Chapter 12
A Puzzle
Hermione was working flat out preparing the pastel drawings. They weren't like the sketches as the studio would expect them to be proper bone fide works of art. It wasn't unusual for the drawings to also be sold as well as the oil paintings, so they had to be good.
She had left the morning after her meal with Draco and his children, so hadn't seen him for almost three weeks. She would never admit it to anyone but he did keep popping into her thoughts, particularly how he been after the meal. She'd run it through her head numerous times but still couldn't quite settle on what had actually happened. Had he been trying to tell her he would miss her? Had he been looking at her in that intense way with any meaning? Or was she reading too much into it? After three weeks away from the reserve, she was beginning to think she'd imagined it totally.
She had just been to the studio to have four of the five drawings signed off by Jamie. He had been enthusiastic about them and had told her the final drawing didn't need to be signed off as he was sure it would be great. She was proud of herself, she knew the drawings were good and as this was the biggest commission she'd been given and it was never going to be easy working for her former enemy, she knew she had done well.
As she stepped out of the lift and walked down the corridor to her apartment, she suddenly felt uneasy. Something didn't feel right. A moment later she was standing in front of her already open front door and she automatically reached for her wand, before gently pushing the door open and stepping through. She held her wand in front of her walking carefully and silently around her living room and kitchen. After a few minutes it became apparent that nothing had been touched, everything was in its place and undisturbed.
She went and grabbed her bag with the drawings in that she had abandoned in the hall and carefully closed the front door. She then slowly started to climb the stairs; her wand held in front of her face. She stopped half way up the stairs to listen but it was silent.
She reached the top and poked her head into her bedroom that also appeared untouched. She frowned, wondering if she'd actually just left the front door open by mistake. She was sure she hadn't but why would it be open if nothing in the house had been taken or touched? She reached the end of the landing and ascended the tight, spiral staircase that led to her studio in the attic and that was when she knew she hadn't left the front door open.
The studio was in total disarray. Her easels and paint supplies were strewn across the floor, her canvasses looked like someone had thrown them against the walls. Every drawer was open, the contents spilling out, oil paint was leaking over the floorboards and her lightshades were hanging off the ceiling.
After her initial shock she started to feel very angry. How dare someone do this to her precious studio? Her tools and paints broken and spilt. Why would anyone do this? It made no sense! She had valuable items throughout her apartment, like her jewellery but that was untouched. It was as if it had been done to upset her rather than for gain.
She sent an owl to Jamie asking him to contact Law Enforcement Patrol so they could scan the scene for clues. She'd seen them do it before – waving their wands over the disturbed items and using spells to find traces of who had committed the crime.
Jamie arrived with the Patrol and he set about making her a hot drink and sitting by her while one of the officers asked her numerous questions. Once they had gone, she and Jamie headed up to the studio and attempted to put it back into some sort of order.
"Thank you so much for helping me," Hermione said as she started to stack her canvasses back in a pile.
"It's not a problem," Jamie said. "I'm so puzzled why on earth someone has done this."
Hermione sighed as she threw a few canvasses to one side as they were ripped. "I have no idea – it feels vindictive. It feels personal."
"I know but try not to think like that," Jamie tried to reassure her. "Do you want to come and go through these paintings? I can't tell what's important and what's not." Hermione walked over to him and he gave her arm a little squeeze. "You don't need to do this all right now – I can pop around tomorrow if you'd like me to?"
"Thanks – you are the best boss ever!" she joked.
"It's about time you appreciated me!" Jamie laughed at the expression on her face.
"You're right – I am feeling tired. I'll just go through these paintings and then do the rest tomorrow."
"Are the Serpent's drawings okay?" Jamie asked, looking around.
Hermione nodded. "Yes, they were with me, in my bag. And my other commissions had already been shipped too, so that's good."
Jamie started putting supplies and paper back into drawers while Hermione painstakingly checked her paintings to make sure they weren't damaged. Most were fine, untouched except a couple with a broken corner. She then noticed a canvas flung under her easel and crawled over to it, stretching to reach it.
She held it up and it almost fell apart, the canvas had been torn from the frame, the staples and tape ripped out and the corners bent. She wondered why this painting had been so badly damaged. It had been torn apart and she sat back on her knees, frowning. Jamie noticed and came over to her.
"What's up?" he asked, kneeling beside her. "Apart from the obvious!"
Hermione managed to give him a smile at his joke. "Look at this," she held up the canvas which was an old commission that she hadn't been happy with and had repainted "It's been totally destroyed, ripped and torn from its frame."
Jamie took it off her and examined it. "I remember this!" he said. "It was for that Ministry wizard – I always liked it because of the turrets." Hermione remembered it too as she hadn't enjoyed doing it. The wizard who had commissioned it was very picky and demanding. He wanted to be painted outside his house, which was a very impressive and unusual building with large turrets on the back of the roof. She had had to change the drawings she had submitted half a dozen times before he was happy.
"It's as if they were looking for something." Jamie's voice broke into her thoughts.
Hermione stared at him. "You're right – I was trying to put my finger on it but that's what it is - they were looking for something."
"And they obviously thought it was hidden somewhere in this particular canvas!" Jamie said. "Is this where you kept your roll of money?"
Hermione laughed. "I wish!" she said. "But what could they possibly think I had that was worth tearing the place apart for?"
Jamie pointed over to her art bag. "You might want to look at that too – they've completely taken that apart. Every seam is ripped open and all the paints have been squeezed. The tubes are all broken open."
Hermione did as he suggested and walked over to examine her art bag. He was right, it had been completely ripped open and all the oil paints had been squeezed. Why on earth would someone do that?
"They were definitely looking for something," she said. "Every item in the bag has been broken or spilt."
"Put it all back together – see if anything is missing," Jamie suggested.
Hermione looked up at him. "But it's just paint and oils and brushes?"
Jamie knelt down beside her. "I know but they must have been looking for something – even if it was just paint."
Hermione did as he suggested, picking each tube and replacing the cap, putting brushes back into their wraps, carefully putting the tiny tubes of coloured ink back into their holder in colour order. Jamie had gone downstairs to make them another cup of tea and she worked her way through her art bag knowing where everything was kept by heart.
Jamie returned with their drinks and she looked up at him. "You're right," she confirmed. "There are 3 tubes missing."
"Have you searched the floor? Just in case?"
"Yes, all over here and under the easel."
"Makes no sense!"
"No, it doesn't and more than that the three that are missing are all stored right next to each other." Hermione showed him what she meant. The tubes were held in little compartments in a large rectangular tray, a bit like test tubes in a lab. The colours were like a rainbow running from blue to green to yellow and every colour in-between. The three missing tubes were next to each other in a row. "Ruby, Carmine and Vermillion," Hermione said. "That's the colours missing, all shades of red."
Jamie frowned. "That is beyond weird, Hermione."
"Yes, it is! Did they seriously cause all this devastation to destroy one picture and steal three little pots of coloured in pigment?"
"It would seem so," Jamie said. "But more importantly why?"
