Ch 15
Jake and Atticus were up early the next morning to head back to Cambridge for classes. Amy and Dan drove to the museum. Anne Hawley met them in the lobby.
"Welcome, thank you for coming." Amy was about to introduce her brother, when, "you must be Dan. You're just as notorious as your sister. Yes, I'm aware who you are. I'm Anne Hawley, the director. Please, call me Anne. I'm so glad you came. Come with me, I will show you around." Dan gave Amy a big-eyed look behind Anne's back. Amy just shrugged. They had been through so much together and if this woman had researched them, I guess it made sense that she would approach Dan this way. It was the same way she had approached Amy and Jake.
Anne led them into the main gallery. It was one of the most beautiful museums Amy had ever seen. Dan even thought so, "Whoa, this place is amazing!"
It was built to resemble a Venetian Villa with a center courtyard covered by glass skylights. An ornate fountain and seating dominated the ground floor. Balconies and ornate railings dominated the second and third floors. Greenery abounded as tourists began to mill around.
Anne was true to her word. She showed them around the whole museum highlighting the rooms and what works dominated each space. She paid special attention to the missing works on the walls, where an empty frame sat awaiting the return of the missing work.
"Our works are on permanent display, so, leaving the frames empty is a reminder of what we've all lost, and as a place holder for their eventual return." Anne said with a touch of sadness in her voice.
"Do you have records of all the works in the museum?" Amy asked.
"Yes, of course, we have over 12,000 works in the museum's collection, some of which are on loan, or being restored at any given time. This collection database was what Bianca Rosenbloom was in charge of back when the robbery took place." Anne said, heading toward the elevator. "We keep the records of the collections in our administrative section on the 4th floor."
When the elevator doors opened, Amy was surprised by how commonplace the space was compared to the rest of the museum. It looked like the inside of a bank to her. Offices with partition walls dominated the small room's footprint. A few glassed-in offices surrounded the walls with round windows overlooking the outside. On the left side of the space was a sealed room with a huge metal door, like that of one you'd find in a vault.
"You're welcome to research anything you like in our records room" Anne said indicating to the vault-like room, "and my office should you need me is back in that corner." She indicated to the largest glassed in office in the far corner. "Though, I should warn you that I'm hardly ever in my office as I often give tours of the museum. Your best chance at reaching me is the phone I gave you."
A young blonde man with piercing blue eyes walked up to Anne Hawley just then. A brilliant smile on his innocent-looking face, his keycard clipped to his pants pocket faced the wrong way so Amy and Dan couldn't make out his name.
Whoa, Amy thought, he's cute. His smile filled up his whole face. He had the most perfect teeth she'd ever seen and his white-blonde hair and blue eyes contrasted nicely. She instantly tamped that thought down, her thoughts on Jake.
"Amy, Dan, I'd like to introduce you to Trevor Jorgensen, my assistant. He will be able to help you in your search. He helps all of my students who come to research the robbery and the works."
Trevor stuck out his hand to Amy and she took it, "Nice to meet you," Amy said.
"The pleasure is all mine," Trevor said enthusiastically, holding her hand a second longer than necessary. His gaze lingering on her face longer than required too.
Amy felt herself going pink. I shouldn't care what this guy thinks, I'm with Jake. Still, there was something fun about being flirted with, Amy had to admit.
Dan noticed and got a smirk on his face.
They said goodbye to Anne Hawley and followed Trevor into the records room. He showed them the files along the walls, and a bank of computers on a long desk in the middle.
"If you need anything, ANYTHING at all, please ask. I can show you specific collections, or help you search a specific work" Trevor said, standing very close to Amy and giving her puppy-dog eyes. Dan wanted to hurl. Why did guys act like this with his sister?
"Thank you, Trevor, we'll let you know," Amy said giving him her most genuine smile.
After he left the records room, Dan leaned over, "Uh, flirt much?" he said with snigger.
"Shut up Dan. We have work to do." Amy said sitting down at the first computer and booting it up.
Dan continued, "I'm pretty sure Trevor wants to research you."
Amy ignored him.
"Let's start with The Concert. I think if we can focus on that one, we may be able to find the others."
Amy and Dan searched the database for nearly two hours before their eyes began to cross and focusing became hard to do. Dan had sent a text to Jonah and Ian asking them to research The Concert with their Janus and Lucian contacts. Trevor had come in a handful of times to ask if he could be of assistance. Amy was always polite to him, flashing him big smiles but giving him no additional information on what they were researching.
Dan finally leaned back and sighed audibly, "Amy we need to take a break. I can't look at this anymore. Let's get some food at least."
