part0065

R eading strode through the doors of the hospital and presented his Interpol identification to one of the police officers, immediately receiving instructions on where to proceed. After checking into their hotel and getting a bit of the runaround, delaying things interminably, they had finally been given the clearance they thought they already had, and were authorized to interview witnesses.

Though there was only one he was concerned about.

Professor Yves Marchand.

They found his room but the door was closed, the officer guarding it directing them to the doctor in charge. Reading identified himself. “Is he going to make it?”

“Yes. We had a bit of a scare earlier. We thought we were going to lose him, but it turns out we missed something in his initial surgery, so we went back in and were able to stop the bleeding. He’s going to be fine, but he’s been badly burned. He’s facing months if not years of recovery.”

Reading peered through the window at Marchand, a young woman he assumed was the professor’s daughter by his side. “Judging from the smile on his face, I don’t think he’s going to care, and neither is she.” He turned back to the doctor. “I need to speak with him.”

The man frowned. “I don’t think he’s up for an interrogation.”

Reading shook his head. “He’s not a suspect, just a witness.”

“Oh, okay, then I guess it’s fine. Just try to keep it short and calm.”

“Understood.” Reading knocked on the door then entered, startling the two members of the Marchand family. “Sorry to interrupt. I’m Agent Hugh Reading from Interpol, and this is my partner Agent Michelle Humphrey. I was wondering if you have a few minutes for some questions.”

Reading smiled, pulling out his notebook, the more current Michelle her tablet. “First, full disclosure, James Acton and Laura Palmer are two of my best friends. My understanding is you’re the one who invited them to the event.”

“I also understand that this invitation was extended about a week ago.”

“Did you tell anybody that they were coming?”

“Not specifically, no, but their names were on the guestlist I provided to the museum.”

“Were they late additions?”

Marchand’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Yes, they were, as a matter of fact.”

“Then they would have been separately submitted?”

“When would that have been?”

“I would have sent an email the next day.”

“Who did you send it to?”

“The event organizer. I can’t remember her name, sorry.”

Reading smiled. “No problem, we can find that out ourselves.”

“Why these questions? What’s going on? Jim and Laura are okay, aren’t they?”

Reading paused, surprised. “You haven’t heard?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything, I just woke up a short while ago. Nobody is telling me anything, and frankly, it’s pissing me off.”

Reading chuckled. “I can respect that. We’ve been told to keep you calm, but I think you deserve the truth, otherwise you’re just going to continue being frustrated.”

“Well, right now, Jim and Laura are accused of being behind the bombings.”

Marchand’s eyes shot wide. “What?” His heart rate monitor ticked faster. “That’s insanity! Why would anybody possibly think that?”

“Well, besides the fact somebody went to a great deal of effort to create fake social media accounts suggesting they’re animal rights fanatics—which is why I was wondering who knew they were coming in advance—there’s footage of them leaving with the Bible only moments before the explosion went off, and getting into a van used to bring the terrorists to the building. And they had the keys.”

Marchand’s head was shaking with every word. “I don’t understand. It can’t be them, can it? I mean, I honestly don’t know Laura at all, and I don’t know Jim much. I met him a couple of times years ago, but we correspond regularly through email. I haven’t seen him in years, but I just can’t believe he’d be behind this. I don’t believe it for a second.”

Reading was happy to hear such a staunch defense of his friends. “Like I said, Jim and Laura are my friends. There’s no way they’re involved in this, and these social media accounts are fake, so they’re being set up by someone. We need to figure out who is involved and why they were leaving the building with the Bible.”

“All I know is they were animal rights activists pissed off about the fact the Bible was made from vellum.”

“Calfskin. We estimate that when it was created thirteen-hundred years ago, approximately five-hundred calves were raised and slaughtered to create each of the four Bibles.”

“Bloody hell!” exclaimed Michelle. “I can see how that might piss some people off.”

Marchand agreed. “Yes. The man who seemed to be in charge—”

“Did you get his name?”

“No, I don’t think he ever said it, but I seem to remember him saying their organization was the Animal Protection Brigade.”

Reading wrote that down. “We’ll check into them. Can you tell us what happened?”

“We were in a secure room, looking at the Bible.”

“Who’s we?” asked Michelle.

“Myself, Jim, and Laura. We were looking at the Bible, then we heard an alarm go off, just for a few seconds. I thought it was just a fire door being opened by a smoker. I had set it off myself that morning.”

“After all this, you better be quitting,” admonished his daughter.

He smiled, patting her hand, the movement causing him to wince. “I’m trying, sweetheart.”

“Then what happened?” prompted Reading.

“We ignored it, then a few moments later there was some gunfire and shouting. Jim peered out the door and a man, the leader, pressed a gun to his head, so I guess he was waiting at the door.”

“It was locked?”

“Yes. He came in, confiscated our phones—oh, I called the police when we heard the gunfire. Actually, Jim told me to. He had Laura look up a map of the museum to see if there was a way to escape, then he opened the door.” His eyes popped. “Hey, maybe she found a way to escape, and that’s why they went out the way they did.”

Reading shook his head. “No, they had the keys, remember?”

Marchand frowned. “Oh, that’s right.”

“Why didn’t you go with them?” asked Michelle.

“Apparently, my daughter was streaming video to the Internet and they figured out who she was. I was brought into the atrium with everyone else, then they threatened to kill us if she didn’t come forward. That’s the last time I saw Jim and Laura.”

“And the Bible?”

“And the Bible. But before I was taken into the atrium, one of their people came into the room and cut open the case the Bible was secured inside.”

“Did he take it?”

“No, but I think it was in preparation to take it.”

