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“Arizona. I was hoping I might get posted there, but nope.”
First-office postings were almost never in the agent’s own backyard, and there were good reasons for that.
She made a face. “Anyway, I’ve been informed Routt doesn’t require our assistance.”
“Okay, well, you’ve got plenty to keep you busy working the theft angle—assuming Cheyenne PD still wants help?”
Another expression of disgust from Dreyfus. “Oh sure, Cheyenne wants our help. They’re only too happy to hand an art theft off to us.”
Jason grinned sympathetically. “Makes sense,” he said. “We’ve got the resources. They don’t.”
“I guess. But if the two crimes are connected, I don’t see how we can investigate the one and not the other.”
He ignored that. “I did some calling around this morning.” He brought Dreyfus up to speed on what he’d learned from his contact at Sotheby’s.
“You believe the collection is going to be broken up and auctioned off?”
“Unfortunately, unless the thieves have already arranged for the private sale of the entire collection to a specific customer, that’s the most likely scenario. They can’t put the
collection as a whole on the open market because it’s bound to be recognized. Things like an original copy of a rare poster or that mind-reading machine? There aren’t that many of them floating around, so collectors keep an eye on who’s holding what.”
“Is it possible a private collector could have hired the thieves?”
Jason smiled approvingly. Now she was getting into it, showing a little ingenuity.
“It’s possible, but I think unlikely because of the type of collection it is. Khan owned a lot of unique and valuable pieces, but as a whole they aren’t thematically cohesive.”
“How are they not thematically cohesive? They’re all things to do with magic.”
“True, and I’m not arguing that the collection as a whole isn’t extremely valuable. But it’s not like Khan was collecting all Houdini’s show and personal effects. Or the show and personal effects of any one magician. If that were the case, the idea of a fanatical collector would be more plausible. Obsession is focus.”
“Obsession is focus,” she repeated obediently and made a note on a legal pad.
“But here we have a number of items of unknown provenance, which is always tricky, not least for insurance purposes.”
“One person we can rule out is Michael Khan,” Dreyfus said.
“No. Unfortunately. We can’t. Especially if the prevailing theory is correct and the crimes are unconnected.”
“But surely he had to be killed by the same person who stole his collection?”
“Forty-eight hours later? Why?”
“Well…” Dreyfus looked confused. “Because it’s too much of a coincidence. Isn’t it?”
“Coincidences happen. Even if Khan was killed by the same person behind the theft, it doesn’t mean that person wasn’t Khan’s confederate.”
“But if they were confederates, why kill him? How does that make sense?”
“What’s the saying about when thieves fall out?” He shrugged. But yes, the question remained, why had Khan been killed? Why then? Why there? Why— But he had pretty much promised Sam to stick to investigating the art theft as a separate crime, and that’s what he intended to do.
“Why would anyone else kill him?” Dreyfus persisted. “And why stage the murder scene so elaborately?”
“The crime scene could have been deliberately staged to raise those very questions. As to why turn on Khan? There could be any number of reasons. It’s way too soon to draw conclusions. I know it’s difficult, but you can’t be distracted by any of that. You have to follow the art.”
She sighed. “Okay. Where do I start, then? Mrs. Khan?”
Jason pointed at her. “Exactly. You start from the inside and work your way out.”
