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bsp; "Because he was an eyewitness."
Everyone stared openly at Perlmutter. Finally, Pitt asked the obvious question in their minds. "He saw the Princess Dou Wan go down?"
"Better yet, Ian 'Hong Kong' Gallagher was the only survivor. He was the ship's chief engineer, so if anyone can provide details of the sinking, he can. Gallagher never went back to China but remained in the States, eventually becoming a citizen and shipping out again on an American line before retiring."
"Is he still living?"
"My very same question to Yaeger," answered Perlmutter with a smile wide with teeth. "He and his wife retired to a lakefront town called Manitowoc on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan. I have Gallagher's address and phone number right here. If he can't point the way to the wreck, nobody can."
Pitt came over and shook Perlmutter's hand and said warmly, "You do good work, St. Julien. My congratulations on an extraordinary piece of research."
"I'll drink to that," said a happy Perlmutter, ignoring the tea and pouring another glass of the forty-year-old port.
"Now, Peter," Pitt said, focusing his eyes on Harper. "My question to you is what if Qin Shang should return to the United States?"
"Unless he goes completely insane, he would never come back."
"But if he does?"
"He'd be arrested the minute he stepped off the plane and placed in a federal prison until his trial on at least forty different charges, including mass murder."
Pitt turned back to Perlmutter. "St. Julien, you once mentioned a respected Chinese researcher you've worked with in the past who was interested in the Princess Dou Wan."
"Zhu Kwan. China's most renowned historian and the author of several classic books on the different dynasties. I'll have you know I followed your instructions and did not contact him for fear he might alert Qin Shang."
"Well, now you can feed him everything you've got except Ian Gallagher. And if Gallagher puts us in the ballpark, you can give that to Zhu Kwan too."
"None of this makes sense," said Julia, puzzled. "Why give away the art treasures by leading Qin Shang to them?"
"You and Peter, the ENS, FBI and the entire Justice Department want Qin Shang. And Qin Shang wants what is on board the wreck of the Princess Dou Wan."
"I catch your drift," said Harper. "There is method to your madness. What you're saying is that Qin Shang is obsessed and will move heaven and earth to lay his hands on the missing art treasures, even risking arrest and exposure by sneaking back into the United States."
"Why should he risk everything when he could just as well direct a salvage expedition from his headquarters in Hong Kong?" questioned Gunn.
"I'd bet the bank the wreck haunts his dreams and he wouldn't trust his mother to run the operation. I checked the shipping registry. Qin Shang Maritime owns a salvage vessel. The minute he sniffs the Princess Dou Wan's location, he'll send the ship and board it from Canada when it comes down the St. Lawrence River into the Great Lakes."
"Aren't you afraid of him finding it first?" asked Julia.
"Not to fear. We won't show our hand until we've salvaged the treasure first."
"Finding it is only the first step. Salvaging the treasure will take a year, maybe more."
Sandecker looked doubtful. "You may be placing too much confidence in Gallagher to lead you to the wreck. He might have jumped ship before it vanished."
"The admiral has a point," said Gunn. "If Gallagher knew the position of the sinking, he'd have tried to salvage it himself."
"But he hasn't," Pitt said firmly, "simply because the artifacts have never surfaced. St. Julien can tell you, no one can cover up a treasure find. Whatever his reason, Gallagher has kept the location to himself or St. Julien would have found a record of his attempt."
Sandecker looked mildly through the smoke of his cigar at Pitt. "How soon can you leave for Manitowoc?"
"I have your permission to go?"
The admiral winked at Harper. "I think the INS will let NUMA carry the ball until Qin Shang puts in an appearance."
"You'll get no argument out of me, Admiral," said Harper cheerfully. He smiled at Julia. "You're due for a long rest, Julia, but I suspect you'll be happy to act as liaison between our two agencies during the search and salvage."