“How would you even know that?” Natalie asked. “How would anyone know that?”

He grinned. “I read books and I know stuff.”

“But—Never mind, smart aleck,” she said. “You’re just showing off.”

He hooked his thumb into his jeans pocket and nodded toward the vase. “I took a picture of the porcelain mark on the bottom and looked it up. It’s a Qianlong mark.”

“Not bad,” said Tess. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment with a gleam of admiration. “So the factors we consider are the market for a certain piece, its condition, and its provenance. And of course, its rarity. This one—super rare. The market for Asian ceramic antiquities is always vibrant. A piece with that mark is very hot right now.”

“I wouldn’t even know to look for a mark,” Natalie admitted.

“A similar piece sold at auction in Paris for more than nineteen million dollars.”

Peach gave a low whistle that expressed everything Natalie felt.

“Oh, come on. No.” She caught her breath. “Wow. Seriously?”

Tess nodded. “Antiquities can be serious business. This vase is in perfect condition—no cracks or chips, and it’s well fired. That’s the good news.”

“Meaning there’s bad news?” asked Natalie, her heart sinking.

“There’s … other news,” Tess said. “The value of a piece is affected by its provenance. If it’s stolen or a forgery or otherwise compromised, its value will reflect that.” She handed a document to Natalie. “I made you a printout of my research, and you can read it, but your eyes will probably glaze over.”

“Can you sum it up for us?” asked Natalie. “Was it stolen?”

“Not quite. It belonged to the Tang family—a prosperous merchant clan affiliated with a guild in Hankou, which is called Wuhan City these days. The eldest son, Wen Tang, was born in Shanghai in the 1800s, and he was one of a handful of young boys sent to study in America. The vase and other treasures were sent with him as gifts. He was hugely successful in business, and when it was time to return to China, he elected to stay. To do that, he had to bribe immigration agents.”

“So how did the vase end up in our building?” Natalie asked.

“Some of the immigration agents blackmailed the guy and took nearly everything from him. He managed to hide a few of his belongings away, and this is one of them. He died of bubonic plague before he could retrieve it.”

“The plague? In San Francisco?”

“There was an outbreak in Chinatown in 1900,” Grandy said. “Charlie’s grandmother was taken by it, and he says this is why his father grew up to be a physician.”