28

Matt had approached Dr. Moorison who was standing at the beginning of the Ming artifacts table, talking to the auction representative and said, "Dr. Moorison...I thought I recognized you. My name's Matt Houston, I was hired by Walter Aleman..." as soon as he said that name her demeanor changed and she looked down. A second ago, she had been smiling.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean bring up something so tragic at an event so important to you and your department, but I am investigating their deaths. I was hoping to talk to you last week, but I got tied up sort of speak." He said.

She nodded, "You were shot I believe was what I heard. Fred told me at the memorial service we had for Michelle, Gaby and Mikey." They started walking.

She asked, "Do you know how valuable all these artifacts are Mr. Houston?"

Matt answered, "Not really. My wife knows much more about Chinese art and artifacts than I do. She had a friend who was a Far East expert that worked for the County Museum of Art. Her name was Connie Ling."

She nodded her head, "I knew her. She would bring a few things down to the campus and ask me to look at them. Tragic what happened to her and then her friend. I heard she was shot trying to prove her innocence."

Matt's mind took him back for a split second to seeing C.J. lying on the ground bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds, her blood in pools on the sidewalk. He noticed it right after pulling her down and then trying to shield her body with his own. After the shots ended he noticed she wasn't moving and panic set in right away as he said her name and rolled her over. Now Matt blinked and said, "That friend is now my wife and I don't think I will ever forget that day as long as I live."

Moorison decided to focus on Connie and not C.J. so she explained, "She came in fairly often until the day she died. See, I study East Asian history and have focused most of my research on the Ming Dynasty and the Chinese advantage in science and technology. You see, up until the Qing Dynasty, the last of the great Chinese dynasties, China had the advantage over Europe. Its quite amazing to think about really. The Admiral Zheng He engaged in maritime explorations almost a hundred years before Columbus and there are rumors and some scant evidence that the Chinese made it all the way to California. That's something to think about, if the Chinese beat Europe to the Americas."

Matt nodded and then asked, "So back to these valuable artifacts. I am assuming whoever is selling these is going to make a fortune, huh?"

She took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'm sure whoever it is will. No one else has these."

He prodded, "Where did they get them? Don't they have to prove they attained them legitimately?"

She stopped, "No, they don't and the auction house does not have to report the holder."

He asked, "You seem to know a lot about how this process works."

She answered, "I should, I've been verifying artifacts for them for years. Now, if you will excuse me, Mr. Houston, most of my department is here and I need to make contact with each one of them. These deaths have hit us all hard and I, as the chair, need to be there for my fellow professors."

She started to walk away and Matt looked for his uncle. He found him talking to Dr. Whitehead.

"Dr. Whitehead I presume," Roy said as he extended his hand. Alexander didn't recognize him, but figured he was probably a professor in another field he simply didn't know.

"Yes...I'm sorry, I don't recognize you, are you a fellow faculty member?" he asked.

Roy answered, "Well, until my 'encouraged retirement' I taught criminal justice. I just love how universities use us almost until death and then push us aside for the younger, and more popular faculty. We were teaching the large classes and living the past while they were still in diapers."

Alexander nodded and then added, "Don't I know it. The kicker is that we get paid essentially the same as when we were brought on board while these new hires get twice that." He shook his head, "Its wrong, no respect for elders anymore. Not by the university and certainly not by the students."

They kept walking and Roy added, "Too bad one of us fossils can't make a find like this one. Talk about sweet justice."

Alexander chuckled, "Yeah, right. But no respectable historian would sell a find like this one. It would be expected that the objects would be turned over to an archive or museum. Not sold like some common garage sell find." He looked at Roy and then said, "Of course, I would probably keep just one. I mean think about, to own something used by an emperor once...Anyway, I need to get back to the department and make sure the almighty chair sees me here. Take care." He said as he left. Roy looked around but didn't see Matt.

Outside, actually right by the back entrance in the alleyway, Matt had Rex Balmouth pinned to the wall by his throat. "Now, I am only going to explain this once. If I ever hear of you laying one hand in anger against a woman, I will be on you so fast, you won't know what hit you. And if I ever, EVER, see you within 10 feet of my wife...the one that stopped you from hitting your girlfriend in that coffee shop...there won't be anything left for her to press charges against."

He was trying to respond to Matt but really couldn't get anything out. Matt didn't need to hear any excuses, when he had approached him in the auction he was verbally abusing his girlfriend calling her names and saying she was stupid.

Matt just continued, "And if you think Mommy is going to get me off your back...think again. I'm not some jealous boyfriend you can buy off or college administrator your family's money can intimidate. I have more money and influence in this town than you or your mother will ever have and I can make your life miserable."

He released Rex who then rubbed his neck and said, "You're crazy, about as crazy as that wife of yours." He started running though because as soon as he mentioned C.J., the look on Matt's face told him to run.

Matt didn't chase him down but went back inside and found Roy and Hoyt. Hoyt was in his own penguin suit and gave him the same, 'I hate black tie' look. So as he approached he said, "You look nice."

Hoyt answered, "Don't push it, P.I. I didn't get a lot of information from the auction house official so I have Det. Warren waking up Judge Harmago right now to get a warrant to find out who listed all this stuff."

At that moment an employee walked up to the three and asked, "I'm sorry, Mr. Matt Houston?"

Matt nodded and asked, "Yes?"

The man told him, "Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have a phone call on the house phone. Its your wife."