Shields.â
Louise left the room.
âThanks again for coming, Connor,â Daria said. âI didnât know what else to do.â
âWell, you know, this isnât really something Iâd normally handle. The FBI has a dedicated team of experts in this fieldâart theft, cultural theft, that sort of thing.â
âThatâs what Agent Mancini told me, but I was so uncertain what to do. I thought youâ¦well, you said to call you, anytime.â
âAnd Iâm glad you did. I really am. Iâm just saying that if there has been a major theft, itâs in your best interests to have the best in the field working on the case. Our people specialize in this type of thing.â
âAnd what do you specialize in, Connor?â she asked.
He appeared to welcome Louiseâs return to the room, as if Dariaâs question was one he hadnât really wanted to answer.
âHere you go, Agent Shields.â Louise handed over a thick stack of paper in a brown folder. âThe inventory Daria made and we both doubled-checked.â
âThank you.â He glanced at it briefly before tucking it under his arm. To Daria, he said, âReady when you are.â
âThen letâs get started.â Daria gathered her bag and headed for the door. âI have my phone, if you need me, Louise. And you know where to find us.â
âLetâs take the shortcut,â Daria said when theyâd stepped outside into the oppressive heat of the afternoon. Overhead the sky was hazy, the sun a blur behind the clouds, the air heavy with humidity. âAt least there will be some shade.â
âIâm all for shade,â he agreed. âBut Iâd think youâd be used to the heat, feel right at home, all the time you spend in the desert.â
âDesert heat is one thing, this humidity is something else.â She pulled dark glasses from her bag and slipped them on.
âRight, dry heat, and all that. Though frankly, when it gets to be a hundred or more degrees, itâs just plain hot.â
âTrue.â
She rounded the side of the building and he followed her.
âWeâll stop at McGowan House and pick up a few bottles of water,â she said. âWeâll need them.â
âMcGowan House, eh?â He smiled. âYouâve been here less than a week, and already theyâve named a building after you?â
Daria laughed. âThe university uses the house my great-grandparents lived in as a guesthouse. Louise very kindly offered to let me stay there while Iâm at Howe.â She took a key from the pocket of her shorts. âItâs the white building straight ahead.â
They followed a crumbling brick path to the back of the house.
âThis will just take me a second. Come on in.â
âIâll wait.â
She jogged up the back steps and unlocked the door. âWant anything besides water? I might have some pretzels.â
âJust the water, thanks.â He stood with his hands on his hips overlooking the gardens behind the house, where hydrangeas top-heavy with blooms fought a wild tangle of roses for space.
True to her word, Daria was back in a flash, the water bottles held against her body. She handed two to Connor.
âGreat. Theyâre cold. Thanks,â he said.
âSo,â he said after taking a long drink from one of the bottles and replacing the cap. âTell me about Shandihar. I have to admit Iâd never heard of it. All I know is what youâve told me, that it was a city in southern Turkey and was found by Alistair McGowan in 1908.â
âWhat exactly would you like to know?â She began to walk.
âWho were its people? What was its culture?â He followed along the path.
âAt first, it was little more than a crossroads on the Silk Road, populated by merchants from all over the region. Greeks, Turks, Mesopotamians, nomads. Shandihar was quite the
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