Amy sighed. She was feeling the strain too. She was about to agree with him when they heard a loud clunk. Spinning around they stared open-mouthed at the now shut vault door.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Dan asked with alarm rising in his voice.
"I don't think so," Amy said getting out of her seat and rushing to the vault door. "Help me with this thing, Dan" Amy said starting to turn the large crank handle to the left.
They both cranked and cranked all the way to the left and nothing happened.
"Try pushing on it!" Dan shouted
"I AM!" Amy said.
Nothing happened.
"Maybe it opens the other way, let's crank all the way to the right!" Amy said, reasonably.
No luck. It wouldn't budge.
Dan started banging on the door, shouting for someone to hear on the other side.
After a few minutes, he gave up. "I suppose they can't hear me."
"Who would want to lock us in a research room?" Dan asked.
"We don't know that anyone locked us in here. Maybe it is programmed to shut at a certain time each day." Amy said hopefully.
"Amy, you and I have been through too much together to have that level of naiveté." Dan said ruefully.
"Well, I'm going to reserve judgement. This is a busy museum and I don't think we'll be trapped in here very long." She said. "Plus, we're not in any immediate danger. There's no Halon gas system in here. We have lights and air, so I guess we just wait it out. Trevor and Anne know we're in here. What time is it?"
"3:30." Dan replied with much misery.
"Dan, we've been in much worse situations. This is a cakewalk compared the Cosmographicum in Prague, or that zip line in Guatemala," Amy said trying to reassure her brother.
"I know, I know, I was just really wanting a cheeseburger. I'm starved."
"I have some gum." Amy said, holding out a piece to him. He took it grudgingly.
"We might as well work as long as we're trapped in here. I'm sure Trevor will check on me, I mean, us again soon." Amy said, catching her slip up, but not before Dan noticed.
"He's really got a thing for you, Amy. I'm starting to think you're some guy magnet. You seem to attract them wherever you go." Dan said with a smirk.
Amy just shook her head and headed back to the computer. "You know Dan, your turn will come and when it does, I get to tease you mercilessly for years, just like you've done to me."
"Never gonna' happen. I'm going to be a confirmed bachelor, like Fiske, or Uncle Alistair," Dan said resolutely.
"Hmm, we'll see," Amy said haughtily. "Love has a way of coming at inconvenient times and you can't really control it."
"Maybe not for you, but it'll be different for me. I won't go falling for every girl who comes into my life."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Amy said turning in her chair to face her brother, she could feel her face reddening.
"Amy, you gotta' admit, you are boy crazy. You tend to flirt with any boy that pays the slightest bit of attention to you. First it was Ian on the hunt, then you pined away for Evan forever, and now Jake."
Amy's face went completely red. "I do not!" she fairly shouted at Dan. "There was nothing between Ian and me on the hunt." Amy said, trying her best to speak like she meant it.
"Yeah right, I saw the two of you. I'm glad you both outgrew that one. I didn't want Ian as a brother-in-law."
"And you didn't like Evan?" Amy asked quietly, thinking about her first love.
"Actually, I liked him more and more as we fought the Vespers. He was pretty cool. You two together though, made me want to barf."
Amy smiled at the memory. "We were together 24/7 it seemed."
"Yeah, I know. I had to watch you do the 'lean' on the bus every single day." He said sticking his index finger down his throat.
Amy turned back to her computer, thinking their conversation on her boyfriends was over.
Apparently, Dan had more thoughts, "Amy, I really like Jake though. I think it's pretty cool that he's Atticus' brother. I think you ought to stick with him. Don't go looking for a new boyfriend. Jake's the right one for you."
Amy's eyebrows raised, "Oh you think so, do you?" she said with a smile. "I'm so glad you approve."
She looked at his face, all traces of sarcasm were gone and he genuinely looked concerned. He really thinks I'm flirting with Trevor. He's worried I'm already looking past Jake.
"Dan, don't worry. I know Jake's the right one for me." Amy said, squeezing his hand. "I didn't know this worried you. You don't have anything to fear. Jake and I are strong, stronger than we've ever been and we're already starting to talk long-term." As an aside, she said, "I love Jake and he loves me. That's as good as it gets."
Dan pulled his hand away from hers and gave her a withering stare. Apparently saying the 'L' word was too much for him. "I'm sorry I brought it up." He said lamely.
They both turned back to their computer monitors.
"I think I'm going to see what I can find about Isabella Stewart Gardner," Amy said.
"What do we know about her?" asked Dan, "Was she a Cahill?"
"I don't know," Amy said absent-mindedly.
"I'll text Ian and ask him to find out." Dan said whipping out his phone. "No service. That's weird. I sent him a text earlier."
"It must be this room," Amy said, checking her cell phone too.
