Swordplay

Part 2

"Mademoiselle Bellamie?"

Moira took a while to realize that she had been addressed. It's been quite some time that anyone had used her surname.

Commissaire Marten held up a bag-safe with evidence. "Could you take this to the carpisto and keep it in sight until we arrive at the gendarmerie? I don't want our proof to become invalid because we can't keep to the rules."

Beaming, Moira took the bag and the responsibility and carried the heavy bag and the two cases to the carpisto. She put the cases in the trunk, settled on the backseat with the bag of evidence on her knees, and waited. To her surprise, Buds and Semra not only returned with two more bag-safes full of evidence, but also with Director du Mar. They had spelled him into a cocoon of silence, so Moira was squeezed in between the cocoon and the three safes on the whole flight back to the station.

Buds and Semra left it to Moira to take the safes to the court exhibit archive.

"When you're done, get started on the report." Buds took the director's elbow and led him to one of the interrogation rooms.

"Three copies," Semra said and followed her colleague.

Moira set out to the court exhibit archive in the building's vaulted cellar. She felt used although she knew that due to the rules, two gendarmes had to be present at every interrogation.

On her way back, Commissaire Marten stopped her on the stairway. "I was pleasantly surprised that you identified Mona Beth as a forgery. Even Director du Mar didn't see it right away."

Moira blushed and stared at her toe-caps.

"I'd like you to have a look at the surveillance globes with my expert."

Moira's eyes widened and she looked up. "But I'm only an aspirant."

Commissaire Marten smiled. "With very good eyes. Maybe you'll discover something my expert misses."

Moira's ears smarted. The praise made her feel foolish although it was nice not to be considered a moron all the time. "I will have to write a report first," she said with a hoarse voice.

"I will tell Grub that you'll join him later." Commissaire Marten nodded and proceeded down the stairs toward the archive.

An hor later, Moira opened the door to the dark-room and slipped in. A surveillance globe flickered in front of her, projecting the museum's big basement hall onto the wall.

"There you are." The voice came from the dark. "Make yourself comfortable. I just got started, so you haven't missed anything."

Moira felt her way forward until she found a chair that allowed her a good view of the picture on the wall.

"This globe starts at 10pm and runs to the point where Semra packed it. We should be able to view the whole burglary. I'll speed it up for a wile, so watch closely."

For a long time, there was nothing but the empty hall with the boxes. Moira was already pondering how she could extract herself in time for the end of her shift, when a night-watchman came down the long stairs. He walked through a door and returned a little later in plain clothes carrying his uniform in a bag. Moira watched him set it on a box to tie his shoelaces. He probably lost his cap there.

The night-watchman walked over to the two big rolling gates and lifted his hands in a conjuring gesture. Since the globe's surveillance eye didn't tape sound, Moira couldn't hear the activation words, but the left gate opened obediently. A white arrow shot out of the darkness behind it toward the surveillance eye, and the picture splintered to white snow.