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didn’t.” Derek’s reply was equal y as direct. “I just happened to walk by and see you.” His gaze flickered from Rich’s face to inside the room where Matthew was fidgeting.
    “What’s this about?”
    “Long story.” Concisely, Rich fil ed Derek in on the two copies of Dead or Alive and the sketchy provenance his team had pieced together on each. “Given your relationship with Burbank’s daughter, I planned to run al this by you after I heard what Burbank had to say. If any additional facts or perspective exist that you can provide, I want them. As of now, I have no reason to suspect the man of anything, other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
    “But the wrong place happened to be in Hong Kong,” Derek muttered, frowning as he contemplated what Rich had told him. “And the wrong time happened to be when a murder was committed there, in a region where murders are rare. That’s one too many coincidences to me, in light of what happened last night.”
    “Last night?”
    Derek told Rich about the burglary, and about the tidbit C-6 had picked up on Xiao Long’s wiretap.
    “Interesting.” Rich ingested that thoughtful y. “Burbank never mentioned the break-in. I’l bring up the subject, and ask him about that omission as soon as I go back in there. He’s probably just shel -shocked. And, other than the nationality of the criminals, there’s nothing linking the two incidents, and nothing tying Burbank and his investment group to the murder.”
    “His group sold the murder victim one of the Rothbergs.”
    “Yes, but the paper trail tel s us they sold Cai Wen the original, not the fake. That eliminates motive. And Cai Wen wasn’t exactly squeaky clean. We’re stil investigating him and his clientele, but it looks like it runs the gamut—from trustworthy to questionable. Any of the questionables could have been involved. There’s also a gap in the provenance. No sales records for the painting from when Cai Wen was kil ed in 1995 until the painting resurfaced five years later in the private gal ery of a Dutch col ector.”
    “Did you question the col ector?”
    “He died of natural causes a few years ago, and his heirs recently submitted Dead or Alive to Sotheby’s for auction. The painting showed up in their current catalog at the same time the forgery showed up in the Christie’s catalog. That’s where we came in.”
    “So whoever kil ed Cai Wen stole the painting and sold it to an anonymous source.”
    “Where it could have changed hands any number of times before finding its way to the Netherlands.”
    “Talk about complicated.” Derek whistled, and rubbed the back of his neck.
    “Welcome to my world.” Rich gave a tight-lipped smile. “For what it’s worth, I’ve spent the last hour interviewing Burbank, and I’d be real y surprised if he’s involved with organized crime. If this Xiao Long is targeting him, it’s probably because he saw or heard something he shouldn’t have. But I tel you what. I’l find a way to drop in your Dai Lo’s name, just to see if Burbank reacts. If there’s a connection, I’l spot it. And I’l stop by your desk afterward to fil you in.”
    “That works.”
    Rich had just turned to go back into the interviewing room when another agent from the Major Theft Squad strode over. “Rich. Sorry to interrupt, but you’ve got an urgent phone cal from Interpol. The Museo de Arte Moderno in Bilbao was just hit. The story is already breaking on Fox News and CNN.”
    “On my way.” Rich was already in motion. “Do me a favor,” he directed his coworker. “I’m interviewing someone—Matthew Burbank—in there.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the interviewing room. “Would you just tel him something urgent came up, and ask him to please wait. Tel him I’l be in as soon as I can.” A quick glance at Derek.
    “Somehow I doubt you want to do it.”
    “You got that right.”

    Rosalyn Burbank sank back in one of the pebbled