D&C 2.17: Museum and Murders

Museum and Murders; they are the displays

I was watching the rerun of 'Land of the Pharoah'; okay, I wanted see how Joan Collins looked like then. I liked her books; I grew up reading them. So laid out the hexes and curses, I do not believed in those. It was not the same when the phone rang, The only idiots that rang me then were the ones from Precinct. I picked it up and heard the standard words. Next I was on the journey on the city streets with my siren blaring. I did checked my back seats for any misplaced Pharoah who may be seated there to asked me how I liked the movie, but there was only the left shoe of Jenny's.

My destination was the Museum. I met the Uniformed who called me in,

"Sorry Detective, I could not get the others and yours was on the next to call." I heard him and nodded. I knew there was no such list; the uniformed taking it out on me when I feigned sickness on the inter Precinct games for Darts. We lost in the Finals to the rival Precinct. It was better that way than to be humiliated by a younger foe.

"The night guard found the body. We have not touched it yet." I followed the officer into the Museum and walked past three large rooms to arrive at the crime scene. The victim was killed by an ancient spear from the Pharoah Room. I was going to stick to Bonnie and Clyde from then on; the x-rated version. At least I knew there what was impaled. I left the room to wait for Dan.

"Jimmy, do you know that the Pharoah Spear of Destiny was classified as Heavy Weapon." Dan looked over to me. "You don't played Age of Empires, huh? Nevermind."

Dan went back to work.

"Victim was surprised from the back and impaled with that." Dan demonstrated the movement. I seen enough homicides to know how it was done but never once by an ancient weapon like this. It was then the Curator came in; you could tell, bespectacled and wearing tweeds with a loss of hair on the scalp.

"I am the Administrator. I oversee the Museum.'Charles Mart." He looked at the spear and when hysterical. "That's a Middle Kingdom of Egypt's Dynastic period weapon of war. It was used by the charioteers when they ran out of arrows."

In my mind then was the image of Frank when he ran out of bullets, he may throw the dozen over pencils he had on his desk like mini spears. Or darts. I had to stopped the Administrator with his recital of the value of the spear and its significance to the Museum. More so when Dan said he may need to cut it in half the spear in order to remove it. The Administrator went havoc with his used of ancient profanities, while Dan threw on his ME coat to quote medical terms on orifice organs. I separated the two professionals and had the Administrator to his office.

"That man is a recluse and recalcitrant in his opinion." The Administrator slammed the door and then looked at me. "Do you know how valuable was the spear?"

I had enough for the evening. I was deprived of my show and then this boys quarrel got me all riled up. I told the man to sit and answered my questions.

"Do you know the victim?" He shook his head.

"Do you know why would anyone want to come into the Museum at this hour?" That got him to go on with his valuation of the artifacts from the ancient bones to the space faring suit. I shut him off.

"What was valuable to a common thief in the room?" Then he looked at me.

"Nothing. Unless you are an avid collector. There was the ancient King and Queen's gems in the next room." Once he replied, his face lighted up before he sprang into action. I was sure he faster than the rolling 'O' then, or was it mine that came too fast. I followed him there and he was seen moaning. In pain, I meant.

"They took the green emerald. It was reputed to be from Cleopatra." He then leaned over. "Never authenticated but heavily debated."

I send a search to all jewelers and fences for the emerald. Then I went back to my Precinct. It was only fair to come back and do some chat with the night shift before I go back. That way I can claimed in my allowance. I saw Frank there. He was not supposed to be on duty.

Kids holding a party and I was excluded. So here I am till midnight to go back and cleaned the mess." I sympathized with Frank. He then asked me on the murder. I told him the brief parts and then remembered I was to see Dan. I went over and saw him walking around the victim who was laid sideways. He saw me and cursed at me.

"Whose idea was that I cannot removed the spear?" I shook my head. Dan continued on.

"Its like walking around Godzilla with his erection on. I had to made wide circles around the table." I was confused then, as I could not placed Godzilla with a double you know what, unless he was into 'menages a trois'. I learned that from Jenny. She said if I abstain anymore, she was getting into that while I watched. I was disgusted but how can I tell her the truth. I suggested a condom and she yelled at me.

"Do you think we are in High School? I liked them bareback, not juiced by the tupperware." That ended our would be sex session. I was shaken from my sex stupor back to Dan.

"I think he was nor surprised. He could had been fighting the other and got impaled from the rear." Dan demonstrated the move. "So we are looking at three person in the fight." I decided to go home then. Too many threesome actions was on my mind then.

The next day, I met Dan again. He got permission to cut the spear. The Board of the Trustees okay it as that was a duplicate, and not the real one. They were afraid it would be damaged and kept a duplicate for display. It was a show unit after all. Dan showed me the broken shaft. I felt like one then too.

"He was killed from the spear and it was as I thought. They was another stab wound next to his spear exit." Dan reported back. "I would say an eight inch sharp object. Like a long screw driver."

Forensic came back to me that the cameras recording were all blanked out. There were a lot of fingerprints so that made their life difficult. So it was left to the streets to tell me more. I hit it hard with some informants. So did Di Angelo with his network and the replies was nothing.

So was our dead victim ID. He was not on our database at all. He was a ghost.

Then the bad news came. The emerald was sent back to us by a junkie who claimed a 'MIB' gave it to him with a twenty dollars tip. According to Forensic, the gem was a fake.

