Back in Warehouse 13...
The team was running out of leads, and out of time. Myka kept relaying Britney's updates on the development of her relationship, but so far Doug hadn't told her anything noteworthy.
Though Sheerya provided key information, the books proved a most valuable source for any puzzles they came across, such as the identification of the leaf in the pocket of the waistcoat.
Myka found out that the plant was called venim, native to Phantasm, and would preserve the state of anything it touched in the best condition that thing could be, whether it was a person, as in the case of Pierson MacPherson living for one hundred years in Phantasm a limber, clean-shaven man in his 30s, or an object, such as the waistcoat, worn constantly by its 19th-century owner yet never needing any mending or ironing.
"Okay, so in chapter 10 of the first book Casey discovers all about the Phantasmagyth," Myka began, pulling out that paper from the manuscript copy in her hands.
"Right, the part when all the Phantasmians on display in Snowden House suddenly came to life," Pete recalled.
Claudia was busily scanning the page, "I guess we're in the same boat Krasimir Schlimme was in at that point," she remarked.
Myka looked over at her, "What do you mean?"
Claudia highlighted the sentence for her before showing the group, "See here? Krasimir had the gyth and wanted the chain. He knew it wasn't powerful just on its own."
"Wait," Pete gasped, raising his head with a strange expression on his face, "What if Krasimir's still looking for the Chain?"
All movement in the office ceased.
"Still looking?" Myka repeated derisively, "No, at the end of the second book Casey says that Schlimme in the bat-suit-"
"'Being human, though, he probably died long ago, and they threw it out.'" Pete read the sentence from the manuscript, "It says nothing definite about him dying."
"Dude," Claudia remarked, "he totally could have escaped and nobody would realize it."
"But how do you explain that we can't find him anywhere?" Artie demanded.
"There's still a part of him here, though," Claudia postulated, "the artifact; Krasimir could still be connected to this world by the artifact, and now that the Phantasmagyth is back on Earth, he's going to try to find it one last time."
"That would explain the blackouts Doug's been having!" Myka cried, "Maybe the chain is the one Krasimir made, so every time Doug blacked out, it was because the chain made him channel Krasimir Schlimme!"
"Creepy!" Claudia commented with a grin.
"So that's how your artifacts work?" Sheerya asked, coming at last into the conversation from whatever isolated, forgotten corner she'd been exploring. "The inventor or the owner can take over the consciousness of the person in contact with it?"
Artie nodded, "The resulting irregularities of character are sometimes accompanied with an invisible electric current, what we call anomalies."
"Okay, so along those lines," Pete thought furiously, "if Krasimir is looking for the Phantasmagyth-"
"It must be still out there somewhere!" Claudia finished.
"And we've got to get it before he does!" Myka cried.
"But," Sheerya protested, "I thought Doug didn't know anything about the Phantasmagyth or Phantasm, for that matter."
"Right, so he was probably under the influence of Krasimir when he found it."
"But," the fairy continued, "if Krasimir's the one who found it, using Doug, why is Krasimir still looking for it?"
Everyone fell silent.
Artie raised his hands, "There we go, that's our breakthrough: Doug must have woken up before Krasimir could actually find the Phantasmagyth. When Doug is awake and not holding the chain, maybe the spirit of Krasimir still thinks that the Phantasmagyth has not been found yet."
"So, Doug could still have it in the house, then!" Myka concluded.
Pete disagreed, "No, I don't think so, especially if Doug found it when he was awake. If I found something that looked like the Phantasmagyth and I had no idea where it came from, I certainly wouldn't keep it around my house!"
"True... He'd probably contact the authorities to find where it came from," Myka suggested.
"Or sell it," Claudia inferred. "Going to the authorities with something like that, you risk finding yourself at the top of the suspect list."
Myka nodded in acceptance. Suddenly she started and her eyes bugged out. "Artie, when and where did you buy the gyth?"
Artie smiled as he caught the gist of Myka's reasoning. "Two months ago-"
"Which was shortly after Doug's somnambulism started..."
"Whoa!" Pete spoke up, "So Krasimir is taking over Doug, and using his body to walk different places?"
"Doug must have brought the Phantasmagyth out of Phantasm, and now Krasimir is looking for it!" Claudia cried.
"Where was it, Artie?" Myka demanded.
"A jeweler's auction in-"
"Let me guess," Claudia interrupted, "Illinois?"
"Yeah; he operates out of Chicago but he holds auctions all over the state." He stopped there, but when everyone continued to stare at him, he added, "He's an old buddy of mine, and sometimes he'll come out to Univille and do an auction here."
"And that's where you got the gyth?" Myka verified.
