"Yep, it is a statue," Lila gazed at the medium sized statue, about as tall as a garden decoration that people kept near the steps up to the front door on those gardening shows that always crop up in the dead hours of the night, as it's safely behind the glass, that of a shapely woman, not very detailed, carved, made of granite, Al says the radioactivity isn't too high to worry about, but there's something underneath the granite that's triggering his scanners.
If anything, he's betting that a machine made the statue, only reason for the radioactivity inside the statue, no human would've risked meticulously carving a statue for hours on end to ensure that it didn't leak out through weakened or cracked areas, even if it's low risk to their health.
Not old, for that reason, and Al made sure to go through history before concluding it.
"Why would it be worth that much money?" Theodore spoke with the assistant who helped him get near the statue, due to the security clearances required.
He heard from the assistant as he shuffled papers in his hands as he went over the notes and whatever that Charles left for him before his disappearance, that Charles swore its worth, hoping that using his name would help earn more than initially appraised.
Him being an esteemed philosopher of the arts should've netted him a decent profit, which his assistant's quick to inform Theodore and Lila that in all proceeds from the sells gets donated to nonprofit organizations around the country.
"Everything he wants to sell goes through an appraisal before anyone thinks of letting it on the market, we get every paperwork stamped, signed, you name it. Once, they wouldn't let him sell a painting because someone forgot a signature on the release forum and that cost us two weeks before it was corrected," the assistant mentioned an incident when someone forgot a signature and prevented a sell, everything's meticulous in this business and Charles knew better to do anything foolish.
He would never sell anything that didn't go through his appraiser the moment the paperwork gets filed.
Strange, someone who'd appraise things like this should've realized right away that the statue's faked and mildly radioactive, they would've contacted the authorities and informed Charles of their findings.
No appraiser worth their salt would've allowed this to market much less in the open, it's a disservice to others who're more apt and willing to root through every junk for the diamonds.
The assistant's shocked when Theodore informed him that the statue's a fake, not from the 1400s or earlier, and that he ought to call someone to safely dispose it due to the unusual radioactivity.
Maybe make sure all he gotten's a chest scan from his close proximation to the statue since it remained in the building following Charles's disappearance.
"But why would the appraiser not known this?" Lila brought up as she stood with Theodore, looking at the statue while the assistant hurried away to inform someone of the news.
His large hands in his stitched pocket as he stared at the statue with his icy blue eyes, Theodore says that the appraiser's either a first year or scheming.
"Not the first time someone tried to defraud a wealthy businessman," sighed Theodore as he pondered why the appraiser didn't catch the unusualness in the statue.
Maybe the appraiser withheld the information from Charles to blackmail him, a philosopher of the arts knowingly trying to fob a fake statue that'll set off Geiger counters with a low ping, wouldn't look good for his reputation.
"Yeah, but with him gone, how're they supposed to wring money out of him, now?" Lila brought up if the appraiser wanted to blackmail Charles, it's too late, now, he's gone, and without him, they won't get any money.
Furrowing his brow as he's deep in thought, Theodore pondered as he stared at the statue.
Coupled with where the statue was found, gave Theodore pause, and when the assistant came back again, he immediately asked him where Charles obtained the statue.
"Oh, someone was renovating the castle and found it stowed away, thought it was worth a bit of money, so they sent it to Charles," the assistant tells Theodore how Charles acquired the statue in the first place.
"Did they ask for money?" Theodore asked if they sent it to Charles expecting money, but the assistant said that they never bothered, just sent it to Charles.
Curious, Theodore asked if it's unusual for that to happen, and the assistant said that it isn't, sometimes they're unsure of the ownership, and don't want to make a move until, they're sure.
"What if it's worth a lot of money, like enough for a two-bedroom apartment in downtown London?" Lila spoke up, asking if there's a chance the sender would've cropped up had they heard their findings kosher for sale and worth a pretty penny.
Seeing her humour, the assistant let out a laugh before describing the process of how it worked.
If they find the item's "kosher" as Lila elegantly put it, they'll reach out to the sender to arrange payment for the finding.
"Weird how a lawyer got into that kind of business," Lila brought up that she didn't expect a major lawyer that didn't plaster his face on every bus on the corner or on the bus stops would go into the kind of hobby.
Guess her brand of humor amused the assistant greatly, as he said to her that Charles wasn't like the other lawyers in the building, shocking, he knows, but it's the honest truth.
"With his dealings, did he ever have issues with anyone in particular, someone not happy with the payment or other?" Theodore inquired more about Charles's dealings, if people he worked with felt differently and the assistant adamantly told him that they went through this with a fine comb.
Charles didn't have any problem with anyone he worked with, if he did, the assistant would know, as he'd be on the phone with lawyers.
… Yes, that's what he said.
There's more context to it if Theodore and Lila were in the business of authenticating and selling.
That said, it made Theodore curious as he further inquired who the appraiser was that Charles went to for the appraisals and he heard from the assistant that he doesn't know, Charles never had him call.
He always took the calls himself and the assistant was only supposed to help approve of the sell to whatever auction house willingly agreed to host whatever Charles planned on selling.
He was sure of the appraiser's authority, Charles went to them more than once with different pieces before, and the assistant knew Charles long enough that he wouldn't do something egregious by going to a sham appraiser.
He'd risk his licenses revocation and piles of lawsuits the moment the news breaks that by the time they're all settled, the assistant's a head in a jar!
"Ever since the other one quit unexpectedly, he's been on the phone more than once with the new one," the assistant noted how the previous assistant quit without notice, leaving Charles in a scramble to find a replacement.
When asked, the assistant said that he doesn't know all the details, as the nature of his job, but he said that Charles went to the same appraiser for over fifteen years and if the appraiser planned on retiring or going on vacation, Charles's would know.
"When did he quit?" Lila asked the assistant as he began leading them away from the statue, affirming with a guard that the statue's to be taken out of the glass case in a lead box that's being brought.
Walking with them, shuffling papers, the assistant says that the appraiser that Charles's normally gets items appraised quit about two months ago.
The new one came along shortly after.
"I don't honestly know more than that, Charles usually talked to them," the assistant shrugged as he led the two back down to the first floor.
Walking behind him, Theodore and Lila shared a look, before Theodore reached out to Al, and Al began searching through the recordings and whatever he found that had Charles somewhere, trying to piece out his movement on the day he disappeared.
"Why go through the effort for no money?" Lila questioned the absurdity.
No money's touched, the way the assistant said it, they kept everything locked down until they get a confirmation of Charles's status, and then some.
If someone wanted money for the faked statue, they need to go to the store for some lemons.
Without a stereotypical phone call or letter, it didn't appear like a hostage situation, either.
Going through all this effort to fake a statue with radioactivity's about as convoluted as a Star Trek convention, but that aside, cogs began turning in Theodore's head as he went with Lila out of the building, the assistant finished speaking with them, and thus they're turned out to the street.
"Missing appraiser, missing lawyer, not money related, weird," Lila summed what they learnt.
Nodding, his head of wild brown hair bobbing, Theodore says that it's peculiar, as he began walking with her away from the building, keeping her close as the lunch crowd started surging, though difficult to know because of the blue tint.
As they disappeared into the crowd, a woman stepped out of a crowd waiting for cabs, her dull eyes focused on where they went, her drab coat an unusual colour because of the blue tint.