"I wonder if it's lead-lined or something." A sense of panic starting to creep up. What if nobody came to check on them the rest of the night? What if they weren't discovered until morning? They couldn't go that long without using a bathroom, or getting something to drink.
"Hey, Trevor, where are you?" Dan yelled through the door.
"It's no use Dan. We just have to wait." Amy returned to her search through the database.
"It says here that Isabella Stewart Gardner was a fixture and a spectacle in the art world during her time. She was flamboyant, eccentric and a general flirt. She was independently wealthy and used her 'play-money', as she called it, to start the collection of art housed here. She began construction on her magnum opus around the turn of the century and the museum opened in 1903. She'd go to auctions all over Europe, buying up masterpieces and storing them in her home until the museum was finished.
At that moment, they heard a voice muffled on the other side of the door and a distant banging sound. They both rushed to the door and began to yell and bang back.
"We're in here, get us out!" Amy yelled.
They heard a scraping sound as the wheel from the outside was turned and finally groaned open. Trevor stood there, eyes wide and mouth open.
"Were you guys locked in?" He asked with astonishment, "I, I, I had no idea this door even sealed. I'm so sorry! I should have checked on you an hour ago!"
"Yes, thank you so much Trevor, I don't know what we would have done without you!" Amy said in her flirtatious manner again.
Dan glanced at his watch. It was nearly 5:30. They had been trapped in the vault almost two hours.
"We appreciate your help, but we really need to be going." Amy said. Trevor looked like he was about to cry.
"The museum is about to close, that's why I came up to see how you were doing. They've already locked the front door. You'll have to go out the alley entrance." He said, apologetically.
As they reached the alley entrance, a thought occurred to Amy.
"Trevor, is this the door that was used by the thieves that night?"
Trevor looked sheepish, "Yes, it is, the very one." Dan could tell he was searching for something else to say. When he couldn't think of anything, he just looked at the ground.
Amy came to his rescue, "You've been really helpful Trevor, thank you so much for your help. If we need anything else, we'll be sure to give you a call."
His face lit up, "Wait, I'll give you my card." He pulled out a white business card from his pocket, he quickly flipped it over and scribbled something on the back. "I've written my cell phone number on the back in case you need it, you know, for anything. Call whenever you want." He said with puppy dog eyes fixed on Amy.
"Thanks Trevor," Amy said pocketing his card and giving him one last smile.
Amy and Dan walked back around the back of the building and up a narrow alley. It had rained while they were inside the museum. It was dark in the alley as not a lot of sunshine reached the ground and there were slick puddles in patches along the ground. It was an uncomfortable feeling and Amy felt the hairs on her neck prickle. Just then, a large shape loomed at the entrance to the alley, blocking their way.
Dan and Amy stopped in their tracks.
"Hey, you two" the large shape shouted.
Dan turned to run, but Amy pulled on his arm and stood her ground.
"We haven't done anything wrong, we don't have any reason to fear this person."
"Amy, are you insane?! We just got locked in a vault and now a goon shows up in an alleyway? Let's get out of here!" Dan fairly shouted to her.
"No, I'm not running. There's one of him and two of us and we've not done anything wrong." Amy's eyes looked like steel and she stepped into her fighter's stance.
Dan sighed. "Fine, I guess I'm due for a good fight anyway. It's been too long," getting into his fighter's stance too.
The goon was big; bigger than even Pierce's men. Dan could feel his heartbeat pumping in his ears.
"What do you want?" Amy said loudly to the man running toward them.
"I want you to turn around and leave this place, and stop poking around!"
At this, he swung a sharp right hook at Amy's head which she nimbly ducked. Dan went to sweep his leg under the man's feet, but they were like concrete; immobile. The goon looked down at Dan and smiled, he bent, picked Dan up like a rag doll and made to throw him against the side of the museum. Amy sprang at him and climbed on his back, hooking her arms tightly around his windpipe and leaning back hard, to try and choke him. She succeeded in getting the man to simply drop Dan in a puddle at their feet. He grabbed both of her arms and flung her over his head. She sailed through the air and slammed sideways into a dumpster cutting her cheek on the edge. She could feel warm blood begin to seep from the cut on her cheek. She was groggy and the ground began to swim. She blinked to try and clear her vision. She could hear heavy footsteps coming nearer. Suddenly, her head was jerked back at an odd angle,
"Did you hear me, little pretty? I want you and your brother to stop digging around here. If you don't, I won't be so nice the next time." The goon laughed and pushed her head down into the puddle and walked off toward the entrance to the alley.
Amy looked up, concern for Dan flooded her mind.
"I'm fine," he said, as though reading her mind. "Let's get the hell out of here. I've had enough of art for one day."