Going Once, Going Twice, Going Never.

PROLOGUE

7:40 PM
19th January 2021
Philadelphia Auction House,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America

"Nine hundered thousand dollars!" the auctioneer cries out, then looks around at the crowd again, at the crowd of bedazzled buyers lazily holding down their bidding card, "Anyone for Nine hundred and twenty five thousand dollars?"

A card rose somewhere in the back. Detective Perez squinted to get a proper view but the light from the low hung chandeliers made it very hard. Oh the nuisances of chandeliers, don't get him started on that. Talking about nuisances, why were waiters still serving champagne and appetizers? Everyone had a very heavy meal about an hour ago. Plus the seating? They were not more than seventy to eighty people in that room. They didn't need to be seated around round tables. This was not an awards show of any sorts.

Perez envied the rich. They did get the best of treatments for the stupidest reasons.

"Nine hundered and twenty-five thousand dollars!" the auctioneer says with a smile, "Do we have any bidders for nine hundred and fifty thousand?"

No one raised their card.

"Last call," the auctioneer warns, holding out his hammer-gavel-thing whatever that was. Detective Perez sat up straighter. Now was when the fun part began.

"Nine hundred and fifty dollars? No more bidders?" the auctioneer calls out then holds the gavel-thingy over the stand, "Okay then, going once...going twice..."

A robotic voice filled the speakers of the room, "Going never."

And the oh to everyone's shock the lights went out. The room was pitch black, not a thing to be seen. Perez could see the pattern. This happened at the last crime scene as well.

"What is going on?" comes the auctioneer's unamplified voice over the nervous chatter that had now filled the room, "Security!"

And in a few moments, the lights were back on.

And oh to everyone but Perez's shock, the statue which was about to be sold for nine hundred and twenty five thousand dollars, well there was thin air in the place where it was supposed to be.

Detective Perez sat back and watched with amusement as everyone began to panic around him.

The words which had been blasted on the speakers in a robotic voice echoed in his head.

Going Never...Going Never...Going Never.

That seemed to be their 'signature'. It was a cute play with words. Must be a bunch of teenagers.

Well he was no one to judge, he was in his mid twenties after all.

The auctioneer was begging everyone to calm down and Perez had to bite his lip to stop laughing at the old lady sitting next to him, asking around if the thieves pickpocketed her diamond earrings as well.

When should he tell her that he knew those 'diamonds' were some very prominent rhinestones?

He had told the Commissioner to tighten the security. He had told them to secure all the exits as soon as the auction began after dinner. But what response did he get?

'It will alarm the guests'

Yet there he was, sitting at the auction house of Philadelphia, watching the empty glass podium at the center of the stage where the fifteenth century bronze statue of the Inca goddess of the Sea, Quachamama had been once sitting, gleaming brightly under the expertly positioned lights.

Well what the Commissioner said came true even without the additional security. That was what they would get for eating out of the rich's hands.

One for Detective Perez, negative one for the PPD.

Ah he loved to say a good old 'I told you so'.

"My earrings! Oh my grandmother had to hide those in her cheeks as she immigrated during the World War!" the lady wailed beside me. Butt or face?

And Perez was pretty sure she must have dropped them off in the bathroom when she had gone to fix her hair.

No he didn't spy on her. She was just very vocal and loud about her actions to her husband sitting beside her.

"I would check the bathroom if I were you, Betheliza," he told the woman and got up before the woman could utter a word to him. 

He straightened the tie of his very unnecessary tuxedo as he began strolling casually towards the podium as every guest was being lead out of the auditorium in the opposite direction. There was so much panic and uncertainity in the crowd that two of the guests actually stumbled into him as he continued forward. They frantically apologised to him and he nodded slightly before continuing towards the stage. 

He didn't ponder upon this at the moment, but he was surprised to be apologized to by the rich folk for the first time ever.

As he neared the stage, he was stopped by a guard.

What did a guy need to do to work in peace over here?

"I'm sorry sir but we need to clear the hall for inspection," she said to Perez in an strong authoritative tone.

The detective sighed before reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out his badge, "Detective Perez, Interpol."

That seemed to shut the guard up. Perez smirked to himself before hopping onto the stage to examine the podium. 

He whipped out his ultraviolet flashlight, slipped on his handy gloves, and ran the light over the surface. And smiled to himself.

Squeaky clean. 

But he then noticed a miniscule cut in the otherwise smooth marble platform.

The platform had been tampered with beforehand. 

He craned his neck upwards and looked around for possible escape routes. Again, everything looked extremely put together, but he knew something or the other had been tampered with. He needed to have patience.

The statue must be out of the building by now.

Damn these teenagers knew what they were doing. 

And had a flair for show business.

He felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle, as if someone was watching him.

He whipped his head around to see a pretty blonde girl in an unusually plain cocktail dress, staring at him with an intense gaze, as she was being ushered out of the hall.

He watched her movement as she rushed to the door of the auditorium as she was told, and out of sight, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this guest had been analyzing him almost as much as he had been analyzing her.

Interesting.