Dance Of Death

'It's a long story. I was locked in an insane asylum.'

'What?'

'I'll tell you about it later. I've been worried about you, too. Pendergast thinks there's a maniac killer wandering around, knocking off all his friends.'

'I know. He warned me. But it was right before the opening- there was nothing I could-'

'This man's not supposed to be here,' a museum guard interrupted, stepping between them. 'This is for museum employees only-'

Smithback swung around to respond, but they were interrupted by the shriek of feedback on an improvised P.A. system. A moment later, Commissioner Rocker stepped up to the mike and asked for silence-and, miraculously, got it.

'I'm with the Times,' said Smithback, scrounging some paper out of his pocket and fumbling for a pen.

'Here, use mine,' Nora said, her arm still around his waist.

The crowd was silent as the police commissioner began to speak.

'Last night,' Rocker began, 'the Astor Hall of Diamonds was burglarized. At this point, the scene-of-crime teams are still on the site, along with some of the best forensic experts in the world. Everything that can be done is being done. It's too early for leads or suspects, but I promise you, as new developments arise, we will keep the press informed. I'm sorry I can't give you more, but it's still very early in the investigation. I will say this: it was an extremely professional job, obviously planned long in advance, by technologically sophisticated thieves who appear to have been intimately familiar with the museum's security system, and who used the distraction of last night's opening gala to their advantage. It will take a while to analyze and understand how they penetrated the museum's security. That's about all I have to say for the present. Dr. Collopy?'

The museum's director stepped forward, standing straight, trying to put the best face on things-and failing. When he spoke, a tremor underlay his words.

'I want to reiterate what Commissioner Rocker just said: all that can possibly be done is being done. The truth is, most of the diamonds stolen are unique and would be instantly recognizable to any gem dealer in the world. They cannot be fenced in their present form.'

A murmur of unease went up at the implication they might be recut.

'My fellow New Yorkers, I know what a great loss this is to the museum and to the city. Unfortunately, we just don't know enough yet to be able to say who might have done it, or why, or what their intentions are.'

'What about Lucifer's Heart?' someone shouted from among the press.

Collopy seemed to stagger. 'We're doing all we can, I promise you.'

'Was Lucifer's Heart stolen?' another shouted.

'I'd like to turn the floor over to the museum's public affairs director, Carla Rocco-'

A barrage of shouted questions followed and a woman stepped forward, holding up her hands. 'I'll take the questions when there's silence,' she said.

The clamor subsided and she pointed. 'Ms. Lilienthal of ABC, your question?'

'What about Lucifer's Heart? Is it gone?'

'Yes, it was among the diamonds taken.'

A turbulent murmur followed this unsurprising revelation. Rocco held up her hands again. 'Please!'

'The museum claimed their security was the best in the world!' a reporter shouted. 'How did the thieves get through?'

'We're analyzing it as we speak. Security is multilayered and redundant. The hall was under constant video surveillance. The thieves left behind a mass of technical equipment.'

'What kind of technical equipment?'

'It'll take days, maybe weeks, to analyze.'

More shouted questions. Rocco pointed to another reporter. 'Roger?'

'How much is the collection insured for?'

'One hundred million dollars.'

A murmur of awe.

'What's it actually worth?' the reporter named Roger persisted.

'The museum never put a value on it. Next question to Mr. Werth from NBC.'

'What's Lucifer's Heart worth?'

'Again, you can't put a value on it. But let me please emphasize that we expect to recover the gems, one way or another.'

Collopy stepped forward abruptly. 'The museum's collection consists mostly of 'fancy' diamonds-that is, colored ones-and most are unusual enough to be recognizable from color and grade alone. That's especially true of a diamond like Lucifer's Heart. There's no other diamond in the world with its deep cinnamon color.'

Nora watched as Smithback stepped over the velvet cord and into the group of press, waving his hand.

Rocco pointed to him, squinted. 'Smithback, from the Times?'

'Isn't Lucifer's Heart considered the finest diamond in the world?'

'The finest fancy diamond, yes. At least that's what I've been told.'

'So how are you going to explain this to the people of New York? How are you going to explain the loss of this unique gemstone?' His voice was suddenly shaking with emotion. It seemed to Nora that all the anger Smithback felt at Margo's death, and at his enforced separation from her, was being channeled into his question. 'How could the museum have allowed this to happen!'

'No one allowed this to happen,' said Rocco defensively. 'The security in the Astor Hall is the most sophisticated in the world.'

'Apparently, not sophisticated enough.'

More chaos and shouting erupted. Rocco waved her hands. 'Please! Let me speak!'

The roar died to an uneasy rumble.

'The museum deeply regrets the loss of Lucifer's Heart. We understand its importance to the city and, indeed, to the country. We're doing all we can to recover it. Please be patient and give the police time to do their work. Ms. Carlson of the Post?'

'This is for Dr. Collopy. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you were holding that diamond in trust for the people of New York, to whom it really belongs. How do you, personally, as the head of the museum, intend to bear responsibility for this?'

The rumble was rising again. But it suddenly died away as Collopy held up his hands. 'The fact is,' he said, 'any security system devised by man can be defeated by man.'

'That's a rather fatalistic view,' Carlson continued. 'In other words, you're admitting the museum can't ever guarantee the security of its collections.'

'We certainly do guarantee the security of our collections,' Collopy thundered.

'Next question!' Rocco called. But the reporters had latched onto something and weren't going to let go.

'Can you explain what you mean by 'guarantee'? The greatest diamond in the world has just been stolen and you tell us its security was guaranteed?'

'I can explain.' Collopy's face swelled with anger.

'There's a bit of cognitive dissonance floating around here!' Smithback shouted.

'I make that statement because Lucifer's Heart was not among the diamonds stolen!' Collopy cried.

There was an astonished silence. Rocco turned and looked at Collopy in amazement, as did Rocker himself.

'Excuse me, sir,' Rocco began.

'Silence! I'm the only person in the museum privy to this information, but under the circumstances I don't see any point in keeping the information back any longer. The stone on display was a replica, a real diamond artificially colored by radiation treatments. The true Lucifer's Heart has always been safely locked in a vault at the museum's insurance company. The gem was too valuable to put on display-our insurance company wouldn't allow it.'

He raised his head, a glitter of triumph in his eyes. 'The thieves, whoever they are, stole a fake.'