The Collector | 18+

【09】Curious and Curiouser

Excited to see if Henry had made any new discoveries, I nearly jogged my way to the lab. It was all put to a swift halt when I suddenly crashed into someone.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" I instantly apologized, before looking to see whose gray suit it was. Dread filled me when I realized I'd bumped into none other than Mr. Mullins.

"Oh, fuck—I mean, damn—I mean, sorry! Did I hurt you, sir?"

Luckily for me, the man wasn't as haughty as he looked, and he offered me a vague shake of his head, along with a slight smile. I'd always been scared of him for some reason—maybe because he was always so proper, and because of his age, his background, the tailored suits he always wore, and the simple fact that he was English. I'd always imagined him to be needlessly rigid, which was probably why I avoided encounters with him overall. We'd spoken three times since I'd started working here, though I guessed that number was about to become four.

"It will take more than that to hurt me, Miss Connelly."

I held my tablet against my chest, as if it could shield me from anything bad that might ensue from my clumsiness. "Still, I'm sorry, sir. I was on my way to the lab, maybe a little too eagerly."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not one to scold people for liking their job too much. It works in my favor, actually." He whispered the last bit as if it was a secret.

Had the man not been openly gay and married with children, I might have imagined he was flirting with me. But it wasn't the case, so his approval of me made me release a reassured sigh.

"Mr. Westergaard had some great things to say about you from your encounter yesterday," he continued. "I believe we'll be able to fulfill his request?"

"Actually, sir... He's demanding a priceless piece that can't be given away. I'm still working on uncovering its secrets, and it seems to have a plethora of those to give. Mr. Westergaard might not get what he wants, for once."

The director pinched his lips together, displeased. "We'll see how that evolves. Maybe he'll simply let it go. Otherwise, we'll have to compromise, Miss Connelly."

"I might not be willing to, Mr. Mullins."

"I'm afraid it's not entirely your call, Miss. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an important meeting to attend."

He greeted me with a nod and went on his way. I stood there like an idiot for a few seconds, then pulled myself out of my slight shock and resumed my journey to Henry. This time, I kept my eyes upfront, holding my tablet by my side.

When I reached the lab, I knocked and waited for his approval before coming in. When I did, he was working at the glass table, crouched over the sword, checking the details of the hilt with a loupe.

"Anything new?" I asked, coming to his side.

"Not much. I couldn't get any shaving from the blade, so I'll have to do chemical spot tests for it. But I managed to take a sample from the gold bits instead. I can't run a thermal ionization mass spectrometry here, so I'll send it to another lab in the afternoon. Once that's done, we'll know where the metal came from."

"Hopefully, Scandinavia." I crossed my fingers on both hands.

"Also, I'm afraid the gemstones aren't iolite but sapphires."

"Sapphires? Those don't come from Europe."

"I'm aware."

"Vikings were great sailors and traded with all kinds of people, though. It's not impossible that they'd get their hands on those."

"Right. And they are extremely clear and have a strong color, so, the highest value. This sword can't be a hoax, Mila."

That helped a bit with my flailing confidence. "Really?"