Dead Hunt

‘‘It must. Maybe the two of you can fill me in over lunch. You’ve gotten my curiosity up.’’
Diane wanted to ask him what he thought about the investigation here so far, but she knew he wouldn’t tell her. She walked him to the door and gave him directions to a good bed-and-breakfast.
She returned to her office to debrief Jonas and Kendel. She pulled up a chair across from them and leaned forward, resting her forearms on her thighs.
‘‘I’m so sorry,’’ said Jonas. ‘‘I’m supposed to be curator of archaeology and I’ve completely fallen down on the job. I just don’t know how this happened.’’
‘‘It’s not your fault,’’ said Diane. She reached over and squeezed his arm. ‘‘Come on, I get enough illogic from my board. Don’t you start.’’
‘‘It just doesn’t make sense,’’ said Kendel. ‘‘I told Agent Jacobs that.’’ She sat with her shoes off, hugging her legs.
‘‘We’ll sort it out,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I promise. There’s some sense to it. We just haven’t found the key yet. Why don’t you go home and relax. Come in late tomorrow if you like.’’
‘‘He’s going to be back tomorrow,’’ said Kendel. ‘‘He said he might have more questions. I don’t want it to seem like I’m avoiding him.’’
‘‘Okay,’’ said Diane. ‘‘If you need to relax tomorrow, you can use my office couch.’’
It occurred to Diane that if she had told Jacobs about the attack on her at the hospital and what the guy said, it might have taken some of the suspicion off Kendel. She hadn’t thought about that angle. She’d have to tell him tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow her mind would be clearer.
‘‘We’ll sort everything out. I have David on it and he’s very good,’’ she told the two of them.
Kendel smiled. ‘‘He did ask more questions than the FBI agent,’’ she said.
‘‘Is this going to hurt the museum?’’ said Jonas, still looking glum.
‘‘I’ll tell you what I told the board. We are going to run across problems like this sooner or later. We have to acquire objects in a field filled with looters and smugglers, and sometimes it’s tough. Right now it’s tough, but we’ll be okay.’’
Diane turned to Kendel. ‘‘Vanessa said when this is sorted out, she’ll do everything she can to restore your reputation. You’re the one who has taken the biggest hit on this. We’ll do everything we can to fix it.’’
Kendel nodded. ‘‘You know, it’s usually people who are afraid of me , not the other way around. I’m not used to this. I don’t know what happened.’’
‘‘You were blindsided. You’ll get your mojo back,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Now, you two go home. You too, Andie.’’
‘‘I told them you would make everything right,’’ Andie said.
Diane hoped that was true. It was useful for them to believe that she could, if only for a good night’s sleep.
‘‘How can we help?’’ said Jonas.
‘‘Right now, cooperate with Jacobs. He’s definitely going to be looking for a culprit, but I don’t think he’s looking to pin it on just anyone,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Remember too, no one has claimed these artifacts as theirs. Only one piece showed up in the FBI National Stolen Art File—the girdle—and that was stolen fifty years ago. So far there’s actually no crime. The artifacts had just arrived when the newspaper article came out. We can prove what objects we intended to purchase. I showed Jacobs our exhibit and told him how the artifacts we thought we were buying were to fit into our display. The artifacts that Golden Antiquities sent don’t fit in. We are the victims here because we didn’t receive what we ordered and paid for.’’
‘‘When you put it like that, it doesn’t seem so bad,’’ said Jonas. ‘‘But I have to tell you, I hate being the department that has the first scandal.’’
‘‘It’s because of what archaeology has to display,’’ said Andie. ‘‘Nobody’s going to show up and accuse Mike of stealing rocks.’’
Diane laughed. It felt good. Jonas and Kendel joined in with a weak chuckle.
‘‘Golden Antiquities burned. David told me,’’ said Kendel. ‘‘Randal Cunningham was killed. How is that going to affect us?’’
‘‘Not much, I would think,’’ said Diane. ‘‘It looks like Cunningham Jr. was neck deep in something bad. The FBI were already watching him. Jacobs said the father was clean, but when the son took over, things started to get