“Because you were, when you stole them?”
“Not just that.” Frowning, he shrugged. “It’s one of those gut feelings, as you’re prone to. This is, and we can’t deny it, an area I know something about. I put myself there, Eve, in that room, at that vault, overloaded with the sensation of seeing it all. I take them, hold them in my hands.”
He held them out, palms up. “For a moment, just one moment of indulgence, I let myself feel the weight, admire the beauty, because for that one moment, that one moment only, they’re mine. That’s a thrill I can’t explain to you, it has to be felt.”
As he often did, he picked up her coffee, took a sip.
“But then I’m out and gone. Say while I’m having that moment of indulgence, I hear something. And no matter how indulgent, Eve, my ears are pricked for any sound. And it’s more.”
He set down the coffee, wandered to her board, back again.
“It’s a sense you have. You’re alone, or you’re not. When you feel you’re not, you go. If somehow that sense failed you long enough for someone to come along, you make yourself slippery and you run.
“It’s not cowardice. It’s practicality. It’s survival. Even if you lose what you’d come for, well, there’s another night, another place, another treasure to hold in your hands.”
She didn’t speak for a minute.
“How hard was it to give up?”
He brushed a hand over her hair. “I haven’t a single regret on that score.”
“That’s not what I asked. How hard was it to give it all up?”
“Brutal, that’s the pure truth, but without a single regret. You’re my treasure, Eve, and not for only a moment of indulgence. I’d rather hold you than any other.”
“Does this, consulting, working in your way on investigations, make it any easier?”
“Surprisingly, it does, yes.”
“Anything I can do to ease your pain.”
He laughed, leaned his hip on the leg of her command center. “On to Joy Barrister then.”
Before he could continue, her ’link signaled.
“It’s Inspector Abernathy.”
“Do what you must.”
“Dallas,” she said. “Doesn’t the planet revolve in your location?”
“My location at this time is New York.”
“Is that right?” And no casual shirt now, she noted. A Brit copper’s black suit and tie.
“I’m here to monitor the authentication process and aid in the methods of return. At this point, the experts in such matters have authenticated a Cézanne, a Picasso, an ivory statue of Venus, the Gardelli ruby ring, the Blue Moon sapphire necklace and earrings, a Ming dynasty vase, and a Mayan artifact.”
“That’s progress.”
“It is. It will likely take another day or two, perhaps three, to authenticate and document the rest. We’re also investigating the theft of the Royal Suite. I’ve spoken to your commander.”
“In investigating the murder of Nathan Barrister, the NYPSD will also investigate the theft.”
“Understood. We intend to coordinate and cooperate with you on that matter.”
“In that spirit, I have a couple of names you might want to look into.”
She read him in, waited.
