Chapter Sixteen #2
After twenty more minutes of questioning, Gunnar was satisfied that Forsyth hadn’t been involved in the theft. Giles escorted him out of the building and when he returned, he brought Anthony Cormino in with him.
Cormino was younger and had the pale skin of a vamp. He was also more defensive. “Mr. Delacourt, I hope we can clear this matter up quickly. My security team’s reputation is at stake.”
Giles made introductions and Gunnar started over with his questions while Bryn held Cormino’s wrist.
“Walk us through your movements on the night of the theft,” Gunnar said.
“I was at a security conference across town at the Westin hotel from around six until midnight. Security was tight and there will be multiple witnesses to my presence, including the police chief.”
“Truth.”
“Who do you think took the dagger?”
“I’m not paid to speculate. But if you’re asking for my professional assessment, it had to be someone with intimate knowledge of our security protocols.”
“Someone like you?”
“Or Mr. Fanshaw. Or Redman. Or a dozen other personnel.” He frowned. “But I didn’t take it. I’ve dedicated my career to protecting artifacts like this.”
“Truth.” The strength of Cormino’s belief in what he was saying came through loud and clear to Bryn.
After a few more questions, it was time to move on. Giles did his escort duties and when he returned, they relocated to the next room along the corridor, where Redman had been waiting.
The man was nervous, fidgeting with his hands, eyes darting around the room. Bryn didn’t let that influence him. Anyone would be nervous in the same situation.
“Mr. Redman,” Gunnar said. “I have a few questions about the night the dagger went missing. While we talk, the augur will be touching you. It won’t hurt.”
Bryn sat down. “I’m Bryn. There’s no need to be anxious.”
Redman was sweating. “I’ve answered a ton of questions already. I didn’t see anything unusual.”
Bryn laid his fingers across the pulse point in Redman’s wrist.
“You were on duty at the security station outside the exhibition hall, correct?” Gunnar asked.
“Yes, from six in the evening until four in the morning.”
“Truth.”
“And you never left your post except for scheduled breaks?”
“That’s right. I took fifteen minutes at nine like always. I bought a candy bar from the vending machine in the employee break room and used the washroom. At midnight I took a walk around the other halls then sat in the cafeteria to drink my coffee. Liquids aren’t allowed at my station.”
Bryn caught Gunnar’s eye and gave the slightest shake of his head. Redman was lying.
“Mr. Redman, I’m going to be direct with you. You’re not telling us the whole truth about that night,” Gunnar said.
Redman paled. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do. You were told what an augur can do. Something happened during your shift that you haven’t shared with us.”
Sweat beaded on Redman’s forehead. “I told you everything important.”
“Lie.”
“You can’t know that.”
“But I do.” Bryn removed his dark glasses, revealing his intense, glowing green eyes. “Tell us what really happened that night.”
Redman’s shoulders slumped. “I didn’t believe you were real. Thought it was a trick.”
“You need to tell us the truth.”
“They threatened my daughter,” Redman whispered.
“Truth.”
“They had pictures of her. They knew where she goes to school, her schedule.” Redman’s voice cracked. “They said if I didn’t help them, they’d hurt her.”
“Who threatened you?” Giles asked, stepping forward.
“I don’t know. I never saw a person. I got calls from blocked numbers, photos of my daughter sent to my personal phone. I have the messages. I can show you.”
“What did they ask you to do?” Bryn asked.
“To leave my post for thirty minutes instead of fifteen during my early break and to leave a service door unlocked on the east side of the building.” Reeves wiped at his eyes. “That’s all. I swear.”
“Truth.”
“Did you see who took the dagger?” Gunnar asked.
“No. When I came back to my post, everything looked normal. I didn’t know what they took until the next morning when I was doing my last checks before the shift change.”
After another hour of questioning, they had extracted everything Redman knew, which wasn’t much. The threats had started a week before the theft, the communications were anonymous, and he hadn’t seen the thief. It wasn’t a huge amount of help.
Outside the interview room, Giles pursed his lips. “Well, that’s something at least. Not what I was hoping for, but progress.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Bryn said, putting his dark glasses back on. “You heard him. He was put in an impossible situation.”
“Nevertheless, he compromised security and facilitated the theft of a valuable artifact. The timeline works. The thief had time to get the cabinet key from the office, take the dagger and return the key in half an hour.”
“And there’s no camera footage?”
“No. That service door has a blind spot and the cameras in the exhibition hall were looped remotely. They show an empty hall at the time the theft must have taken place.”
“What will happen to Redman?” Gunnar asked.
“That’s not up to me. I’ll get the cops to come pick him up.”
“At least now you know which museum employee was involved,” Bryn said.
“Indeed. Thank you both for your assistance.”
“Don’t forget the favor you owe me,” Bryn added. “I plan to collect at the most inconvenient moment possible.”
Giles gave a pained sigh, which put a smile on Bryn’s face as he and Gunnar headed back to the apartment. “Not quite the art heist thriller I was expecting,” Bryn commented.
“No. I still wonder about Giles’ interest in this. There’s something else going on here, I can smell it.”
“You do have a powerful snoot.”
“Hmm, I’m going to choose to take that as a compliment rather than a dig at the size of my nose. You okay? Three reads in a row can take a lot out of you.”
“I’m fine. Slight headache is all. Redman was the only real challenge. Fear and deception are hard to untangle sometimes.” Bryn sighed. “But I’m glad we did this. At least now the cops can focus on finding who was really behind the theft.”
“It was also good to get back to something different rather than focusing on one case. I like variety,” Gunnar admitted.
“Yeah. Does that make us weird?”
“Probably, but now we can go back to our recovery time. I believe we should plan to do nothing productive for the rest of the day.”
“Sounds like an excellent plan. Come to think of it, I am a little tired. We should get horizontal. You know, for recovery purposes.”
“Oh, is that what it’s called?” Gunnar grinned.
“It is now.”