The Crystal Muse

In the near future, the city of Boston is recovering from a devastating two-year riot. To lure people and business back to the reconstructing city, the Museum of Fine Arts hosts a Grand Reopening party. The principal attraction: the unveiling of the Crystal Muse, a clearly priceless and beautiful statue that has just been added to the collection...which is brazenly stolen by violent and murderous thugs less than half an hour after it is introduced to the terrorized attendees.

Assigned to the case is the Massachusetts State Police Special Operations & Investigations Unit, a squad of SWAT-trained detectives born out of the violence of the riot. Led by Detective Lieutenant Scott Dillard and equipped with the most advanced gear available, the investigation takes them from the battle-scarred streets of Boston to the affluent suburbs of Weston and Barnstable, from the history-soaked environs of Salem to the outskirts of the Berkshires where resentment over the riot still festers. Since the trail for stolen artwork tends to go cold very quickly until the statute of limitations runs out, and since there's no statute of limitations on the attendant felony murder charge, Dillard cannot recover the Crystal Muse or apprehend the perpetrators fast enough for the politicians' liking.