“Good. What do you want to know?”
“There are four Cedonia Scrolls total. Were all four scrolls stolen from the same man?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve uncovered three so far. I want to know how.”
“The scrolls were stolen together, but then sold off piece by piece. Each scroll was worth more separately than all four together. I recovered the first three before they even touched their buyer’s hands.”
“Impressive.”
“I like to think so.”
“How did you do it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t reveal my sources, surely you understand that. Besides, this isn’t about the first three scrolls, this is about the fourth, stolen from Mystic Maven’s Art Shop.”
“Why has the fourth been so hard to track down?”
“It was the most valuable of the group. It’s changed hands several times since it was stolen.”
“How did you recover the first three so easily?”
“By a little quid pro quo.”
“Seems to be the theme in your career.”
“Didn’t get here by the color of my hair, no matter what you think.”
“I don’t doubt that, Miss Morgan. I can spot a snake when I see one. And I respect it. Now, tell me, all four scrolls are connected to the same underground buyer, aren’t they?”
She stared back at me, blankly. That answer was yes.
I continued. “Being able to recover three pieces of stolen art so quickly suggests you had inside knowledge of this buyer. You’re working with someone to recover the scrolls. Who?”
Her head tilted to the side as she took a moment to respond.Bingo.Briana Morgan was working with someone.
“Who?” I repeated.
“Someone with a lot to lose,” she said, finally.
“Like going back to prison?”
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Your informant is the Black Bandit, isn’t it?”
No response.
I continued. “The Black Bandit is stealing the scrollsfor you,isn’t he? Because, as you said, he’s got a lot to lose, and it’s tied to those scrolls.”
A slow blink. This definitely wasn’t her first rodeo with law enforcement.
“Give me the name, Morgan.”
“I wish I could.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
