Last Breath

“You sold her entire collection?” Daria asked.

“Except for several Egyptian items she had previously placed on permanent loan to the museum at Pe

“How would anyone have known what she had?”

“The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article last year about something she’d loaned to the art museum. When they interviewed her, they asked about her collection, and she told them. I said at the time that it wasn’t a smart thing to do, but…” She raised both hands, palms up.

“Would you happen to have a receipt from the dealer you sold to, Ms. DiPietro?”

“Yes, Agent Shields. Would you like to see it?”

“Please.”

When Lily DiPietro left the room, Co

“The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up when she said her aunt had been murdered,” Daria whispered. “Co

“Here.” Lily handed a sheaf of papers to Co

Daria studied it page by page. When she reached the end, she looked up at Co

“That’s what I told the police,” Lily said, “but they didn’t know what to make of it, either.”

“Ms. DiPietro, are you absolutely certain that the griffins were stolen? Are you positive she hadn’t disposed of them some other way? Could she have sold them and not mentioned it to you? Could she have sold to a different dealer?”

“No, Agent Shields, there would have been paper on a sale.” Lily shook her head emphatically. “There was nothing in her desk about a sale of the griffins.”

“The pieces she loaned to Pe

“Yes.”

“And you’re sure she didn’t loan anything to any other museums or galleries?” He continued to question her.

“I’m absolutely positive. My aunt was meticulous in her record keeping. Even at seventy-nine, she kept all her books in order.”

“In that case, maybe she left a record of where the griffins came from?” Daria asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid not. My uncle began the collection many years ago. Many of the pieces were purchased by him. He was apparently a very astute collector, but unfortunately, he didn’t keep records very well.”

Lily dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “This whole thing has been so terrible. She was an old woman. Defenseless. They didn’t have to kill her, torture her the way they did. They should have just taken whatever it was they came for and left her alone.”

“May I ask exactly what happened to her?” Co

“It’s in the police report, so I’m sure you can get a copy, but they never did make it public, it was just too grisly.” Lily was openly crying. “The bastards cut off her hands.” She sat on the nearest chair, as if her legs had given out. “And then they cut out her tongue, and left her to bleed to death.”

9

D aria’s hand flew to her mouth.

“Oh my God!” she gasped. White-faced, she turned to Co

He reached for her arm and grasped it firmly, as if he thought she needed to be held up.

“Ms. DiPietro, I’m so sorry to have upset you,” he said gently. “We had no idea…”

The dead woman’s niece said tearfully, “It was such a horrible way to die, and she was such a sweet woman. Why would anyone do such a thing? Where would someone even get the idea to do something like that?”

Co

Lily turned to Daria. “I can see I’ve shocked you. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so blunt. I just should have said she was killed during a break-in and left it at that.”

“No, no,” a still-pale Daria insisted. “I’m glad you told us. It’s important that we know.”

“Why?”

“Because I can enter the killer’s MO into our computer and see if there have been similar murders,” Co

“I think the Philadelphia police already tried that,” Lily told him.

“Sometimes our computer people can dig things up that someone else might miss,” he said smoothly.

“If you find anything new, you’ll let me know?”

“Absolutely,” he promised.

“Then if there are no other questions, I really need to get going. I have theater tickets tonight and I’m supposed to meet a friend for di

“We’re sorry to have detained you, and sorrier still for your loss.” Co

“Agent Shields, I’ve been upset since the day she died,” Lily assured him as she walked them to the door. “She was my only relative, and I hers.”

“At the risk of sounding insensitive, may I assume you were the beneficiary of her estate?”

“Except for her bequest to Pe

Before he left, he handed her his card. “If you think of anything at all, or if you have any questions, give me a call.”

“I’ll do that, Agent Shields. Thanks.” Lily did her best to smile as she closed the door behind them.

“You okay?” Co

“Co

“Yes. I got it.” His jaw tightened and he slowed his step until they arrived at his car. Once inside, with the engine ru

Daria nodded. “I don’t know of any culture other than Shandihar that punished in that specific ma

“Anyone who read the Inquirer article her niece mentioned.”

“Crap. I forgot about that.”

“First things first.” He took the phone from his pocket and hit redial.

“Will, it’s Co

He placed the phone on the console and checked the rearview mirror for traffic. He pulled out of the parking spot expertly, and headed for the center of the city.

“You agree, though, right? This is all co

She thought that over for a moment, then said, “No, it wasn’t a statement. It was a punishment.”

“A punishment for owning something that was stolen from Shandihar?”