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“Thanks,” I said “Does the Russian ia?”

“The Russian mafia makes connections wherever and however it suits their purpose,” he said, putting the letter down “If they found a way to h a former Soviet nation, they’d do it

He paused, frowning at the letter, as if in disapproval “Have you ever heard of a place called Svaneti?”

“No Never”

“I ask because the letter is so oddly written As I said, neither Russian nor Georgian As if the author wasn’t sure how to express hier, as if to begin a lesson “Svaneti is an unusual place for several reasons For one thing, it’s located way up in the Caucasus Mountains Very few people live there, let alone go there Plus, Svan is a dialect of Georgian It’s an oral language only and nearly dead”

“You know a lot about the Russian culture,” I observed “Did you learn all this as a criist?”

“I know this as one who focused on Russian studies before attending law school,” he answered “I’ve had a life-long fascination for ical roots and my forebears’ culture”

I hummed assent and nodded “So, what else ?”

Kirov gave lare “It’s Svaneti,” he said, e, walled in like a fortress The Svans were known as fierce warriors for centuries, dating back to the sixth century AD In the early eleventh century, Svaneti becaia, Svaneti becae is so high up in

the mountains and the paths there so difficult to traverse, the Georgians in the lowlands moved precious icons, jewels, and manuscripts to Svaneti to keep them out of enemy hands”

I perked up “Any possibility the Russiansuch items into this country?”

He smiled like a pleased tutor “More than a possibility I wouldn’t doubt it for a moment”

Chapter Twelve

Professor Kirov turned out to be a gold er and happy to share I settled in for a lecture

“You see,” Kirov continued “Senerally called—is a the top ten most profitable crimes And the United States is one of the top markets for illicit cultural property of all kinds You’re probably aware that the Washington area has quite a few museums”