Chapter 31
31
“I think... I’m almost done,” Beatrice said in a soft voice.
Celeste had observed her do an entire walk-through of the museum, ending with the top floor. As Beatrice pressed her final motion sensor to the door, she looked around her surroundings and let out an audible sigh. “Santi, how are you doing?”
“Not as well,” he replied. “I think I have a tail.”
Celeste’s gaze flew to the other monitor for Santiago’s camera feed while Magnus leaned forward. “What?”
“Shit, I think he’s right,” Magnus said. “Slowly walk away from the back door, Santi. I thought I saw a security guard in your periphery.”
“You did,” their getaway driver muttered.
“I’m coming downstairs,” Beatrice said in a worried voice.
“No!” all three said in unison.
“You stay where you are,” Celeste said.
As Santiago tried to wander off, the security guard could be heard calling after him.
“Hey, hey! You there, stop!”
“Can you make a run for it?” Magnus asked.
“Nope.”
“What are you doing back here?” asked a tall blond man dressed in a paramilitary uniform. The stern frown on his face and the gun on his hip told Celeste that there was no running away from this scene. The man’s eyes roved over Santiago, who was quick with a story. Not a good one, but a story, nonetheless.
“You know, I was on my way to the park for bird-watching when I thought I spotted a mourning dove just over there.”
The furrows in the guard’s brow deepened as he glanced in the direction Santiago pointed. “What?”
“Jesus Christ,” Celeste murmured.
“I’m afraid it just turned out to be your average pigeon. I thought I would check it out to be sure.”
“Please show me your identification.” Even though the man said please, it was not a request.
“I need ID to look at birds?”
“Sir, I suspect that you are not looking for birds. You were observed on our security behaving suspiciously.”
“Huh, that’s crazy. I have no idea what you’re talking about...” Santiago peered closer at the man’s name tag. “Sven.”
“Your identification, sir.”
“I don’t have it on me.”
Which was not too unusual for them. Either they carried fake IDs or none. As far as this man knew, Santiago was just a tourist who left his passport back at the hotel.
“Santi, you’re probably going to get arrested,” Magnus said into his microphone. “Do not let them know about your earpiece or your glasses.”
“Fuck,” Celeste muttered.
A panicked Beatrice could be seen hurrying down the stairs. “I can stop the guard.”
“No, you can’t,” Magnus said forcefully. “Listen to Celeste and stay inside the museum. Slow down and make your way to the basement restrooms. Wait there for further instruction.”
“Where are you from?” asked security guard Sven.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Santiago said. She could almost hear him smile as he said it. “Any other questions or can I be on my way?”
“If you cannot provide information on who you are and why you are touching doors behind the museum, I will have to detain you.”
“I really don’t remember touching the doors.”
“My colleague saw you on the outdoor surveillance.”
“And?” Santiago asked. “Is that a crime?”
The guard unclipped a walkie on his belt and spoke Swedish into it.
“He’s notifying the police,” Magnus translated.
“Don’t tell them shit,” Celeste said. “We’re going to get you out tonight.”
The frantic messages over the airwaves didn’t seem to ruffle Santiago. Instead, he chuckled in Sven’s face. “This is not the Swedish welcome I expected.”
The guard took him by the arm and led him toward the front of the museum where they were met by another guard. These two spoke to one another in Swedish while occasionally glancing at Santiago. Sven jerked him forward, this time up the steps of Nationalmuseum.
“Where are you taking me? And why must you be so rough?”
“We are keeping you in our office until the police arrive. If you cannot tell us more information, they will take you away,” said the new guard, who was also tall and blond. “We believe that you are a security threat.”
“Fair enough, boys. Let’s all hang out until the real cops come.”
This was the tightest she’d ever seen museum security. Normally, she could spot three or four bored volunteer guides in blazers, telling people to step away from roped exhibits. “This has to be for the royal jewels,” she whispered. “There’s no reason for this kind of scrutiny.”
Magnus nodded. “It is. Which obviously makes me nervous.”
“How long should I stay in here?” Beatrice asked. She was in the downstairs bathroom now, searching all the stalls before looking directly in the mirror. She was close to tears as she spoke. “Are they really going to take him away?”
