...were occupied on my floor, four on the second. An asterisk marked one room. I glanced at the legend below. The asterisk was folliowed in neat printing by "Not Attending Austrion."
Rick had listened well. I had no interest in the Wallaces from Canton, Ohio, in room 9. But I had a great deal of interest in the other guests, the Harrisons in room 2, Cara Kendall in room 4, Bud Morgan in room 8, Joshua handler in room 12, and Kenny King in room 14, all invited guests to the annual Tesoros auction.
If Borroel had given me a chance, I would have laid it out for him. The grand exhibition of ancient gold at the Museum of Anthriopology in Mexico City was a stellar event in the world of antiquities, running throughout the summer. The robbery could have occurred at any time during the period. I was sure Ed Schmidt had been in the district several times since summer began. So why did the theft occur when it did? Because the quicker the theif disposed of the gold, the shorter the period he would have it in his possession and the less danger of exposure he faced. Therefore, the sale of the gold had already been arranged. That was the only smart way to set it up. Who has the money or the lust for possession to buy that kind of treasure? Very, very rich collectors. Where did a handful of such collectors turn up every year? At the annual auction at Tesorors. Yes, I felt certain that the entire transaction had been planned long in advance, the date selected for the theft, the gold brought to Tesoros and hidden in the wardrobe to await the arrival of its purchaser.
All would have gone according to plan if it weren't for a young woman's curiosity. For want of a nail ...
But I conifdent that once the murder re- ...
"...were occupied on my floor ... the money for the lust for possession..."
Unless you have been in a coma, planted in front of a gaming console or circling the moon for the last few months, you will undoubtedly have heard about the 'occupy' movements that have taken, and are taking, place across the Western world. Some have been peaceul, some have escalated (or degenerated) into riots, whilst others have been forcibly dispered. The movement doesn't have a clear objective, an articulated mission statement or a unified message, but has been born of citizen frustration (note: citizen, not youth). In the United States, these occupies have legitimate concerns about the state of their state: their health care system is in thrall to insurance companies whose function of providing medical care is secondary to its motives for profit maximisation, politicians are becoming ever more dependent on corporate funding for their election campaigns, the minimum wage is not a living one and, as in the United Kingdom, social mobility is increasingly becoming the exception.
A popular picture went around pointing out the iphones, ipods, cameras, and brand name clothing of some of the protestors in an attempt to highlight their ingrained hypocrisy and the inconsistencies of the entire movement; mass consumers of corporate products that are protesting against corporations and all that. This would be a clever point if these protests have/had a socialist agenda and if corporate ruination is/was the overarching goal of all occupiers. With the exception of a few far left wingers (the presence of which can't be helped at these sorts of events), nobody wants the government to assume control of all means of production, nor do they strive for the abolishment of corporations. What they ultimately want is to live in a society where their system of government is not disproportionately influenced by and representative of corporate interests, where the access of a reasonable quality of health care will not leave them destitute, and an option of a fulfilling publicly funded education. The benefits to a corporation should not outweight the benefits of the community or of the individual - a moderate position independent of the far left.
"The grand exhibition of gold at the Museum..."
Speaking of protests, one of the prouder moments in this year's Arab Spring occured when Egyptian civilians formed a human ring around the museum of Egypt to protect it from looters. Unfortunately, some vandals had already broken in and destroyed some priceless artefacts and mummies.
To put the importance of this event into context, you must understand that this is not a building that only contains a couple of chipped vases and rusted arrow heads. This is one of the world's greatest repositories of ancient and cultural artefacts (Tutankhamun's gold mask but one of the many items), there are not many other places in the world that can even rival this museum's inventory, let alone importance. As one of the world's influential empires of yester-milenia, this building houses not only Egypt's history, but humankind's. To quote Jonathan Jones' blog on the Guardian website, "Rationalise the destruction of history and you will be amazed at what you rationalise next." "All would have gone according to plan if it weren't for a young woman's curiosity."
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