The information Sara Cutler imparted kept my brain occupied as Ethan and I returned to the museum. "I can see the lure of stealing valuable books to sell," said Ethan as we rounded the final corner, "but surely Lance knew he'd be discovered at some point."
"That's if he really was stealing the books. We don't know for sure," I pointed out.
"You saw him take one!"
"I'm sure I did, but it could easily have been a different book. I wasn't exactly paying attention," I admitted. Now I wish I had looked more closely instead of focusing on being so mad at him. "If only there was some way of tying the missing books directly to Lance but Detective Logan and I searched his office and didn't find anything; and when the detective searched his car, he also came up empty-handed."
"Lance would hardly have held onto stolen property. He would have sold them as fast as he could in case anyone raised the alarm. What you need is a bill of sale."
I gave him a skeptical look. "Would he really keep a bill of sale for a stolen item?"
Ethan looked sheepish. "When you put it like that... No."
"I'm going to do some online research and see if I can find any recent sales of the missing books. I might even find the buyer or the middleman if he used one. I could ask them if they dealt with Lance. At least then I can give some evidence to Detective Logan that exonerates me from the thefts."
"What will you do if you can't find that evidence?"
I shrugged. "Hope he doesn't arrest me for theft and murder?"
"I don't think you did either crime."
I smiled warmly at his confidence. It was nice he believed in me. "Thank you."
"There's Artie. I better go but I'd like to know what you find out. Drinks later?"
"Oh, I..." I faltered. Was this a date? Like last time when Karen was so convinced he asked me to lunch on a date and I thought it was a work meeting. A flash of hurt crossed Ethan's face as I hesitated and before I could agree, Ethan shrugged. "Or just let me know when we see each other next time. I'm sure I'll be back over in a few days. Artie!" he called before he bolted ahead, jogging to catch up with my boss. They entered the museum and when I followed them in moments later, they'd already crossed the lobby.
Karen waved me over to the reception desk, a pair of scissors in her hand. "Guess who just walked in," she whistled. "I'll give you a clue. He's a handsome architect. Now take a guess!"
"I don't need to. Ethan and I walked here together and he jogged ahead to meet Artie. What are you doing here anyway? Artie said he gave you the day off."
"I couldn't stay away. I tried to but I just couldn't. I knew I'd find something to do like opening the mail." Karen brightened. "Did you and Ethan have lunch together?"
"No. He helped me on a fact-finding mission at the library," I said, launching into an explanation about what I found in the museum’s library and Sara's advice, ending with "--and then I blew it when he asked me to have drinks later."
Karen shook her head slowly, tut-tutting. "Maybe third time will be the charm," she said.
"Like he'll ever ask me again!"
"Oh, he will," said Karen with such certainty that I had to wonder if she knew something I didn't.
I laughed and shook my head. Karen's positivity was never-ending. Unfortunately, she probably wouldn't feel very positive after she heard what I was about to say. "I think we need to conduct the museum audit sooner than planned," I told her. "We have to make sure all our other artifacts are safely accounted for, especially after what you told us over lunch."
"Surely you don't think Lance could have stolen anything else!"
"I hope not but I didn't expect him to steal any books either. Now it looks like he might be responsible for the disappearance of several. I'd like to be certain. It's all conjecture at the moment so please don't mention my suspicions to anyone else. It's bad enough that I have to inform the board about the missing books. They'll be furious!"
"Artie will be devastated," said Karen. "I'm happy to help with the audit."
"I appreciate it. It'll be a two-woman job, checking and rechecking."
"You just let me know when. Maybe we can do some of it while the museum is closed to the public? I can't bear the thought of that awful man getting his grubby hands on the museum's treasures. I'm not surprised he was up to no good!"
"It's still no more than conjecture," I reminded her. "Nothing is proven yet. I'm going to do some research, then I'll clue Artie in after he finishes his meeting with Ethan."
"Good luck with that," said Karen, sucking in a deep breath. She cut into the box before waving me away and I had no doubt she was relieved she did not have the task of telling Artie the bad news.
