‘‘I was wondering if you would do me another favor,’’ she said.
‘‘If I can,’’ he said.
‘‘Find out who was on the short list to be the new director of the Bickford,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Sure, I can do that. I know a few people on their board. I’ll call you right back,’’ he said.
‘‘Thanks,’’ said Diane.
She called the director’s office at the Pearle Museum. The secretary answered. ‘‘Hello, Dr. Fallon. Our interim director is out right now. I guess you heard Dr. McCaffrey’s good news,’’ she said.
‘‘Yes, I was just reading about it in
‘‘That’s so nice of you. I’m sure she will appreciate it,’’ she said.
‘‘Do you know what kind of perfume she wears?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘Sure do, Jean Patou’s Joy. She loves it. Very expensive,’’ she said.
‘‘Thanks,’’ said Diane.
‘‘We here at the Pearle are just so sorry about those Egyptian artifacts burning up in the fire at Golden Antiquities,’’ the secretary said. ‘‘A lot of people here didn’t want to sell them in the first place, and to think they have been destroyed.’’
‘‘My head conservator is going to try and restore some of them, but you know how that is,’’ said Diane.
‘‘I do,’’ she said.
‘‘Thanks again,’’ said Diane, and she hung up.
Her private line rang and she picked it up. It was Agent Jacobs.
‘‘You’ll find this interesting,’’ he said. ‘‘Kendel Williams and Brenda McCaffrey were the only two contenders for the Bickford directorship,’’ he said. ‘‘Neither was notified. They were about to send out requests for interviews when the shit hit the fan at RiverTrail. That took Kendel out of the running.’’
‘‘You’ll find this interesting. Brenda McCaffrey’s favorite perfume is Jean Patou’s Joy,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Is it, now? The whiff Kendel smelled at Golden Antiquities. Well, I may not go down in defeat on this after all. Thank you,’’ Jacobs said.
‘‘I know that’s not exactly proof,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Now that I know where to look, I’ll get the evidence. The Bickford would be a nice place to be if one were dealing in looted artifacts,’’ he said. ‘‘Thanks, Diane. Feel free to do me a favor again sometime.’’
‘‘My pleasure,’’ she said.
Diane hung up the phone and went to see Kendel.
About the Author
Beverly Connor is the author of the Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation series and the Lindsay Chamberlain archaeology mystery series. She holds undergraduate and graduate
anthropology, sociology,
began her writing career,
degrees in archaeology,
and geology. Before she Beverly worked as an archaeologist in the southeastern United States, specializing in bone identification and analysis of stone tool debitage. Originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, she weaves her professional experiences from archaeology and her knowledge of the South into interlinked stories of the past and present. Beverly’s books have been translated into German, Dutch, and Czech, and are available in standard and large print in the UK.