“Possibly,” Celeste said. “But we’re not going to lose both of you today. Just hold tight while we figure out what’s happening.”
“I wish I could trip the fire alarm,” she huffed. “I haven’t finished infiltrating the closed-circuit system yet. I should have done that before coming out here. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Hey, hey, your man in the field needs you to stay calm and breathe. You’re not going to help him by spiraling.”
She managed to take a deep breath. “He’s not my man.”
This made Santiago laugh, earning more suspicion from the guards who led him toward the gift shop.
Celeste buried her head in her hands and tried not to groan.
“Bea, when you feel like you’ve caught your breath, I’d like you to calmly leave the bathroom and walk right out of the front entrance,” Magnus said.
“And go where?” she whispered, wiping her face. “I have to leave him?”
“Yes. Just go next door to the Grand H?tel. Sit in the lobby until we get back to you.”
Beatrice pulled her shoulders back and steeled herself. “Okay. I’ll go. I’m so sorry, Santi,” she whispered. Suddenly, the door swung open and a mother with two small children entered. Beatrice quickly washed her hands before exiting.
Magnus stood from his chair and ran to his suitcase. “Keep an eye on Santi while I meet Beatrice at the Grand. I don’t want her walking back home while she’s shaken up. She’s not going to be able to spot a tail in her state.”
As he quickly dressed in a khaki linen suit, Celeste took his seat to get a better view of Santiago’s feed. “They’re taking him to the security office,” Celeste whispered. “How do I record this?”
“I’m up,” Lawrence said from behind her, “just in time, too... Sounds like shit has hit the fan.”
Celeste cut the audio. “Oh, my God, please help me, Lawrence. I need to record Santi getting detained by museum security.”
“All right, kiddo, move aside.”
She swiftly let him take over. Meanwhile, Santiago was looking at every possible angle of his journey to the offices. He caught the security guard swipe a key card beside the door. To his left, he spotted an open door where two more guards watched footage on about ten monitors. To his right, a preparator’s office...and Lawrence was recording everything.
“Thank you, Santi,” he said into the microphone.
“Mmm-hmm.”
Beatrice was on the move. She was following Magnus’s instructions and headed straight for the Grand H?tel. “Good girl,” she murmured.
“Okay,” Lawrence said. “Santi, as far as your forgeries go, is the US your best?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“I’ll find your ID and Celeste and I will get your affairs in order.” Lawrence glanced over his shoulder. “Hopefully with some assistance.”
“Of course.” She hated that it was this early in the game, but she was going to call in the Sebastian favor if it meant getting her crew member out of jail.
Beatrice entered the lobby and quietly took a seat. “Excellent,” Magnus said. “You’re doing quite well, Bea. Pretend you belong there, scroll through your phone, look like a bored twentysomething.”
“I’m trying,” she whispered.
Magnus adjusted his cuffs through his blazer before slipping on brown leather loafers. “Good. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”
“Glasses and tracking device before you leave,” Lawrence reminded.
“Right.”
“And please be careful,” Celeste said in a low voice.
Magnus brushed her cheek with a hurried kiss. “I will. Keep an eye on all of us.”
She nodded, touched that he had time for that fleeting affection. When she returned to Lawrence’s side, she watched the monitors carefully while rubbing her thumb across her phone screen. She desperately wanted to call Sebastian, but she needed to see how security would handle Santiago. The waiting was a waking nightmare full of fear and failure.
She didn’t want to fall back into the trap of believing that she could have prevented this, but it was nearly impossible. If she had just put her foot down with Beatrice, they wouldn’t have left the safe house. She and Magnus could have done this reconnaissance work. She didn’t doubt that Santiago could handle himself. He had suffered his fair share of jail visits. But Beatrice shouldn’t have been in the position of being terrified and alone.
They couldn’t go out like this. There was still so much on the line. Stockholm couldn’t do this to them again.
“Just hold tight, guys. We’re going to make this right.”
Beatrice quietly held a thumbs-up that was visible on the monitor while Santiago, who had been left in an empty office, muttered, “Jah, jah.”