Heartbeats

Chapter 7

Hey guys! I decided that for the "crime scenes" I´m going to do a third person POV. Enjoy:)

Photo of Galatea de las esferas to your right -->

***

      That night was a special night for the museum´s security guards. It was Andrew´s birthday. He had worked for many years in the museum – fifteen years, bordering on sixteen. He was well liked, and his coworkers had decided to take some time to celebrate. Gaby had brought in a homemade chocolate cake, Tyler had brought some drinks (alcoholic, of course – it was Andrew´s birthday!), and Jason offered the chips and the dip made by his wife.

      They were just passing around the cake, when suddenly the small security screens flickered. Only Tyler noticed. Frowning, he approached the screens, searching for whatever anomaly, his eyes flickering back and forth, before finding none. His face relaxed, and he turned back towards his friends, a beer in his hands.

      It was pure coincidence that he had noticed the split-second in which the security feed had been looped. He reasoned that the system was flawed, and it malfunctioned regularly, so he brushed it off. And anyway, what was the probability that tonight, of all nights, someone would break in? No, this is a night to relax, he thought to himself, settling down next to Gaby (who he thought was incredibly cute,) with a piece of cake.

 -

      Walking down the corridors of the museum, Jeremy thought it was completely unfair that he got hall duty. His coworkers were in the security room, cracking jokes and eating cake. His feet dragged on the hard wooden floor, his forehead furrowed as he lamented his bad luck.

      “Fucking Tyler,” he grumbled under his breath.

      Tyler was the one who had decided they would have to pick at random who would be patrolling outside. There had to be at least one person patrolling outside, actually doing their job. However, Jeremy wouldn´t be surprised if Tyler had picked his name on purpose. Jeremy knew very well Tyler liked Gaby. But Gaby, if her eager face provided any clue when Jeremy had asked her out just this Monday, wasn´t interested in Tyler.

      Jeremy was so preoccupied by what he guessed Tyler was telling Gaby that he didn´t notice the dark shadow to his right, which stealthily ducked into the main room where the Dalí rested. He also didn´t notice the second shadow, the one that hid behind one of the dark marble sculptures, staying there as if guarding the first shadow. He did not hear the soft thud as a wooden frame was lowered to the floor, nor the sound of paper carefully being peeled back and later being rolled. He definitely did not notice as the first shadow joined the second, and they soundlessly made their way towards one of the corridors leading to the exit. Nevertheless, Jeremy did hear the small click of a door being closed.

      He froze, trying to recall the sound so that he could determine if he had imagined it or not. However, unlike Tyler, Jeremy knew to trust his instincts. With his eyes flickering about, trying to detect any movement, he called out, “Is anyone there?”

      Silence greeted him, and with growing apprehension, he walked towards the hallway leading to the exit, opening the door at the end and glancing around. He didn´t see anything, but still uneasy, he walked back to his post. He glanced around, noticing nothing was amiss. He walked to the main room, reasoning that if he didn´t find anything suspicious there, he had probably imagined the sound.

      Any doubt went out the window when he noticed the empty frame neatly placed against the wall, right under where the Dalí should have rested.

      Jeremy did not hesitate on sounding the alarm.

 -

      The hotel´s receptionist would have probably found it weird when three lone teenagers arrived to the hotel at that late hour, swaggering through the room, grins placed on their faces. She would have probably noticed the plastic tube slung over one girls´ shoulder, though she probably would have forgotten a minute later. However, the receptionist was in no state to notice all of this. Her boyfriend had visited earlier, and after a tense greeting – she should´ve known something was off when he didn´t kiss her hello – he promptly broke up with her.

      She was trying to wake up her best friend by calling her, over and over, through the phone. She had to vent to someone, probably cry a little too. She was so focused on the phone that she didn´t hear the ding of the elevator opening its doors, carrying its occupants up.

 -

      The police were still outside by dawn.

      There wasn´t much they could do. The crime scene contained no evidence whatsoever. Not a single fingerprint or lock of hair. The video feed had been looped, but the police didn´t pay much attention to that. It was not their area of expertise, though they had already sent it to specialists. However, one of the policemen, Kerrick, who actually had an idea on how these things worked, had taken a brief look at the feed. He wasn´t an expert, not by far, but he could tell it was exquisite work. Somebody had hacked into the network and cleanly taken control of it. There was no trace, as far as Kerrick could see. It was truly a work of art; Kerrick thought silently, the whole crime was a work of art.

      What the police had found was a stash of empty bottles in the security room. The boss was told immediately, and amidst the shock that a painting, the Dalí, was actually gone, the boss muttered something about dealing with the employees later that day.

      The streets were still empty at that hour, except for the flashing of blue and red lights parked in front of museum. Everyone was contemplating so much about what had happened inside the museum, that nobody noticed a presence across the street.

      The wind played with his dark hair, ruffling it ever so slightly. His blue-green eyes were narrowed as he watched the scene in front of him, a smirk playing on his lips. If one didn´t know better, if the situation hadn´t been this serious, one would say he looked amused, intrigued even.

      He turned on his heel and walked away, a world of possibilities flitting through his mind.