“Did they say what they were going to do with it?”

“The way they were treating it and speaking of it, I had the distinct impression they were going to destroy it.” Marchand paused, scrunching his nose. “Now that’s strange. If they had keys, then that suggests they were given to them, so that means they didn’t steal the Bible, they were given the Bible.”

“Maybe they took the keys,” suggested Petra.

Marchand frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess they could have attacked somebody for them.”

Michelle shook her head. “No, that doesn’t fit with what happened. If they had escaped with the Bible, they would have immediately turned themselves in to the police.”

Reading sighed. “That’s the problem. Everything they are doing is making them look guilty. They left moments before the explosion, with the Bible, with the keys to the terrorists’ vehicle, and they haven’t turned themselves in.”

Marchand shrugged, his wince suggesting he regretted the gesture. “You know them better than me, but I just find it hard to believe that the man I met so many years ago, that I corresponded with for so long, would be willing to massacre so many people.” He met Reading’s gaze. “I don’t believe it for a second, which means there must be somebody forcing them into doing what they’re doing.”

Reading agreed. “I think you and I are on the same page.” He checked his notes. “Now, you went into the atrium, leaving Jim and Laura in the secure room with the Bible. What happened next?”

“I’m afraid I’m a little fuzzy on the details. I remember being in the atrium, my daughter coming”—his eyes shot wide—“Oh my God, my son! Have you found my son?”

Reading held out a calming hand. “No. My understanding is they’re still searching for him.”

Petra put a hand on her father’s arm. “I called for him, but he never answered. It was only a few times. They got the call to bring me back here a few minutes after we got there.” She turned to Reading and Michelle, choking up. “They said Dad might not make it.”

Michelle replied in a calming voice. “I’m sure they’re doing everything they can to find him. I understand he wasn’t in the main blast area, so it’s very likely he’s just scared and hiding somewhere. I’m certain they’re tearing the place apart to find him.”

“The policewoman who was with me said he'd come out when he gets hungry.”

Reading laughed. “She has to be a mother! That’s exactly what will happen.” His jovial response appeared to set both Petra and her father at ease. He continued his questioning. “So, what happened next? Your daughter came into the atrium after they threatened your lives, then what?”

“There was an argument between the leader and one of the other men. I can’t really remember—”

“No, Dad, you’re forgetting something.”

“What happened before the argument.” She turned to Reading. “When I came into the room, one of them made me log into my Instagram. Then he left, and so did the leader.”

“No, separately. It was a few minutes later that we heard the door alarm again, then the leader came back into the room, and that’s when he had the argument with the guy who made me log in.”

Her father smiled. “Good girl. I forgot all about that.” He wagged a finger slowly. “The argument was about some footage. He was holding up a tablet, and he was demanding to know what was going on. Then there was a discussion that I can’t really recall too much, but the leader said he was leaving and that anyone who wanted to come with him could. Oh wait, I forgot! The guy he was arguing with had the detonator for the bombs. He shouted at him, raised his hand in the air, and that’s when I knew he was going to blow us up, so I pushed my wife and daughter to the floor and tried to cover them as best I could, then the bomb went off. That’s all I remember until I woke up here.”

Reading finished taking his notes then looked at Michelle. “That seems to suggest that their leader was behind this, and none of his people knew.”

Petra turned to her father. “I think he said something about a rich man, Dad, didn’t he?”

Marchand’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“They said something about a man who had helped them before with money, and I think they were going to sell the Bible so that they would have money to operate.”

Her father slowly nodded, his eyes staring into the distance. “That’s sounding familiar. Sorry, but I have a wicked headache and my memory is foggy.”

Reading decided to let the man rest. “Okay, this is very helpful. If I have any more questions, can I talk to you or your daughter?”

“Of course. My wife might be able to help you too. They tell me she’s going to be fine, she’s just resting now.”

Reading smiled. “Thank you.” He followed Michelle out of the room and headed down the hall.

“So, what do you think?”

He regarded Michelle for a moment before answering. “I’m getting the distinct impression that there are a lot of patsies here. I think that this Animal Protection Brigade group took over the museum because of the Bible and what it was made of. Everybody figured they were there for the cause, but the leader had ulterior motives. He arranged for someone to buy the Bible, and nobody else knew until they saw that security footage of Jim and Laura leaving with it. They know something’s wrong, they challenge the leader, they argue, he says he wants to sell the Bible, he’s leaving, the guy with the detonator is a true believer, doesn’t think they should profit off the death of so many animals, so he blows the shit out of the whole place.”

Michelle chewed her cheek, her head bobbing. “That all makes sense, but does the timing work?”

Reading stopped, turning to face her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, that security footage was posted after the bombs detonated.”

His eyes widened. “Bollocks, you’re right. Is there other footage out there that we don’t know about?”

“Maybe they were tapped into the security cameras.”

“Maybe. That has to be it. And it makes sense. They somehow bypassed the rear door security, so it makes sense that they might have access to the security footage.”

Michelle shook her head. “I don’t think that’s what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t Marchand say he heard an alarm for a moment?”

“That was probably a fire door like he said.”

“Exactly. That means they didn’t bypass security. Someone let them in from the inside.”

Reading cursed. “You’re right. Fine, but the bottom line is there is a buyer for that Bible out there somewhere, and I’m willing to bet that whoever is behind this is sitting comfortably in his home, just like these guys usually do, while others do their dirty work. It’s probably the rich guy that they referred to, and he’s sitting back and telling Jim and Laura where to go so that they can deliver the Bible. So, all we need to do is figure out who this guy is, who the buyer is, and where he’s got them going.”