“I probably am,” Daria admitted and started to get up. “But I can get it.”

“You stay put. I don’t mind.” Mia started toward the door.

“Hey, this is a side of you I’ve never seen before. I like it. I’ve never seen you wait on anyone before.”

“It’s a whole new me,” Mia told him as she left the room. “It’s living the small-town life, what can I say?”

“She was just telling me she’d left the FBI,” Daria said.

Connor nodded. “She needed to do that. She’d seen too much in too few years. It was time for her to move on, maybe find some peace in her life.”

“Do you think she will?”

“I think she has. She’s looking forward to starting a new job in the fall-maybe she’s told you about that?”

When Daria nodded, he continued. “Got herself a new guy, a great guy. I think she’s going to be okay.”

“I hope so. I like her a lot.”

“Yeah, she’s all right.”

Daria could tell by the way he said it that he thought his cousin was more than just all right.

He unwrapped the sandwich and began to eat.

“Anything new to tell me?” she asked.

Connor finished chewing, swallowed, and said, “I stopped at the library after I left the hospital and had a chat with the local chief of police.”

Daria listened intently as Connor filled her in on how the killer had gotten the people in the library to leave.

“Wasn’t there a real guard there?” Mia asked as she came back into the room with a small tray.

“Yes, but he’d gone into the basement to check on an open door and was bashed over the head,” Connor told her.

“Was he killed?” she asked.

“No, just knocked out for a while, much like Daria. Though he had a few more stitches than she does,” he replied.

“At least he’s alive. How’d the door get opened?”

“That’s one thing I can’t find an easy explanation for. There’s no way to jimmy it from outside. I have to think someone on the inside either left it open by accident-maybe went out by the back door and didn’t close it all the way-or someone deliberately opened it for the killer.”

“Which means an accomplice.”

“There has to be more than one person working this thing. I’m seeing two, maybe three.”

“Like some kind of ring.” Mia bit the cuticle on one finger. “Have you given any thought to this being an organized theft operation? You know, stealing valuable artifacts to resell them to other collectors?”

“Why would they target these specific artifacts?” Daria asked.

“Because they’re very rare-didn’t you say the things in the museum basement are the only known artifacts from Shandihar?” Mia asked. “If you’re going to steal to sell on the black market, why not steal the stuff that’s going to bring you the greatest return for your effort?”

“It feels like more than a simple theft,” Daria told her. “You have these ritualistic killings. Whoever is behind this knows the Shandiharan culture well enough to know how they punished people they felt had committed some sort of transgression. That greatly limits the pool of suspects.”

“Could be a combination of both, though,” Connor said thoughtfully. “Maybe someone with inside knowledge who’s out to make a killing-no pun intended-on the black market. But at this point, I think we need to consider all possibilities.”

Mia set the small metal tray on the table she’d earlier pulled over for Connor. “I hope you don’t mind me going through the kitchen cupboards, but I thought if I could find a little tray, I could bring everything in at the same time.”

“I don’t mind at all. I’m grateful for your help.”

“Here’s a bottle of water for you”-she handed it to Connor-“and here’s one for you, Daria, along with those painkillers you’ve been avoiding. I can tell by the expression on your face that you’re not very comfortable right now.”

“I should probably take them now.” Daria reached for the small orange container Mia held out to her.

“In other news, I had a chat with Stefano Korban a little while ago,” Connor said.

“He’s the archaeologist on the faculty here?” Daria popped the pills into her mouth and swallowed them with some water.

“Right. Daria, what do you know about Sabina Bokhari?”

“I know she’s very well regarded in the field. So much so that I was surprised to find out she was on the faculty here at Howe.”

“Why’s that?” Mia asked.

“Because she could certainly be teaching at a much more prestigious university. She could pretty much write her own ticket anywhere,” Daria explained. “I really don’t understand why she’s here, frankly.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t know about her interest in Shandihar?” Connor asked.

“She did mention that she was familiar with the legends. She told me there was a curse…”

“Did she also mention that one of her goals is to someday follow in Alistair’s footsteps?”

“I don’t understand,” Mia said. “What does that mean?”

“It means she wants to rediscover the city, according to Professor Korban. Seems she’s envisioning Shandihar’s second coming, if you will.” Connor used the napkin Mia had given him and rolled up the now empty paper in which his sandwich had been wrapped.

Daria looked dumbstruck.

“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too,” Connor told her.

“She never said anything about that to me. She was in my hospital room with me for hours, and never said a word about that. She just mentioned reading some book about the Sisters of Shandihar, which was apparently another name for the priestesses, and some vague curse associated with them and the gallas.”

“The evil spirits who roamed the earth and did bad things for Ereshkigal,” Connor added.

“Er…who?” Mia asked.

“The Shandiharan goddess of the Underworld.” Daria explained the dark goddess and her cult of followers to Mia, who rolled her eyes.

“Gallas and goddesses and evil sisterhoods, oh my,” Mia parodied. “You think any of these evil sisters or evil gallas are here at Howe University?”

“Maybe someone-or more than one-who believe they are,” Connor told her. “Just as deadly, in the long run. Someone who believes they have a sacred mission is going to be just as dangerous as someone who really does.”

“You mean, like someone who knows that some items were stolen from the storage room, and who wants to get them back?” Daria thought aloud. “But that someone would have to know that the items were missing in the first place.”

Connor nodded slowly. “All along, we’ve assumed that no one knew anything was missing until Daria did her inventory. What if someone had already figured that out?” He stopped and thought for a moment. “Well, of course, if this theory is the right one, someone had to know. The Blumes and Mrs. Sevrenson were both killed several months ago. Months before Daria arrived at Howe.”

“Then it follows that someone else would have to have known exactly what was in those crates,” Daria said.

“Which means that someone had to have read Alistair’s journals to have known exactly what he’d brought back,” Connor said. “How much do you want to bet Dr. Bokhari is well acquainted with Alistair’s journals?”

“How much do you suppose she knew about the artifacts? And did she know they were missing?” Mia asked.

“Just two of the questions I’ll be asking her.” Connor glanced at his watch. “I’m on my way over to her apartment now.”

He turned to Daria. “I’ll check in on you when I get back. Is there anything you need? Anything I can bring you?”

“No, thanks.” She shook her head. “Mia’s taking good care of me.”

“Great.” He patted her leg, then stood and turned to Mia. “I owe you one.”

“My pleasure, sport.” His cousin smiled.

“Mia, come with me and lock the front door after I leave.”

“Good idea.” To Daria, Mia said, “I’ll be right back.”

Daria watched Connor pause to pat the dog on the head before he and Mia left the room. Several seconds later, she heard the front door close, then listened as Mia’s footsteps came closer.