I headed upstairs to my office, strangely uncomfortable with the silence in the museum. Normally, I'd hear tourists asking for directions or one of the volunteers imparting noteworthy information. Even here in the office wing, someone would be on the phone or tapping a computer keyboard; but today there was nothing but the sound of my footsteps.
Lance's office was empty and Artie must have been with Ethan in the outbuildings. For the first time since I joined the museum I felt the unbearable weight of loneliness. No, not loneliness per se, but how alone I was. If someone managed to get to Lance on an evening when the museum was filled with people without anyone seeing a thing, how easy would it be to attack me? Or Karen? I shivered. I had to banish the horrible thought. There was no reason anyone would want to kill me, and I now had a very good theory for why someone might want to kill Lance. All I had to do was verify it.
While my computer powered up, I glanced at the list of missing books. With only eight titles to research, the list wasn't exhaustive. I wasn't sure where to start so I simply typed in the first title and author, anxiously waiting for the search engine to return the results.
I spent a couple of hours wading through pages of material that took me to all kinds of other pages but few had any vital information. I refused to get disheartened but I knew when I started the research that I was unlikely to find a page with a big red arrow pointing to the right information like you’d see in a cartoon. I wondered if Detective Logan was having any more success than I, or was he also chasing a dead end?
Rocking back in my chair, I wondered who the red-headed detective might have on his suspect list. He hadn't arrested me despite his obvious misgivings so I hoped he didn't plan to at all... unless he was merely confirming his suspicions until he could arrest me later! My heart palpitated unpleasantly and I swallowed, forcing careful breaths to calm the burst of anxiety; in and out, a gentle rhythm. Why should I worry when I knew I wasn't the murderer! Just as soon as I found out for certain that Lance actually stole the books and sold them, I could supply the detective with that morsel of evidence, giving him another suspect. If Lance were stealing, someone else had to know about it! Perhaps they wanted the proceeds all for themselves!
With renewed energy, I resumed my search. Twenty minutes in, I found a listing that made me sit up straighter. I checked the title and author against my list and zoomed in on the supplied photos. Not only did it match one of our stolen books but I was more than certain it was exactly the same book! I hit print and while I waited for the printer to churn out the pages, I moved to the description box.
The listing was dated a month ago with a brief description of the book's condition and authenticity. No mention of where it came from but I noted the auction was held in Georgia and the reserve price was listed as five thousand dollars.
After a couple of minutes of searching, I had a phone number for the auction house. I grabbed my desk phone and dialed.
"Dwight Auctions. How may I help you?" asked the chirpy woman on the other end of the line.
"Hi, I'm inquiring about one of your recent auction lots. I wanted to find out how much it sold for."
"Sure, I can get you that information. Do you have the lot number?"
I leaned into the screen, located it and read it out.
"One moment please. Ah, yes, here it is. That sold for nine thousand, three hundred dollars to a private collector."
I made a note of the figure then added the price of the book Sara Cutler found. Yes, this book had sold for less but it was still a lot of money. "Could you tell me who bought it?" I asked.
"It's against company policy to give out that information. Are you interested in purchasing a copy or a similar title? If so, I can give you information on some upcoming lots."
"Yes, I think so," I said, which wasn't exactly a lie. "Perhaps I could speak with the seller?"
"I can't give that information out either but I can tell you they currently have no more lots listed with us,” she said before reeling off a short list of other rare books for sale. “Is there anything else I can help you with?"
I declined, thanked her and hung up. The conversation wasn't entirely fruitless. I was sure that book belonged to the museum and now I also knew how much it sold for; but without a seller's name, I was no closer to the truth. Perhaps Detective Logan could be more persuasive than I. Just as disappointment set in, the familiar sound of Artie's heavy, uneven footsteps sounded in the corridor. Grabbing the papers, I hurried after him.
"Artie!" I called as he opened the door to his office. He half-turned, smiled and waved me in after him.
"I just gave Ethan another tour of the new wing," he said, walking around his desk and settling into his chair. "He says he'll come back after he's made the preliminary architectural drawings just in case he missed anything. I left him there to finish up and he'll bring the keys back up in a few minutes. Can you take him when he wants access again? These stairs do not make my old hips happy!"
