Finch noticed the color rise in Moore’s cheeks, but the security head complied without a word.
“Are you in charge of this investigation?” Leavitt asked Finch.
Finch glanced around the office for a chair and found none. “Uh, we’re partners,” he told Leavitt. “Major Crimes.”
“Well, this certainly qualifies as one,” Leavitt replied.
A tickle of frustration appeared in Finch’s gut, but he ignored it. “Why don’t you run down the events for us, Mr. Leavitt? That’d be a big help.”
Leavitt furrowed his brow. “You weren’t briefed?”
“Not fully. We like to get witness statements again, anyway.”
“I’m not really a witness.”
“Complainant, then.”
“Fine.” Leavitt pursed his lips. “What do you want to know?”
“This mummy,” Elias interrupted. “What’s his name, Pedobonik, Pedophilus-”
“Pedubastis,” Leavitt said with a glare. “The First. And I don’t appreciate your levity, detective.”
“I’m not good with foreign names,” Elias said. “And I don’t watch the History Channel like some people.”
“Do you read?” Leavitt asked acidly.
Elias opened his mouth to reply, but Finch interrupted. “Was Pedubastis stolen, Mr. Leavitt?”
Leavitt glared at Elias a moment longer, then turned to Finch. “No.”
“No?” Finch asked. He and Elias exchanged a surprised glance. “We thought-”
“Pedubastis the First is still on display, perfectly safe. His bastard was stolen.”
Finch and Elias exchanged another look. “His…bastard?” Finch asked.
“Yes,” Leavitt snapped. “A child mummy. The bastard son of Pedubastis the First.”
“We’re looking for a baby mummy?” Elias asked, his voice incredulous.
“Not a baby,” Leavitt said. “A child.”
Elias blinked and said nothing.
“Dr. Ingram can fill you in on the specifics,” Leavitt added.
“Dr. Ingram?” Finch asked.
“She’s the Ancient Cultures Department head.”
Elias removed a notepad from his jacket pocket and jotted down a note.
“Can you tell us when this happened?” asked Finch.
“Sometime last night. Mr. Moore can supply you with more accurate times.”
Finch and Elias exchanged a glance. “Uh, I was under the impression that you wanted to brief us on this case,” Finch said.
Leavitt steepled his fingers and contemplated the two detectives with a superior air. “I will leave it to my employees to brief you on the relevant details of the case. Mr. Moore can fill you in on security matters and Dr. Ingram is more than capable of providing any facts about the exhibit you may need.”
Finch stared at him, confused. “Then why-”
Leavitt interrupted. “I will, however, brief you about this situation. The situation is this: The Pedubastis exhibit is priceless. The stolen artifact alone is worth millions. The insurance company has been notified. The FBI has been notified. The Egyptian consulate has been notified. Within hours, and certainly no more than a day, representatives from these respective agencies will descend upon this museum and they will all have a simple question: How is it that the police here in River City have allowed this to happen?”
Elias’s eyes narrowed. “Hold on a minute-”
“I’m certain they’ll be asking your chief of police that exact question,” Leavitt continued. “It will be an international incident. So my suggestion to you, detectives, is to find the artifact before that happens.”
Elias muttered something unintelligible, but Finch caught an r sound and cleared his throat. “We’ll do what we can, Mr. Leavitt.”
Leavitt gave him an officious nod.
Finch and Elias turned to go.
Definitely a ringer for Lieutenant Hart, Finch decided.
Outside in the hallway, Moore looked sheepish as he led them to his own small office.
“That was worthless,” Elias muttered along the way.
Finch agreed with a grunt. “Mr. Moore, can you give us the details of this case?”
“It’s a situation,” Elias reminded him.
“Whatever. Mr. Moore?”
“Sure.” Moore slid a pair of plastic chairs from the wall to a position in front of his well-worn metal desk. It looked like an older, battered version of the desks in the Major Crimes unit. “You guys want to sit down?”
The detectives sat.
“The details,” Finch said.
“Please,” Elias added.
Moore settled into his own chair with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair. “This is terrible.”
The detectives sat quietly and waited.
Moore sighed again and reached for a notebook. He flipped it open and cleared his throat. “Uh, the museum closes at eight, but we really don’t end up locking the doors until closer to eight-thirty. Eight o’clock is when we flash the lights and ask people to move toward the exits. It usually takes about a half hour.”
“Any problems with that last night?” Elias asked.
“No. In fact, everyone was out by about twenty after. I did a final sweep of the premises and except for authorized employees, the place was empty.”
“Which employees?”
“Me. Director Leavitt. And Michael, the night janitor.”
“What about the department head?”
“Professor Ingram? No, she left around six, if I remember right.”
“Do employees have to check in and out?”
“Not while the museum is open for business. But after hours, they’re supposed to sign in.” Moore glanced away quickly.
Elias caught the motion. “Supposed to? But they don’t?”
Moore pressed his lips together. He gave a small shake of his head. “It’s never been an issue before, so we’ve never really enforced it.”
Elias waved his hand. “Okay. So at lock-up, it’s just you, Leavitt, and the janitor?”
“Yes. And I let Director Leavitt out myself.”
“When?”
“About ten till nine.”
“Leaving just you and the janitor.”
Moore nodded. “Yeah. I waited at the main doors for Eric while Michael started cleaning.”
“Who’s Eric?”
“The night guy.”
“Security?”
“Right. He patrols the inside of the museum and mans the phones.”
“When did you leave?”
Moore considered. “Probably about five after nine. Maybe a little later. Eric is usually running behind, so I have to wait.”
“After you left, the only two people in the whole place would have been the night guy and the janitor?”
Moore nodded.
“How long does the janitor take?”
“He’s done by eleven, except on Fridays. He does his weekly stuff on Friday night, so it takes a couple hours longer.”
“But this was a Tuesday.”
“Right.”
“So he finished by eleven?”
“I guess so. Eric would know for sure.”
“Where is Eric?”
“He’s in the break room. I held him over. I figured you guys would want to talk to him.”
Elias nodded. “Good. And the janitor?”
“I called him in, too.”
“Excellent. Now, I assume the museum has alarms?”
“Yes.”
“With coded key pads or something?”
“Exactly.”
“Who has those codes?”
Moore listed names on his fingers, ending on his thumb. “Director Leavitt, Dr. Ingram, Me, Eric, and Mike, the janitor.”
“No one else?”
“No one.”
“Everyone have their own code?”
Moore shook his head. “No. There’s just two codes. A museum code and the contract code.”
“Can you break down who knows which code for me?”
“Well, Mike uses the contract code since he technically works for the janitorial service. The rest of us use the museum code.”
“But who knows which code?”
“Oh, sorry. Uh, I think I’m the only one who knows both codes. Maybe Director Leavitt, too.”
“All right. Now, I’m assuming there’s video security as well?”