Chasing Chat Noir

Chapter 9

Adrien was a no-show.

As I paced around the entrance of the Musée de Louvre, I realized if I didn't go in now a whole weeks worth of planning would be down the drain.

This was my only lead, and I wasn't about to let Adrien ruin it.

Finally, I made my way through the entrance and took a good look around.

It was beautiful. The ceiling felt as far away as the night sky, and art danced around all of the walls. There were people everywhere; a low hum of voices surrounded me.

I wanted to spend hours looking at every painting and exhibit, and I found myself losing time with how fascinating everything was.

But then again, I wasn't here to look at the art.

I forced myself to stay focused and hurried my way throughout every nook and cranny in the museum.

Every exhibit was hard to get through in a timely manner because it was so crowded. It made the task of finding Chloe even harder.

I made it to the center of the museum before I considered giving up. On the phone, Chloe had said to meet at nine, and my time was running up. If this was a quick meeting, they were surely done by now.

Maybe this was a bad idea. I'd banked on Adrien being here to help me look, and I was losing precious time that could've been avoided if he'd actually shown.

Where was he?

I know I hadn't known Adrien for a long time, but I thought I could trust him enough to share my theories about Hawkmoth with him. What if I'd made a mistake?

I wanted to kick myself. I probably looked like such a fool right now, here by myself and him laughing at my plans.

Whether he was here or not, I owed it to myself to follow through. If my hunch was right, Chloe would lead me one step further in my search for Hawkmoth. Even if Adrien made me a fool, I had to know the truth.

As I made my way through the museum, there was one piece that caught my attention. It was a young woman caught in the embrace of an angel. It looked almost as if he were catching her, and her eyes were closed.

"It's Psyche being revived through Cupid's kiss." I turned quickly to see it was an older man. He was in a worn jacket and khakis, and he had kind eyes.

"It's a beautiful sculpture" I managed a small smile as he observed the statue in front of us.

"Antonio Canova must have been quite the romantic to believe that a kiss could bring someone back to life." He leaned back on his heels and took a slight look around.

"Of course, maybe Antonio was trying to convey something else entirely..." The strange man finally turned to look at me, and I seemed stuck in place. I could've sworn I'd seen him somewhere before.

"What do you think he was trying to say?" I found myself asking before I had time to stop myself.

"Now, it would be pointless for me to tell you. Wouldn't it? That would defeat the purpose." He let out a soft chuckle and turned to walk away.

I found myself following.

"You seem to be looking for something, why are you in such a hurry?" He didn't slow or turn around, but I guess he read me all the same.

"I came here tonight searching for answers, but it seems to be a dead end." I don't know why I was telling this man the truth, but he didn't seem surprised by my answer regardless.

"Maybe you need a new perspective. I often find that the Egyptian exhibit can be quite helpful in that regard." He suddenly slowed and turned to look at me.