The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein — J. Michael Orenduff

Maybe it was the chance for an easy $2500. Or maybe it was the chance to examine a treasure trove of Anasazi pots...or maybe it was just a slow day at his Old Town Albuquerque shop that prompted Hubie Schuze to be blindfolded and chauffeured to meet a reclusive collector looking for a confidential appraisal. Sure, it was an odd setup, but what could possibly go wrong? Hubie s devil-may-care attitude fades fast when he finds three of his own Anasazi copies among the genuine antiquities. Worse, when the driver drops him back home, what he doesn't find are the twenty-five crisp hundred dollar bills the collector gave him. Incensed at the rip-off, Hubie is determined to recoup his cash, but Detective Whit Fletcher interrupts, dragging Hubie to the morgue to identify a John Doe. When the sheet is pulled back, Hubie is stunned to see the collector. Hubie is not a suspect yet. But the longer he pursues his missing appraisal fee, the more tangled he becomes in the collector's shadowy life. This Lefty Award winner may be the best Pot Thief yet.