“Ah,” he said. He stared at me, his eyes dulled with age yet full of wisdom. “It has occurred to you that since the jade does not reappear, it is all ending up in the hands of a collector?”
“That is one idea,” I said. “I thought you might know other large collectors well enough to tell me if one of them might be that greedy.”
“It might even be myself,” he suggested.
“True,” I admitted. “I have thought of that.”
“I am very wealthy and also very old. I cannot take the money with me when I go to join my ancestors, so why should I have things stolen when I can buy them?”
“I imagine that would also apply to the other collectors,” I said. “Perhaps the desired pieces of jade were not for sale.”
“That is possible,” he said, nodding his head. “Nothing in my own collection is for sale. I’m sur
