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“Okay then, who does have it?” David asked Li waited for hie “Where is the ruyi no did it get there? And who’s going to be the ultimate owner?”
“The ruyi’s in Hong Kong Ask Lily Sinclair how it got there Then ask her how it can be going up for auction at Cosgrove’s toht”
David felt foolish and a little miffed, for neither Ho nor Ma had told hie
“I don’t see Lily here,” David went on evenly “Why don’t you tell me?”
Suddenly Li Guo stepped out of his guise of a vulture who’d been fortunate in his work unit “Once artifacts are out of the country, false papers of provenance are easily created,” he said “Auction houses, dealers, collectors, and museums all choose to accept these implausible clai objects Meanwhile, we’re still trying to figure out who has jurisdiction”
David had encountered this before Was it the responsibility of the State Cultural Relics Bureau, the Provincial Relics Bureaus, Customs, or people from museums to track down stolen artifacts? It always see to hiion—or the men in this cave—have the ability to find where artifacts had appeared abroad or, if located, negotiate for their return?
Hulan had deliberately left Catherine for last The young American was dressed in an outfit nearly identical to the one she’d worn yesterday Full hted her eyes and lips Her posture was perfect, to accentuate her most notable physical attributes, but Hulan was not impressed by Catherine’s beauty or inti
“I didn’t see Lily last night,” Catherine recounted “I had dinner with my father, then I went for a walk”
“Alone?”
“I’m not afraid, if that’s what you mean China’s very safe”
It would be very safe for a woman of Catherine’s race, especially in a small town such as this; however, it obviously hadn’t been safe for Lily
Hulan tried to reconcile the rather di woman who yesterday knew more ancient Chinese history than anyone else at the table She was deliberately acting du so
“Catherine—do you mind if I call you that?” When Catherine nodded and her posture loosened, Hulan confided, “People always think it’s a ation; however, the person who killed Lily needs to be caught and punished before he does it again Now please answer my questions truthfully”
So they began again at the top Catherine had eaten dinner with her father on the hydrofoil at eight o’clock After dinner, Stuart had gone to his stateroom to handle soet a couple of things from her roo back to the boat she’d spotted Lily in one of the alleyways that led off Bashan’s ether for a while until Catherine realized that they were heading out of town She’d said good night at the bridge that crossed Bashan Streaone back down to the dock
“What did you talk about?”