"Yes, sure," I agreed readily. Perhaps it would give me the opportunity to undo my mistake earlier. Maybe Karen was right; Ethan would ask me out again. I bit back a smile as I realized how much I wanted that to happen. Flopping into the visitor's chair, I took a deep breath. Unfortunately, this would not be a pleasant conversation.
"Is it the promotion?" asked Artie after a long moment of silence. "I'm sure the board will regain their senses now and offer it to you. Like they should have done in the first place!"
I shook my head. The promotion wasn’t anywhere near the forefront of my mind. "Actually, no. I hadn't even thought about it," I admitted, although I would have to seriously consider my next steps soon. Even if the board did offer it to me, did I want it now, knowing I was their second choice?
"I still can't imagine what got into them!" railed Artie. "They know I've been grooming you to take over after me for a year now. Lance..."
"I'm here about Lance."
"Dreadful business."
"I think..."
"I can imagine what you must think! I assure you, Tess, you are the woman for the job. I've never met someone more dedicated to this museum than you. You've practically been running the place these last couple of months by yourself and your ideas are perfect for taking this museum forwards. I know it, and the board knows it. Everyone knows it!" he continued, breaking off to cough loudly and bang his chest with a closed fist.
"Thanks, but..."
"If they make any fuss about external applicants, I might even stay on just to prevent that from happening. What can they do about that? Nothing! I'm going to suggest to George that he sweetens the deal for you when he makes the formal offer. They should offer you a pay raise. Perhaps some more vacation days?"
"I really haven't..."
"And training courses. I know we had to turn down the one you wanted because of a lack of funds but I'll bet my last dollar the board have some extra reserves! George is a touch tight-fisted with the accounts, as we all know, but I think he'd manage to find some extra cash to keep you on. I'm just mad as heck about this, Tess. I really am."
"I know, Artie, it's okay. I don't blame you." I couldn't help smiling at his remarks about George. He was very meticulous with the accounts, ensuring everything was counted to the last penny, especially over the last year when he kept grumbling about the museum's revenue and making cutbacks to ensure its longevity.
"I don't know how this happened. One minute, they were excited about offering you the promotion and the next, they didn't offer it to you and gave it to Lance. And then!? Lance is found dead! What is happening? Am I hopelessly caught in some alternate reality?"
I laughed. "We are definitely still in this world," I told him. "Please don't get upset about the board's decision. I know it had nothing to do with you and I'm very grateful that you lobbied on my behalf. Given their decision, I'm not even sure I'd take the promotion now. Not that they've offered it to me."
"I keep thinking Lance must have done something to snatch that promotion."
"Like stealing my ideas?" I paused as Artie's head shot up. "He did," I confirmed, "and they weren't even my best ones, which is all the more perplexing."
"He stole your ideas? Why am I not surprised? That scheming, little rat! When the police catch the person who did this, I'm going to send them a muffin basket!" Artie finished his declaration by thumping his fist on his desk, sending pens and paper clips aloft.
"About Lance..."
"Artie! Tess! Come quick!"
I twisted in my chair as Karen came flying through the door, her face red and flustered.
"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning.
"You have to come quick! It's Ethan!" Karen turned and hightailed it out of the door as she raced across the corridor.
"What happened? Did he hurt himself?" I called after her as I got to my feet but she was too far ahead.
"You go on," said Artie, waving me away. "I'll follow you as fast as I can."
"Okay," I agreed. I hurried along the corridor, down the stairs and into the lobby, afraid at what I might see. Karen stood at the main doors, her jaw wide open and eyes worried. "Oh, Tess, this is just awful!" she sighed as I hurried to join her. She pointed outside and I followed the direction of her finger to a Calendar police cruiser. Detective Logan placed a hand on Ethan's head as he ushered him onto the backseat. As the door slammed shut, Ethan looked up and our eyes met.
"What is going on?" panted Artie, joining us at the window.
"Detective Logan just arrested Ethan!" I gasped.