Mac was sitting in his office when Russ Josephson came into the lab. He walked to Mac's office and knocked on the door. Mac waved him on in. "Hi," Russ said.

"Hi," Mac replied. "What brings you around?"

"Oh, I think you know. You've stirred up a very interesting nest."

"And what nest is that?"

"A nest of people who want to get their hands on those treasures you dug up today."

"Those treasures belong in a museum," Mac declared.

"I agree, but chances are, they won't all find their way there," Russ said.

"Why is that?"

"Do you know what all was in that room you found?"

Mac stared at him a moment. "I'm waiting for a report," he said. "What I want to know more is how you know this before I do."

"Well, when something like this is discovered, you can expect the government to get involved. There are a lot of people who want that stuff back where it belongs. Those paintings you found are worth millions and they had been stolen from several different places and countries."

"I know that, but that still doesn't explain to me how you found out what we found in there. I have not told anyone yet."

"Do I really have to go into all that?"

"Yes, you do because I want to know."

"Some of those items were stolen, the museum curator was required to inform the FBI of it. He called it in when he realized what he was looking at was actually real."

Mac leaned on his desk. "I was pretty sure they were real anyway," he said. "No one would go to all that trouble to hide fakes."

"Good point."

"So, I suppose you know more about this than I do, so are you going to share?"

"Are you going to share?"

"I don't think I know anything that you don't know yet."

"Do you know who killed Pierre Manicotti? Do you have a suspect?"

"Not yet," Mac admitted. "We don't have any clues as to who killed him or invaded his house. There were no clues left. All we have to go on is those treasures. We are still running the fingerprints we found on them."

"Do you realize how many times those things could have changed hands?" Russ asked.

"Of course, but some of that stuff was lost treasures that no one had a clue where they were. If he found those, he had a legal right to them, but those paintings…he had to have stolen them or knew who did."

"And you're not any closer to finding them?"

Mac looked at him. "No," he said.

"I'm sure they're international art thieves that are wanted all over the globe."

"I'm sure they are too because some of those paintings were not all stolen in the same country."

"I thought you didn't know anything about them."

"I've done some research and found information about them while I waited to see if they were the real thing. Since you've told me that, I know that they were stolen all around the world and those treasures he had in there were lost treasures. If he found all that, he must have been hunting them for years and didn't let anyone know he had them."

"But someone found out. Why would he want to collect all that stuff and just keep it in there like that? Why wouldn't he want to sell it?"

Mac considered that. "Maybe that was how someone found out he had it," he suggested. "Maybe he sold a piece of it."

"You could be right. That's something we will have to check into."

"We need to check all auctions and all sales that have been conducted lately."

Russ stood up. "Let's keep in communication," he said.

"Remember that yourself," Mac replied. "We have a murder to solve."

Mac watched Russ leave. He knew they would not tell him everything but he would find out himself and he just might not tell them everything either. He went to the computer lab where Adam was sitting at the computer. "Adam, I want you to research all the auctions and antiquities sales that have gone on lately, about the last two or three months," Mac said.

"I'm on it, Boss," Adam replied.

"Let me know as soon as you have that information. I want to know what was sold and who sold it."

"Okay."

Mac left the computer lab and just stood there a moment thinking. He knew someone could have known what Manicotti sold at an auction or something and knew that he could not have had that without the rest of it. He had to go and see that museum curator. He went to Jo's office. She was sitting at her desk. "Let's go to the museum," Mac said.

"I've always liked museums," Jo replied. "Give me just a few minutes."

Mac went into the lab where Danny and Lindsay were still analyzing the fingerprints. "There were a lot of fingerprints on those things," Danny said. "It's hard to distinguish some of them, but the victim's prints are on them, but neither the butler nor the maid had any prints on them. We found prints from this guy…"

Mac looked at the picture of the suspect…anyone who's prints were found on those antiquities would be a suspect. "Eddie Waddle," he said. He scowled. "Isn't he a millionaire real estate tycoon in this city?"

"He is," Danny answered. "And he also owns several magazines, and not only that, but he owns an old castle here in New York. He lives in it part time and lives overseas part time and rents out that castle for big shin digs."

