She laughed softly and stared out at the river to collect her thoughts. “I was born in Siena. My father, a doctor, was an amateur archaeologist who was fascinated with the Etruscans.”

“Understandable. The Etruscans were a mysterious people.”

“Unfortunately, their art was in great demand. As a girl, I saw a site that had been plundered by tombaroli, tomb robbers. There was an arm of pure marble lying in the ground. Later, I went to the University of Milan, then to the London School of Economics, and drifted into journalism. My interest in antiquities was revived by research I did for a magazine article on the role of museums and dealers in art theft. The image of that marble arm stuck with me. I joined UNESCO and became an investigator. Stealing a country’s history is one of the worst things someone could do. I wanted to take looting face on.”

“That’s a pretty tall order.”

“As I quickly found out. The trade in illegal antiquities ranks third in international monetary terms behind drug smuggling and weapons sales. The UN has tried to discourage the trade through treaties and resolutions, but the challenges are formidable. It would be impossible to stop the sale of every cylinder seal or tablet.”

“You’ve evidently had great success.”

“I work with a number of international agencies such as Interpol and governments trying to track down certain high-profile items, mainly through dealers, auction houses, and museums.”

“Is that what brought you to Iraq?”

She nodded. “Weeks before the invasion, we heard rumors that crooked dealers were in touch with the unscrupulous international art dealers and diplomats. They were taking orders for specific artifacts. The thieves were in place, ready to move in as soon as the Republican Guard moved out of the museum.”

“Where did the Navigator figure in all this?”

“I didn’t even know it existed. It was not on the list of artifacts that I tried to recover through an unsavory dealer named Ali. He was murdered, which is no loss to the world, but he knew where the objects were. I left the country after hearing a warning that I was going to be kidnapped as a hostage. Not long after that I was contacted by the Baltazar Foundation.”

“That’s the organization that is sponsoring your tour?”

“Mr. Baltazar is a wealthy man who was appalled at the Iraq looting. I met him for the first time at the reception last night. His foundation provided the funds to keep after the artifacts that had eluded me in Baghdad. Not long ago, an Egyptian source said the Iraqi objects were on sale in Cairo. I flew to Egypt and bought the cache. The Navigator was part of the deal.”

“What do you know about the statue?”