Dead Hunt

Someone broke into my home and killed her on my living room floor last night. At least they had the good manners to drug me so I wouldn’t wake up in the middle of it. While I was in the hospital examining room in one of those ghastly insufficient gowns with my bare butt hardly covered, someone tried to kill me. I don’t know if it had to do with Clymene or the artifacts. Riddmann tried to arrest me for Clymene’s murder, but fortunately Garnett stepped in.’’
Diane took a deep breath. She had never been cross with either Laura or Vanessa before, but it felt good at the moment.
‘‘Now, I find not only was I drugged,’’ she continued, ‘‘but the FBI profiler I was with was probably drugged too. And it probably happened in the museum restaurant, because he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and had an accident on his way home from dinner here. Oh, and I can’t move back into my apartment until the crime scene cleaners remove the two quarts of blood on the floor. Yes, Laura, it’s all upsetting to me.’’
While she spoke, both Vanessa and Laura paled, their eyes wide and mouths open, speechless.
‘‘Diane,’’ said Vanessa at last, ‘‘I had no idea—the newspapers...’’
‘‘You can stay at my home,’’ they both said simultaneously.
‘‘Thank you, really. I appreciate your offers, but I’m staying with Frank. Now, Agent Jacobs is somewhere in the museum. I have to go.’’ Her head actually felt clearer. Sometimes venting was a good thing.
Vanessa laid a hand on Diane’s arm. ‘‘What does all this mean?’’ she asked. ‘‘Clymene O’Riley is dead? I can’t say that it makes me unhappy. Archer O’Riley was a good man. I liked him very much.’’
‘‘She’s dead, but we don’t have a body. Someone dragged it out of my apartment and dumped it using my car.’’ She paused again and looked over at the saber-toothed tiger. The long, sharp canine teeth reminded her of the knife found in her car.
‘‘What? Why?’’ said Vanessa.
‘‘I don’t know,’’ said Diane. ‘‘None of it makes any sense, except to cast suspicion on me for some reason. If the attack at the hospital was related to the homicide at my home, why didn’t they just kill me there? I was completely vulnerable. I’m thinking that the hospital attack was related to the artifacts because of something he said. I believe he thought I deal in stolen antiquities, but why, I don’t know. Now I really have to go. Follow me and I’ll let you out the doors into the lobby.’’
After Diane saw Laura and Vanessa off, she headed to her office. The knife, thought Diane. Why clean it, then leave it in my car with other blood? That doesn’t make any sense—nothing did—Clymene’s murder in her apartment or the stolen artifacts. She hurried to her office to see Agent Jacobs.

Chapter 28
    When Diane walked into Andie’s office, Agent Jacobs had just finished speaking with Jonas Briggs. Jonas sat down on Andie’s sofa next to Kendel. Diane looked at the two of them. They didn’t look beat up, so she supposed it went well. She smiled at them and went into her office, where Agent Jacobs was gathering his notes. He glanced up at her.
    ‘‘I appreciate your cooperation, really,’’ he said. ‘‘You don’t know how many times I get stonewalled by museums.’’
    If stonewalling would work, I might do it, thought Diane. ‘‘We need this solved,’’ she said. ‘‘Do you have any idea who the artifacts belong to?’’
    ‘‘Only the girdle is in the database, but I haven’t had a chance to check with my sources for the latest looting,’’ he said.
    ‘‘Is there any chance we can get the items we purchased? I suppose you don’t know if they were burned in the fire?’’ asked Diane.
    ‘‘Not all of the building was consumed. The contents are being inventoried. And fortunately a lot of the artifacts are stone, so something will be left. I hate to think of all those antiquities gone forever.’’ He sighed.
    Diane could see that he loved his work—saving the world’s historical treasures.
‘‘I didn’t get a chance to look at your books,’’ he said, ‘‘so I’ll be back tomorrow.’’
‘‘Let me know what you need,’’ she said. ‘‘Kingsley will be coming tomorrow also. Perhaps you’ll run into each other.’’
Jacobs made a face. ‘‘Should he be up and about?’’
‘‘Probably not, but this Clymene thing calls like a Siren,’’ said Diane.
Jacobs smiled.