Mac blew out a breath "Well, I guess we are going to have to rattle his cage to see if he wanted those treasures that Mister Manicotti had," he said.

"You know what kind of trouble you can get into when you start rattling cages of rich men."

"Well, his cage probably has iron bars but even iron has its weaknesses."

"I also found these prints on there," Lindsay said.

Mac looked at the next suspect. "Arnold Watts. He's a big-time attorney and also owns real estate here and yonder." He shook his head. "Must be nice to have money."

"I wouldn't know."

"Thanks. Anything else?"

"No. Those were the only prints that were clear enough to get anything from them," Danny said.

"Okay."

Mac walked out of the lab and Jo met him at the door. "You ready?" he asked.

"I am," Jo replied.

They headed for the elevator and Don Flack was coming from the elevator. "You got something new?" he asked.

"We're about to go to the museum," Mac said.

Don groaned. "I always hated field trips to the museum except when we were looking at the dinosaurs," he said.

"I always thought they were kind of interesting."

"I'm sure you did."

Mac looked at him as he pressed the elevator button. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, no offense, but everyone knows you're a brainiac," Don said.

Mac looked at Jo who was trying not to laugh. "Well, thanks a lot," he said and stepped into the elevator.

Jo and Don got in. "I mean, come on," Don said. "You always know all this stuff about history and all like you were there watching it happen."

"Maybe some people like to study," Mac declared.

"I never liked studying."

"I guess that's why I'm the head of the crime lab and you are a third grade detective."

Don frowned. "I guess so, but I wouldn't want your job anyway. I wouldn't want that responsibility."

"Somebody has to have it."

"You two are just terrible," Jo said. "You're good friends now stop this bickering."

"Hey, it's good to have a little bickering once in a while," Don said. "I like to argue with old Mac over there. He's an interesting opponent."

Mac scowled at that suggestion. "Opponent?" he asked. "I'm your bickering opponent?"

"Yeah. It's nice to have someone to bicker with who doesn't get mad at you. I bicker with Danny too."

Mac chuckled and shook his head. "Anything to break up the monotony, I guess," he said.

"So, what are we going to the museum for?" Don asked.

"We're going to get a list of all those treasures we found. There were two distinct fingerprints on that stuff that we have to investigate as well, and Adam is running down any auctions or sales that involved stuff like that. If our victim sold something at an auction, someone must have known that he had a big treasure to have that."

"Right," Don agreed. "So who were the fingerprints?"

Mac gave him the file so he could look. Don stared at it a moment and then looked at Mac. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. "We're going after these two?"

"No, we're not going 'after' them, we're going to ask them some questions," Mac said.

Don shook his head. "That is going to stir up a big wasp nest," he said. "These two can buy anybody they want to buy."

"Not me."

"It will be worse than that time we were after Robert Dunbrook."

"Well, you remember how that turned out, don't you?"

Don frowned. "I do."

Mac realized he had touched a nerve with Don. "I'm sorry for bringing that up," he said.

"It's a lot better now," Don replied. "Can't be changed."

Jo did not know much about that situation…as a matter of fact, she knew nothing about it but she did not want to ask. "Where are we going first?" she asked.

"The museum," Mac answered. "I want to know what all they have so we can compare it to any lists that Adam finds."

"Right."

They went out to the Avalanche and headed for the museum. Mac thought as he was driving. He could not believe how this case had evolved. At first they had thought it was about mushrooms but now, they knew it was much more than that. He could not help but wonder why the mushrooms were there in the restaurant though. He wondered if they used that to get him where they wanted him….but why kill him? They could not get the information they wanted after he was dead. None of it made sense. He supposed they could shed some light on it once they got that list of treasures the man had in that room and then compare it to anything Adam found. Mac had seen a few things in there that he knew came as a set, and if anyone saw that, they would know that it was not a one of a kind and they would be looking for the rest. He could not understand Manicotti selling something like that. Did he not know that people would want the rest? He supposed it was according to what the man sold and he hoped they would soon find out.