Infinite Loop - Chapter 18

You Need a Friend

After she had removed her dangling gold earrings, Amber leaned back in the chair. Tired and confused by her afternoon, she recognized the dangerous waters she was in. At a minimum, the landlord would throw her out of the apartment if he knew Warren had stayed overnight. Worse, should the police discover him there; they would haul her away as well. While she knew he was innocent of murder, hiding him made herself an accessory. The discovery would destroy any chance of solving her father’s predicament. The dilemma left her with no choice; she convinced herself. She had to get Warren to reveal more about his deal with Krupin. That meant she needed him to trust her.

During the afternoon, Amber dropped off Warren’s wet clothes at the dry cleaners near China town. To her surprise, the broken porcelain finger fell out on the counter. After the Asian man behind the counter had returned the item to her, the woman left the small shop and stopped to inspect the item closer. An idea came to her when she tried to think of someone who might know where the piece of pottery came from. After arriving at Gilchrist’s Department Store by taxi, she went straight to the phone booths in the back. Amber remembered one passenger, Max Minchin, was an art professor. While a somewhat dull man, he was friendly to her. After she had discovered his number in the enormous book, the lady called him about her discovery. The little professor immediately expressed an interest, convincing Amber to meet about an hour later.

The woman completed her shopping and then grabbed a late lunch before crossing the street to the Boston Common. When she reached the area near the Parkman Bandstand, Amber saw the small, balding man waiting for her near one of the massive stone pillars. After she fumbled around with her packages, the woman finally pulled the object from her purse. She saw him brighten when he took the broken white piece. After several minutes of examining the item, the man turned his attention to her.

“Oh, yes, hmm. That is indeed interesting. It appears to be from work by Ponzano,” he told her confidently.

“Who?” she asked.

His face looked as if he sucked a lemon when he heard her question. The short man mumbled something under his breath before he patiently explained the Spanish sculptor’s background from the century before.

“I must say, I’ve only heard of two pieces of porcelain made by him, a pair of figurines about this size.” He spread out his hands to show the sculptures would be about three feet long.

“Anything like such an object would be a national treasure, worth a tremendous amount to collectors. But you would have to have it appraised to ensure the item is not some forgery. May I ask where you got this?”

Somehow, Amber forgot the question might come up, and she tried to throw out a reasonable lie. “I got this from a friend who didn’t know what it was,” she told him.

 “I see,” he said with a patient smile. “If I may be so bold, your friend did not drown. He is probably keeping a low profile right now. I understand they never found him on the ship.”

The woman’s barely contained reaction confirmed the professor’s assessment of her friend.

“No need to fear, my dear,” he assured her. “The police may look for your friend, but I have no plans to provide them with his whereabouts. Please, let’s walk for a bit while I explain.”