Tell Me No Lies Read Online Free PDF Page B

you. You kept old Jason from making a fool of himself over that half-baked bronze pot."
    "Actually," Lindsay said, smiling slightly, "that 'pot' was a kuei and it was quite thoroughly 'baked'. One of the best frauds I've ever seen."
    "But still a fraud," said Stone, watching her closely.
    "Yes."
    "How long did it take you to find out?"
    "Oh, I knew the second I looked at it," said Lindsay. "It took me several days to prove it, though. Jason didn't want to take no for his answer. He loved that kuei."
    "But you knew," said Stone. "Instantly."
    Lindsay wondered at the satisfaction in Stone's voice, but refused to evade or ignore the implicit question. "Yes."
    "How?"
    Lindsay looked at the three men who were watching her intently and wondered how she could explain the inexplicable. Besides violence and fear, one of her most vivid childhood memories was of standing in front of a Hong Kong shop window and knowing that something was wrong with one of the old bronze ti vessels on display. She had stood and stared until her mother had taken her by the hand and led her back to their quarters behind the shabby Christian church. She had been eleven years old, exposed since babyhood to the bits and pieces of the ritual grave furnishings that her father and uncle had collected around Xi'an. Though the intent of the ritual vessels was unabashedly pagan, both of the Danner men had been fascinated by the art itself. And so had Lindsay.
    "I grew up with Chinese art," said Lindsay finally.
    "So did the Chinese," Stone responded. "Can they tell fraud at a glance?"
    Another memory surfaced, that of the owner's amazement when she had marched into his shop and asked him what was wrong with the ti. Only years later did she realize that the vessel had been a clumsy fraud, the first of many that she would see. But there were other frauds, far more subtle and expert. Those, too, she came to recognize for what they were. Lies.
    "Some people are born with the ability to discriminate perfectly among musical notes," Lindsay said finally. "Others are born with the ability to create extraordinary paintings or poems that ravish the soul." She shrugged. "My ability is much more mundane. All art experts have it to some extent. They will run tests as confirmation, but they depend on their instincts and experience to form their opinions."
    Stone looked at Lindsay for a long moment, as though judging her, using his own instinct for lawlessness and fraud. "Whatever is said here will go no farther than this room. Agreed?"
    Lindsay hesitated. "So long as I don't have to actually lie about it. Frankly, I'm a terrible liar."
    "If anybody asks you questions, refer them to me."
    "All right."
    Stone looked away from Lindsay. "Thanks for your help, Steve. I'll call Terry if I need either of you.''
    O'Donnel took White's arm and headed for the hallway. "C'mon Steve. One of our agents just busted a porn ring. He's got a file full of evidence that's guaranteed to make you go blind."
    The door shut firmly behind the two men.
    "The FBI finds itself in the position of needing some immediate, reliable and very discreet advice on ancient Chinese bronzes," Stone said bluntly. "Normally our own resources are enough to cover anything that comes up from counterfeit Paul Revere silver to fake Old Masters. In this case, though – " He made an impatient gesture. "Our labs won't have access to the bronzes. If there are bronzes."
    Lindsay took an unobtrusive sip of coffee. She knew that Stone was irritated at having to reveal anything to an outsider. That simply wasn't Bureau policy. Even so, his elliptical approach to the subject told her that whatever was at stake was very important.
    "Yet," continued Stone, "with or without recourse to our labs, it is absolutely imperative that we know whether or not the bronzes are fraudulent."
    Lindsay wanted to shout What bronzes? but instead took another sip of the lethal coffee. Though she was a naturally spontaneous person, being a buyer, seller