"Yes, that's where I bought the gyth," Artie confirmed.
"So what about the other chain? Would this jeweler friend of yours have that too?" Myka asked.
Artie shook his head. "I highly doubt he would have sold them apart if he had acquired them together-"
"And Doug's probably smart enough not to sell a complete set to the same jeweler, especially if he wants to get rid of it," Claudia interrupted again.
"So where else would a guy from Rockford go to sell a chain he never wants to see again?" Pete wondered aloud.
Artie grinned, "That's where we come in." He scooted over to his computer and began pulling up all the information they could have on Doug. "Let's see, so this would be about two months ago, where did Doug go?" He pulled up a window listing several receipts and such from dozens of different places. "Fast food...gas station...coffee shop...fast food...medical co-pay...pharmacy... fast food-"
"Boy, does he even know how to cook?" Claudia remarked.
"Apparently not," Myka responded.
"Let's see... pharmacy again-ah! Bingo! Clark's Jewels on Thursday."
Claudia flexed her fingers, "Shall we locate this establishment?"
Artie shook his head, "No, that's the guy he sold the gyth to, the one in Chicago. Which means that he must have sold the chain..." he scanned further down the list, "Ah-ha! One gold chain appraised on Saturday afternoon at-"
"Aladdin's Palace of Gold in Chicago?" Pete read incredulously from the screen.
"Good grief!" Myka burst out, "All right, he must not know the value of that chain! Sounds like a hole-in-the-wall to me!"
"Wouldn't be surprised if a place with a name like that was black market, either," Pete agreed.
"All right," Artie stood and began packing his signature black bag. "Sheerya, you're coming with me, we'll go to Chicago. If we find the chain, we'll go straight to Britney's house, you can meet us there. Sound good?"
"Will do, Artie."
"Yippee!" Sheerya cheered, flying loops around Artie's head.
"Don't get too excited, you little pixie," he warned, "Stay put and stay hidden or so help me you will make the journey inside my hat!"
Sheerya immediately dove for his collar. Artie flinched and rubbed at his neck, "Hey! Be careful in there!" Sheerya only laughed. He looked at his employees, a peeved expression already covering his face, "If you find anything you think I should know of, call me on the Farnsworth."
"Good luck, you two!" Myka called as Artie walked out the office door.
"More like good luck to just Artie, he's the one who's going to need it," Pete observed.
Just then, Claudia's laptop bleeped. She checked the alert message.
"Whoa, guys! Ping!" She said.
All three friends gathered to read the news flash: "MORGAN MUSEUM CLOSED FOR INVESTIGATION. The Morgan Museum of Modern Art in Ann Arbor, MI, has closed its doors temporarily to the public as it was discovered that a few pieces of art have been stolen from the basement storage facility sometime within the past few days. Mr. Donner, the curator at the museum, states that he is just as surprised as anyone else. "The piece or pieces-we aren't sure yet how many-that are missing don't appear at this time to be anything valuable, but we want to make sure that any donated pieces are still safe for their owners." The investigation is still ongoing, as extensive inventory must be taken, as well as questioning of the numerous security guards who apparently had no idea of any unauthorized personnel in the storage area at any time."
Claudia looked from Pete on her right to Myka on her left, "Coincidence? I think not!" she exclaimed jokingly.
"Ann Arbor, wait that's-" Myka grabbed the Farnsworth and called Artie.
He answered almost immediately, "Myka, what is it? I just left Univille."
"There's been a mysterious break-in at a museum in Ann Arbor."
Artie blinked for several moments, "So?"
"Doug and Britney were just there recently."
Artie grinned, "You think something might have happened?"
"By the pricking of my thumbs, something artifact through here comes!" Pete quoted dramatically.
"Why don't you two go check it out," Artie suggested. "Let me know what you find."
"Will do, Artie," Myka replied, closing the Farnsworth.
Instantly, Claudia was hanging on her shoulder, "Take me with you!" she exclaimed.
"Claudia, the warehouse needs somebody to look after it-" Pete remonstrated.
"Please? It gets so boring around here!"
Myka laughed, "Ha! With you, Claudia, dear, nothing is boring; not even breathing."
Claudia scowled as Pete and Myka prepared to leave the office. "Okay," Pete was saying, "Stop by Leena's for a change of clothes, and on to the train station for Ann Arbor."
"Have fun you guys," Claudia called after them, but she didn't sound at all like she meant it. Pete waved and closed the door behind them. Claudia spun aimlessly in her chair, "I'll just sit back here and...breathe." She spun a few times one direction, then-just because-began spinning the other way. "And time is going to fly," she grumbled.