I entered the Kimbell Art Museum, sweeping my hair forward in an attempt to partially cover my face. A throng of visiting tourists surrounded me and it was easy to get lost in the midst of art lovers, harried parents, and teens who paid way more attention to their cell phones than the masterpieces on the walls. The first floor held a portion of the standing collection and the offices of museum employees. Directly to the back, behind the front desk, were the stairs that led to the second floor and the primary exhibit spaces. Right now, the choice space was taken up with an exhibit of Italian Renaissance masters.
Glancing around, it was easy to see that the museum relied on cameras and human security. There was a small camera in every corner and, mounted slightly below it, a motion detector for nighttime security. Both would be so easy to take out it was ridiculous. Getting in would be the hard part. I glanced above me and was impressed by the thick concrete overhead. No ceiling access for this thief. If I wanted in, I would have to use a door, and those would be heavily guarded.
On the drive over in Marcus’s rented BMW convertible, I decided that the best plan of action was to find out when the exhibit was being moved into its new home. Hijacking a truck might be easier than tackling the museum. I nodded at Marcus as we entered the building with its scalloped arches. He approached the front desk and knew exactly what to do.
“Hello, I’m Marcus Vorenus.” Marcus didn’t bother with an alias because after he was gone, no one would quite be able to remember what he looked like or exactly what he’d said. Vampire persuasion was a remarkable tool. “I believe you’ll find I have an appointment with your director.”
He didn’t, but sure enough when Suzy Receptionist studied her empty schedule, it was right there for her eyes only. She smiled up at the immaculate Italian and promised her director would be with him in a moment.
“I don’t get all this painting stuff,” Lee said as he walked past some of the world’s masterworks. He stopped at a Matisse. “I could do that.”
“I doubt it.” I studied the Gauguin next to the Matisse and found myself drawn into the self-portrait.
“Don’t look too long, cara,” Marcus warned, walking up behind me. “Paul was a bit of a wizard. He liked to place pieces of his soul in his self-portraits. See, he’s winking at you.”
Sure enough, those black eyes blinked. If Marcus hadn’t pointed it out, I would have thought it was a trick of the light. Now I stepped back, slightly disturbed at the thought.
“Hello, Paul.” Marcus waved at the painting. “I was never so happy to be a daywalker as the time I spent in Tahiti with Gauguin. He knew how to party, as you would say.”
“See, that’s just creepy.” Lee studied the painting like it was something about to attack. “I always liked that one of the dogs playing poker though.”
I sidestepped the issue of Lee’s taste in art as I inspected the gallery and wondered what the other paintings were doing. There are times that knowledge isn’t power, it’s just scary.
“Mr. Vorenus.” A small-statured man with a slight potbelly and wire-framed glasses came through the glass doors leading to the business offices. “I apologize, but I have no record of an appointment with you. Do you mind my asking what this is about?”
“Of course you remember, Stanley,” Marcus said reassuringly, pushing his persuasion directly at the smaller man. We had tracked down the director’s name on the Internet.
Stanley smiled widely and put his hand out for Marcus to shake. “How silly of me to have forgotten. It’s good to see you, Marcus. Come on back to my office and we can catch up.”
We were led through the corridors and into the cool confines of the museum director’s office. I kept my face as forward as possible so no one would be able to remember me when we left. Once the door closed behind us, Marcus dropped the happy pretenses and got down to some serious persuasion. One minute our new friend was smiling and happy, and the next his face was a complete blank and the room was filled with pulsing talent.
I glanced up at Marcus, and his eyes were dark and large as he worked his magic. “You can ask him your questions now, cara. He’ll answer honestly and forget you were ever here.”
“Have you seen the Treasures of Ancient Rome exhibit?” It had already shown in New York and Chicago.
The director’s voice held no emotion as he answered. “Yes. I saw it in Chicago. We had already negotiated to bring it here, and I wanted to get a team up there to figure out how to design the space for the exhibit. We spent several days with the artifacts.”
“Was there anything at all unusual about the artifacts?”
“They’re very old,” he replied. “They date from the Roman Republic and the Empire periods. The collection consists of mostly statuary, sculptures, housewares, and jewelry. Some of the textiles are extremely fragile. We’ll have to keep an eye on the humidity to preserve them.”
I would have to be more specific. “Did anyone in your group notice any of the artifacts for odd reasons? Anything stand out as more intriguing than the rest? Did anyone mention that one of the artifacts made them uncomfortable or perhaps called to them in a way?”
Often with truly arcane objects, the item itself gives off a specific energy that even humans can feel. It can call to the human or repulse them, depending on what the object is supposed to do.
“There was one item. Brandy commented on it,” he said in that monotone. “It was a sculpture. She didn’t like it. I didn’t understand because it was a wonderful example of the time period. She said the eyes bothered her. She refused to be in the room with it after a while.”
“Was it of a wolf?” Marcus asked.
“Yes,” came the reply. “It was a wolf in marble. The wolf is devouring a woman.”
That was what I needed. Now I needed the wheres and hows. It took time to set up an exhibit, so the pieces were coming to Fort Worth weeks before the actual opening date. It was a simple thing to get the director to print off all the arrangements the museum had made with the security company that would transport the exhibit to Fort Worth. I knew all the contact information, the dates of transfer, the name of the driver who would be in charge, and the time the shipment was expected to arrive at each checkpoint. I would steal the artifact before it ever made it to the museum, long before Halfer had planned to get his hands on it.
I tucked the papers into my bag and thought about how much easier my career was with a vampire around. I could have gotten the information, but it would have taken me weeks to do it, and I would have had to hire a hacker which costs money and left me open to the perils of working with contractors.
I nodded to Marcus, letting him know I had everything I needed. “We thank you for your time, Stanley. You will take a rest now. The day’s been long and you’re tired. You’ll awake in an hour or so and remember nothing that has happened.”
The director sat down in his plush chair and was snoring almost immediately.
I was impressed. “Marcus, if Daniel ever decides to give up the game, you’re welcome on my crew.”
Thirty minutes later, we sat on the lawn of the museum under the shade of the large oaks close to the fountains. Lee had crossed the street and bought a bag of burgers and fries of which I had one and he downed four.
Marcus had magnanimously sat beside me through it all, chatting about his life in ancient Rome. Lee lay back in the grass, his stomach finally full. He seemed so content lying there that I reached out a hand to rub his belly.
“Don’t even think about it, sister.” Lee growled, not bothering to open his eyes. “I bite.”