Chapter 3: Splashes Of Evidence
Sherlock was baffled,
"How could he do it? How could he enter without disturbing a single speck of dust?" he asked frustrated,
"What makes you think they're male?" she asked causing him to look at her,
"What?" he asked,
"You said how could 'he' do it. That would imply that you think it's a man who stole the painting" she said and Sherlock chuckled,
"Very well observed, Miss Hooper. I narrowed the percentage of probability down by the fact that only a man could have the drive to commit a crime this big" he said and Molly folded her arms unimpressed,
"You're saying that a woman isn't capable of this?" she pressed and heard Sherlock chuckle again and Molly shook her head with an unimpressed sigh and the detective stood,
"Very well, Miss Hooper. Prove me wrong. How would you enter this room without any disturbance?" he asked and Molly looked surprised,
"You're asking for my opinion?" she asked unbelieving and Sherlock smirked, walking behind her and brought his lips close to her ear,
"Indulge me" he whispered and Molly looked around the gallery space and took a step towards the wall on which the famed painting once hung,
"This space of the museum is on the ground floor, The fire exits are alarmed so if opened it results in the fire alarm being activated if not already done so" she noted,
"The guards patrol each room every 10 minuets giving the space between each room on the ground floor... So the thief must have known the moment the guards left this room giving them exactly 10 minutes to get in, grab the painting and get out" she said and Sherlock nodded and Molly smiled,
"Where better to observe the guards movements..." she started before pointing upwards,
"The roof" she finished and they both looked up at the glass ceiling and Sherlock smiled brightly,
"Oh that is brilliant. Do those windows open?" he asked and Molly nodded,
"They have too. They have to allow in air to remove condensation so it doesn't damage the paintings" she explained and Sherlock paced a few steps away before looking at her,
"Answer me this, Miss Hooper. The officers only found one set of footprints within this room leading to the painting" he said and Molly nodded,
"Yeah at night, the cleaners put a special polish onto the floorboards that allows us to see the movements of each guard throughout the night... They discovered one set of footprints that didn't belong their that lead straight to the painting" she said more to myself and Sherlock smiled in excitement,
"So what does this tell us?" he asked and Molly looked up at him in understanding,
"They worked alone" she said and the detective clicked his fingers,
"Exactly, So how does one jump from the roof, land safely and escape single handedly?" he asked and Molly moved away a few steps before crouching down,
"There are these condensation marks that would suggest something sprayed air" she said and Sherlock nodded, crouching not too far away from her and watched as she looked up,
"They didn't use climbing equipment. They threw an inflatable landing platform down here allowing them to jump and land safely. Once weight was applied, the platform deflated causing the four corner condensation marks" she noted and Sherlock smirked,
"Next question, Miss Hooper... How did he... Or she get out without having means to once again reach their entrance point?" he asked and Molly looked puzzled,
"They couldn't go back up..." she began and looked at Sherlock,
"So they went down" she deduced and Sherlock nodded,
"Parisian catacombs. Oh this was planned very well, including an exit point that no one else was aware of" he said before knocking his knuckled on the floor earning a hollow echo and Molly looked stunned,
"A secret trap door" she murmured and Sherlock nodded,
"Our thief had the means to take his inflatable platform as well as the painting away without even being noticed" Sherlock murmured and Molly looked as if thinking and Sherlock became curious,
"What's on your mind, Miss Hooper?" he asked and Molly looked at him after a moment,
"I think I know how we can bring our thief back to the scene of the crime" she said and Sherlock felt himself smirk,
"I am all ears, Miss Hooper" he said causing her to smile.
A breaking news report appeared on the Parisian televisions the next day,
"Bonsoir, Bien que les autorités aient été incapables d'obtenir le coupable qui a fait irruption dans le Louvre la semaine dernière. La commissaire du musée, Mlle Jenkins, est heureuse d'annoncer que la peinture qui a été volée était en fait un faux. La vraie «nuit étoilée» était loin pour le nettoyage et sera retourné à sa place légitime dans un événement spécial ce soir. Je m'appelle Amanda Jones et c'est une nouvelle de Paris." The reporter said with a smile and Sherlock looked towards Molly, curiously,
"Translation?" he requested and Molly smiled,
"She said 'Good evening, Although authorities have been unable to obtain the culprit who broke into The Louvre last week. Museum curator Miss Jenkins is pleased to announce that the painting that was stolen was indeed a fake. The real 'Starry Night' was away for cleaning and shall be returned to it's rightful place in a special event tonight. I'm Amanda Jones and this has been a breaking news report of Paris today." she provided and Sherlock nodded,
"Perhaps you might acompany me to tonight's event" he said gently and Molly looked surprised,
"You want me there?" she asked gently and he nodded,
"Of course. This is your plan after all and it is your painting that will be on display" he teased gently causing her to laugh brightly,
"In that case, I would be honoured to accompany you, Mr Holmes" she said and he smirked,
"The honour is mine, Miss Hooper" he replied.
Ooooooo will Sherlock and Molly catch the thief? You will have to review if you want to find out!
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996
