing a very bright spotlight on Shandihar over the next few years. The museums that have artifacts to put on display are going to want to keep them for a while.”

“Actually, Agent Kingston, right now I’m more concerned about the people who possess the artifacts. Having them returned is secondary at this point.”

“The plan is to arrange for them to be protected,” Connor told her.

“So whose job is it to figure out who is stealing the artifacts, and who is killing the collectors?” Daria looked from Connor to Polly and back again.

“The homicide investigations are being handled by the police departments where the murders took place,” he told her.

Daria frowned. “I’m sure they’re all very competent, but let’s face it, the Blumes and Elena Sevrenson were murdered months ago. Connor, do either of the investigating departments have any leads?”

“None that I know of.”

“Who is coordinating the investigations? If there are two departments involved, who’s on first here?” Daria stared at Connor. “And if there’s another death, that brings in another police department. Why isn’t the FBI taking over the case?”

“I’ll be coordinating the theft portion of the case,” Polly told her, “and I’ll have agents working with me in each city.”

“But shouldn’t someone be looking over the entire thing? The thefts and the murders? Shouldn’t the left hand know what the right hand is doing here?”

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 God, 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 Massachusetts?” 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 passed the photograph to Connor, who gave it a cursory glance before passing 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.”