Another one?

I approached the Administrator. He told me he does not know why and how.

"I administrate the place but I am not responsible for the authenticity's of the artifacts. Its done by Doctor Erich Schmidt. I met up with Doctor Schmidt in his office at the basement.

"Preposterous.... dumme Narr..... alten blinden Gelehrten. ( Translated means Preposterous dumb fool old blind scholar. )" Doctor Schmidt was in rage. "His education degree ought to be thrown out. Everything I had checked and sent upstairs are real and not some fake waved models. The gem was real."

I asked about the Pharoah Spear and its duplicate. And where are the real ones kept.

"I have said all are real. Its the Trustee who made the switches, I guess. All idiots." Doctor Schmidt was very upset. I would be at his advanced age to be questioned on my works. "Ask the Chairman. He would tell you everything."

I did as the doctor said.

"I can assure you, Detective; we do take care of the artifacts. Yes, there are some we swap for fake to display but the real ones are at the safe in the office of another adjacent building." General ( Retired ) Armstrong laid it out for me. He was a huge man and still do his workouts.

"Charles does not know. Only we knew and one other assistant; Patricia Lab knew."

I met Patricia Lab; pretty middle aged lady who was kind to show me the safe. It was a huge one like the banks. It contained a lot of artifacts. Small and bigger ones. There was the green emerald in the small box. I asked about the spear. She showed me the unit. Then she frowned.

"This is the duplicate." I knew then we were in trouble. But nothing was to prepared me for the death of the Administrator. He was strangled with his own tie. No one saw it and he had no secretary. It could be anyone who worked in the Museum as his off\ice was within those working offices. They were eighteen suspects including Patricia Lab. The Board of Trustees called for a full investigation on the artifacts. It took three days and they found five missing artifacts. The ones there were all fakes. I checked the records and found that no one actually called the Administrator that evening. He came on his own, and the networks have not even reported the theft yet. I ran checks on the Administrator and he was cleaned except for a sudden increased in funds in the last six months. We traced the transfer and found it originated from overseas, and more to it, Charles was due to retire in four months.

On my fifth day of empty leads and clues, I got Interpol calling me. They want to see my reports. Then the Commissioner called me in.

"You cooperate with them." That was not a request but a command. I nodded. I sent over everything. They send me a name.

Jacques Mirrand.

I checked that and came up with five aliases with possible linked to a few thefts but no murders. He was the one lying on Dan' metal bed. I went over to see Dan. He was doing the works on Charles. I saw him cut the liver and then threw it on the scale. Then from there to the disposal bag.

"Its going to the K9 section. They needed extra rations." I hate to be on Dan' bad side when I die. Then Dan spoke up.

"Our hero may had died of sexual asphyxiation. I found traces of semens on his pants. He was zipped up but the zip had cut into his flesh. Ouch!" Dan reached down to the man' penis and grabbed it. "I don't think he was doing it solo in the office. Someone did him and then strangled him."

I checked up the staff and found there were eight female staffs, but from experience I never discount the males too. I did more checking and then Di Angelo called up. I went over, and for one coffee with dog, he was yelping away.

"I found out that the Administrator was divorced when his wife found out on his affair. He was fucking on the job." Di Angelo gave me a name. I did more checks and soon got my motive with evidence. Now was to get a confession.

"Patricia, you were working with Charles for over eighteen years. Both of you worked in three different jobs but same companies every time. You been tagging him. I wonder why?"

""It was coincidence. We just happened to be together. The Museum job was on his recommendation." Patricia was very composed. "He's a nice boss and ...."

"Lover." I added in for her. I showed her the pictures taken by Charles ex-wife. "How long, Patricia?"

"Over nine years, after he married Anne. He did not loved her, but she was pregnant. He married her to calmed her down." Patricia looked away. "He told me so and I held him as he cried."

"When did he started stealing?" I asked her.

"Six months." Patricia spoke out. "It was the small stuff that he sold on the internet. Then this man approached him. They worked out a scheme and involved me."

I showed her Jacques photo. She nodded.

That night, he wanted the green emerald.We told him it was not real. He insisted and Charles gave him. Then he reached for the spear. Charles loved the Pharaoh stuff. He asked me to placed back the originals so he could see them daily. It was 'phallic' to him."

"Charles refused to let him steal it. The man argued with him and threaten Charles with the screwdriver. I had held the spear and was to his rear. I stabbed him and pushed it in hard. I was upset. Charles told me to leave. He would take care of the camera. I left by the staff entrance."

So Charles waited out in the office and when the alarm was raised, he waited before coming out. But who killed him.

"There is a camera in his room. He installed it himself. He likes to watched himself. He does sometimes do it there. He's proud of his own."

I got the camera hidden in the book shelf in front of his desk. He was doing it, maybe he thought he beat the system. Then I saw the man walking in on Charles. He hurried with his zipping and shouted out in pain. The man and him argued and then Charles got up from the seat. The man pushed him down turned his swirling office chair around. The man grabbed the tie and pulled hard. Charles could stand a chance.

I got the warrant of arrest for General ( Retired ) Armstrong. It turned out he was into selling artifacts to eager collectors overseas. We checked his bank accounts and sent them to Interpol.

The duplicate spear was placed back on the display while the broken one was displayed as remnants of war.