Because I am a leading collector, many people come to me unsolicited. I’m known for some large purchases of the highest quality items in the past and everyone wants to do business with me.”

Wow, he’s an arrogant bastard, Heinrich thought. But he’s probably right. Some of this stuff looks like it’s worth a fortune.

Lambros went on. “Since I became aware of this violent criminal gang, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the stolen artifacts registry. Unfortunately, no one has offered me any stolen items. Word has gotten around that I never buy unprovenanced artifacts. However, a dealer I had never heard of approached me last month with some wonderful Byzantine mosaic fragments. As you must have noticed from my collection, I have an interest in all eras of our history. Because I am a faithful member of the Greek Orthodox Church, I am especially fond of Byzantine religious art.” Lambros paused to sip his coffee.

“The registration papers looked real enough, but something about the dealer was a bit off,” he continued. “He seemed to have only a superficial knowledge of the subject. He also tried to interest me in some Corinthian ware. Mr. Muller, you probably don’t know, but this is a distinctive type of pottery found in Classical times in the city-state of Corinth. No other city-state made it, so it’s easy to place geographically. This set off alarm bells in my head because I had heard there had been some illegal digging at Corinth.”

“You checked the papers for those too?” Heinrich asked.

“Yes, and they were all in order. If they were forged, they are excellent forgeries.”

“Isn’t there some sort of national database for this stuff?”

“There is,” Thalia said. “But they could have someone on the inside.”

“How’s their online security?”

Thalia and the businessman looked at each other, at a loss.

“That’s what I thought. I have a hacker who can look into that. What did you do about your suspicions, Mr. Lambros?”

“I contacted Professor Christodolou, God rest his soul. He got me in contact with the detective assigned to this case here in Athens. Adonis Stavros of the organized crime unit.”

“He’s actually named Adonis?” Heinrich said with a snort.

“It’s quite a common name here,” Thalia explained.

“I bet he’s a hunchback with a wart on his nose,” Heinrich said.

Thalia got a dreamy look on her face. “Oh no. I’ve met him. He lives up to the name.”

Great.

“He will be joining us shortly,” Lambros went on. “I was advised to show interest in the artifacts but to delay any purchases while the detective made some inquiries. He had reason to suspect that the dealer who contacted me is connected with this gang. The name the dealer gave me turned out to be false.”

“Sounds like a good lead,” Heinrich conceded. “So what does dear old Adonis suggest we do?”

The businessman smiled.