The museum curator Donald Jaywin, was appalled. "I just can't believe it. Murder in the museum? A teddy bear stolen?"
He sounded as if the thought was inconceivable.
"Can you tell us which one is missing? Anything about it?"
The curator stood, wringing his hands and sweating heavily in spite of the temperatures outside.
"I can't see that any are missing. But...yes, that one has been moved."
"How can you tell?"
"Oh, We always prop it up a certain way to show it's best side."
"We saw him on camera actually leave with a bear. He was stuffing it in a bag." Peter pointed out.
"What can you tell us about this one?" Neal interrupted.
"It's a Steiff bear. Jointed limbs, glass eyes...I have a picture for the insurance."
They followed the man into the office, which at the back of the house. "Here." The picture was of a bear, an almost sad looking mouth, only one ear and tan coloring. It had a torn bow around it's neck.
"That's not even mint condition." Neal noted in surprise.
"Yes. Strange that it's the one that's been bothered."
"What's it's history?"
"It actually belongs to Ryan Winsery."
"Not the museum?" Peter asked. "I thought this was all from Sam Druthers collection?" Sam being the eccentric collector, who'd died last year.
"Sam was Ryan's grandfather." The curator smiled sadly. "The bear was passed down to Ryan's father, and then to Ryan. When Ryan joined the military and started to get called up to go on assignment, he was afraid the bear would be lost. So he asked us to keep it here."
"Where did it come from originally? This bear was made in the early 1900s. Where did the family get it to start with?"
The curator went into lecture mode, pulling off wire rimmed glasses and rubbing them with a cloth. "Druther was in World War II. As a young officer, he saw a great deal of fighting in the trenches. One day he was lost from his platoon for several hours. During that time, he found the bear in the remains of a farm house. From the large markings and slurs written on the wall, he gathered that a jewish family had lived there. Perhaps he was lonely, being so young, but seeing the bear he picked it up. Later, he was involved in the discovery of the interment camps." He stared straight ahead as if he was seeing the scene on a screen in front of him. "He always said that finding the bear gave him hope. It reminded him of a normal life and what he fought to preserve. And later it reminded him of how much he had to be grateful for as an American, for his freedom and family."
"Some people would've seen it as an unpleasant reminder." Neal's voice was soft but interested.
The curator smiled. "Yes. But somehow, Sam retained his optimism. If anything, the bear encouraged him."
Peter glanced at Neal, chafing to get on with the case but trusting Neal's instinct.
"Was the bear in this condition when he found it? Or was it damaged by being played with?"
"I believe the ear was already partly ripped off. There was also...here." He pulled out a close up photo of the bear's other side, angled to the front you could see a gash by the back of the bear's neck. "The repairs were there when he found it. As for the bow, I'm sure it isn't the original."
"I think we should take a closer look at the bear."
"Please be careful with it." Jaywin fretted. He stepped over the rope and picked up the teddy. He carefully handed it across to Peter. Peter frowned at the bear and glanced it over. He handed it to Neal. Neal turned it over carefully. "This isn't the same bear."
"What?" The director's eyes widened.
Peter's eyes narrowed and his eyes met Neal's in realization.
Neal held the bear up, showing them the back. "The repaired gash is missing. There isn't any sign of damage here." He tilted it to look at the head, eyes narrowed and held it up to his nose. Taking a deep sniff, he announced "it doesn't smell old either."
Appalled, the curator moaned. "Not this one. Why did it have to be this bear? I promised him it would be safe."
"Can we get in touch with Mr. Winsery?"
"Last I heard from him, he was stationed overseas. Let me look through my address book. Oh no. How will I tell him? That bear had sentimental value aside from the cost."
"We'll inform him. And we'll be looking for the bear." Peter replied as he took the slip of paper the man copied from his book.
Neal pulled on his winter gloves as they stepped out into the cold. "So. We are investigating grand theft bear."
"Murder. We are investigating a murder."
"I can't tell my street contacts to be on the look out for a murderer. I can tell them to look for an antique teddy bear."
"But we still don't know why that bear." Peter shook his head, ducking against the wind and yanking open the taurus door. Neal was already climbing in the other side. "What will Mozzie say when you tell him to be on the look out for a stolen teddy bear?"
"I don't know. But it should be interesting."
"They stole a teddy bear?" Mozzie wasn't just surprised. He was outraged. Neal was startled by the intense reaction.
"An old expensive one."
"With sentimental value. With all the stuff in that place, they could surely have found something worth more money and less sentiment."
"How did you know it had sentimental value?"
"It's a teddy bear!" Mozzie flung his hands in the air.
Neal recalled having seen Mozzie sleeping with his teddy bear, something he'd noted but never commented on.
"So you'll keep an eye out?"
"Ha. Of course. But it won't turn up for sale."
"Too hot?"
"They didn't steal it to put it on the black market. Maybe to get even with the family?"
"Holding a teddy bear for ransom?"
"Maybe the original owner came after it."
"The original owner lost it during World War II. And there is no reason to think they survived."
"Maybe someone wants to copy it."
"You mean besides replacing it with a modern fake?"
Mozzie scowled. "Forged! What kind of forger are you that forgets you can copy things and sell them at the price of the originals? Why settle for just replacing it? They may plan on making a ...bunch...herd...whatever a group of bears is called."
Neal drew back. "Easy, Moz, what's gotten you so cranky? You've dealt with stolen religious artifacts without getting this worked up."
"Teddy bears are a symbol of security, of innocence. Its just"...Mozzie flailed his arms..., "so wrong!"
At that, Neal tilted up his glass of wine to hide his grin. He could just imagine Peter's reaction to Mozzie's statement, given his less than normal code of ethics. Not that Neal had room to talk either.
Jones turned up the first lead, with the less than enviable job of looking back over the security footage. Tracking down a couple of repeat daytime visitors who'd signed the guest book. Speaking to these yielded no clues, except for the announcement that the teddy bear room was the most popular for families. It was also the most profitable, because anyone going in there was almost guaranteed to go into the gift shop to buy a teddy bear, albeit a modern, less expensive one.
The gift shop attendant had the first real clue. "There was a woman in here, came in with a friend on a tour at lunch time. She came back the next day and wanted to know more about that bear in particular. I couldn't tell her much that wasn't already printed in the museum guide. She wanted to know details about where it had been found. She was on the phone at the same time, I think she was relaying answers to someone."
Neal interrupted. "Do you sell cameras?"
"What?"
"In the gift shop. Some museums allow photos, some don't."
"We do, as long as the flash is turned off."
"Did you see her get a picture?"
"I don't know."
That took them back to Jones and the security feed. The gift shop attendant was able to point out the woman.
"Thanks for your help." Peter stated.
Neal was already crowding Jones, who gave him a look.
"Sorry." Neal sat. "Can you find her the day before?"
They backtracked and found her and sure enough she held up her phone as she looked at the exhibit.
"Snapped a bunch of shots from different angles," Jones nodded.
Neal's eyebrows rose. "Mozzie might just be right."
"About?"
"Maybe the previous owners or their descendants really are looking for it."
"That's crazy."
"Yeah, but sentimental value can me measured in dollars." Neal observed.
Peter considered this. One day, he promised himself, he'd find out more about Neal's history. And where that young man's particular views on what to be sentimental about came from.
