The Art Thief's Guide To Freedom

19: Step 19: How To Question A Queen

"On March 12 the Singer Laren art museum located 18 miles southeast of Amsterdam closed its doors due to the Coronavirus. Then last week, under cover of darkness, thieves broke the glass doors of the museum and absconded with an 1884 oil painting by Vincent van Gogh called The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring. The painting had never been appraised but similar works by van Gogh have fetched tens of millions at auction."I am shocked and unbelievably pissed off," Singer Laren's director, Jan Rudolph de Lorn, said in a news conference after the robbery. "Art is there to be seen and shared by all, for society as a whole, to bring enjoyment, to bring inspiration, and also to bring comfort. Especially in this difficult time."

~Daniel Dumas, Esquire, 10 April 2020

~**~~**~

Entering through the glass doors of the foyer, Will had no trouble bypassing the security guards that sat behind the front desk.

It wasn't that he was being overtly sneaky, the guards just didn't seem to care. One of them glanced up from her game of solitaire, her gaze flickering to the badge at Will's belt as he pressed the elevator button before reverting back to the cards.

Her partner on the other hand skipped over Will and gave Nico a long perusal. She squinted at the art thief for a second but seemed to deem her no threat and returned to her paperwork.

Will found that slightly odd but he had better things to think about at the moment.

For starters, why had Jack sent him back to Kingmaker after hearing one name?

And who was Petra Vasiliev, why did she have that Baroque and what did she have to do with Kingmaker?

So basically, he had a lot of questions.

Hopefully, Doctor Coldwater could give him some answers.

"Why do you think she'll help us this time?"

Nico's smooth voice broke through the staccato elevator music and Will's concentration.

He shook his head a little to clear away the cobwebs binding his thoughts.

"What do you mean," Will said, turning towards her.

She was leaning against the steel wall of the elevator, chin pointing towards the ceiling and hands clasped behind her back.

One of her toes tapped a rhythm in beat with the soft music flowing through the speakers as she pushed herself off the wall.

"I mean, she didn't help you last time. Why would this time be any different?"

"Well--" Will started before Nico cut him off by continuing her speech.

"And you also did steal her entire case file after she upright refused to give it to you. And--"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Our chances aren't that great but this time is going to be different."

"How do you know?"

Shrugging, Will replied as the doors opened, "I don't know. I just have a feeling"

~**~~**~

Doctor Coldwater's office was in the same spot-- obviously--but its current state was very different than when he had last left it.

For one, the glass walls that enclosed it had turned opaque, blocking any and all light from entering the room.

Knocking on the door twice, Will waited a good minute and a half for a reply. However, when he didn't receive one, he decided to enter anyway.

"Doctor Coldwater," he questioned, taking a step into the room. The lights were dimmer in here than the hallway and he blinked rapidly, his eyes slowly adjusting to the change.