The story so far....
Nick is contacted by the head of a small-town historical society. THey had found an historical artifact that was quite important, not valuable by monetary standards, but very valuable by archaeological standards. The society had proudly displayed the artifact, called the Woodland Bowl, for a few years and then a larger museum asked if they could have it "on loan" for an exhibit. The historical society was thrilled to loan it out, but soon discovered that the "loan" contract had a very misleading clause, which caused ownership of the Bowl to revert to the big museum. Legal action against the museum would drag out for years and bankrupt the small historical society.
That's where Nick and Gina come in....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I need to get in there,” Gina said.
“Where?”
“The Langham Museum. I want to see the piece.”
“But we’re not ready yet. We don’t have a plan.”
She shrugged. “The museum is open to the public, right? I’m the public. I’m gonna go and look at the piece.”
Nick frowned. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“Why not? I’ll case the place and see how it’s set up, security-wise—”
“I can find out anything we need to know about the museum when I talk to—”
She nodded. “That’s fine, you can still do that. But I want to see the museum. Get the feel of it. Find out first-hand what we’re dealing with. Who knows, it might help us come up with a plan.”
Shaking his head, Nick said, “I’d rather not take the chance of you being seen there. This has to be clean.”
“Nick,” Gina said, giving him a pitying look. “Have you met me? Believe me, nobody will notice me or even remember seeing me.”
He nodded in acknowledgement. “You’re right; sorry. I should’ve remembered: you’re a chameleon. You can blend in anywhere.”
Later that day Gina paid the admission fee and entered the Langham History Museum. A little overpriced, she thought; but if they have important artifacts they can justify the admission price. And if they get those artifacts for practically no money... that increases the profit margin, in addition to the prestige.
The museum was fair-sized, but not huge. As she strolled casually through the galleries, Gina took note of the guards and the placement of cameras. Consulting the museum map, she made her way through the exhibits one by one, saving the room with the Woodland Bowl for last.
It was the North American Pathways gallery, a large room with more than twenty artifacts and exhibits representing ten thousand years of human existence across the continent.
Gina took her time looking around. She loved history so this wasn’t entirely part of her ‘job’ here at the museum; instead she took the opportunity to experience and enjoy what she was seeing. However, with a small sigh she remembered that Ann Heath could have acquired some of these artifacts in the same way he acquired the Woodland Bowl—shamefully and dishonestly. So, in order to right that wrong—and any other wrongs that may have been committed—it was time to get back on point.
Taking a last look around the North American Pathways room, she turned her mind back to work.
The next day she called Nick.
“I’ve seen the museum. I think I have a plan.”
“Great,” he replied. “I’m going to talk with the museum’s head of security today, so we can compare notes soon after that.”
“Where are you going to talk to him? Do you have a meeting or are you having lunch or something?”
“No, nothing that formal. I happen to know his favorite watering hole, so I’m just going to drop in, buy him a drink, and casually chat him up.”
“What do you hope to learn from him that I haven’t already found out?” she teasingly challenged.
“Oh, you’d be surprised how productive the ‘old-school’ way can be.”
Gina laughed. “We’ll see.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next day Gina stopped by Nick’s office to compare notes about the Langham History Museum.
“Okay,” Nick said, closing the door to his office. “What do you know?”
She thumbed her phone to where she had taken some notes. “Well, there are four different exhibition halls, or wings, or rooms, or whatever you want to call them, all opening onto the same main lobby, or atrium area. In all, I saw three security guards in the building—don’t know how many more there might have been that I didn’t see, if any. There are multiple cameras in every exhibit hall, but I think there are blind spots, although I couldn’t really check that out without drawing attention to myself. I thought I saw some motion sensor hardware, but those could have been emergency lighting fixtures in disguise. Or vice versa.”
“Well, I can probably fill in your blanks about the security. There are actually four security guards working during the day. You saw three of them, and the fourth is in the control room with the cameras. I did learn that there are blind spots, but I couldn’t exactly ask where they were, obviously. And yes, those were motion detectors you saw, which are activated once everyone leaves.”
“Okay, so four guards during the day. What about after hours?”
“Only two. Theoretically, one stays in the control room at all times, and they take turns going on patrol periodically. Mainly, they keep watch in the evening while the janitorial staff does their thing.”
“And then? What about overnight?”
Nick sat back in his chair. “At midnight everyone’s out of the building, and building security, including cameras and sensors, is monitored by a professional security monitoring company.”
Gina smiled. “Not Aston Security Consultants, I assume?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, not my company.”
“So,” Gina said, getting back to the topic at hand, “no presence in the building all night?”
“No, but like I said, a professional company has eyes in the building during that time.”
She shrugged. “Could be a challenge,” she said mischievously. “Oh, and also, there are three full-time employees at the museum during the day, along with a number of volunteers.”
Nick didn’t respond, and they were both silent for a moment, he rocking back in his desk chair, and she gazing absently across the office, apparently deep in thought.
“So,” Nick said finally, “what do you think? You said you had a plan?”
Gina looked at him. “Yeah, I have an idea in mind, and what you’ve told me doesn’t change it. Shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as what we think we know is correct.”
“Okay. So, do you want to share your plan?”
“Actually, I’d like a little more information first, and that means another trip to the museum. But don’t worry, I won’t be the same person I was yesterday. I’ll be someone completely different.”
“Do you want me to come along? I wouldn’t mind seeing the place.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay with me, as long as you don’t think it would jeopardize anything. I mean, as long as that guy you know, the security guy, won’t think it’s suspicious.”
“Actually, he won’t.” Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette lighter. “He left this at the bar last night, so I’ll just be a Good Samaritan and return it to him. And while I’m there I’ll take a stroll, maybe even get the fifty-cent tour.”
“Well, aren’t you a clever one,” Gina said, smiling. “Good plan. I’ll see you there this afternoon.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
