Send in the Clowns Ch. 01

"We'll have to talk later." said O'Brady. "But yes, I've talked with both Wes Masters and Britt Maxwell, and I've been offered my choice of a couple of positions with the SBI. And I'm seriously thinking about taking one of them."

"Cool beans." I said. "Let's talk later..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As we took our seats, I was at the end of the row as I sat down next to Teresa. She said "Chief Moynahan didn't come. And he seemed to be pissed off that he was asked to be in the room when Jack Muscone wanted to brief just us at Headquarters. What was that about?"

"I have no idea." I said. "The only thing I can think of is that Muscone usually comes to my office and briefs me on stuff, yet this time he wanted the Chief to come in, and maybe the Chief thought that was an affront to me after I turned in my FBI consultant badge."

Teresa said "I'd think the Chief would be happier to have been included. But even Muscone was surprised by the Chief's mood. Not that I blame the Chief; I was getting tired of Jack's drama and had to tell him to get on with it."

"I'm glad you did." I said. "I was about to, myself."

As Julius Jefferson was making his way to the front, he stopped next to me and leaned over and whispered "I'm suddenly scared shitless about making this presentation. Jack's trying to confirm the intel now."

"It won't hurt to give background information." I said. Julius nodded and made his way to the front.

"Hello, everyone, and thank you for coming." said Julius Jefferson. As everyone settled down, he said "I am FBI Supervisory Special Agent Julius Jefferson, and I'm here to give you a briefing on a potential new threat to the University Museum and the painting called the 'Lost Greuze'."

A photo came up on the projector screen behind Aurus as he said "This is George Aurus. He was responsible for a series of murders, and was given the name 'the Black Velvet Killer'. He was apprehended by Commander Donald Troy several years ago." (Author's note: 'Black Velvet' for the prequel crimes; 'Frozen Mothballs', Ch.02, for his first appearance; 'Power' for the hunt and his capture.)

Jefferson: "Aurus was broken out of jail along with murderer Jimmy Tolson. He later turned himself in, again to Commander Troy and the TCPD. He subsequently escaped again, and remains 'in the wind'." (Author's note: Shipping And Handling', Ch. 01 for the first escape; Ch.04-05 for turning himself in; 'Red Squad', Ch. 04 for news of his second escape.)

Jefferson: "An important part of George Aurus's past is that he was with a band of gypsies in his youth, and then was employed by a circus, the Wrangler Circus. It was said to be a cross between Bill Hickok's Wild West Show and the Cirque du Soleil, with Western-style acts and booths, and trapeze-style artistry in the center ring. The circus employed a number of the gypsies that Aurus had lived with, or else they ran sideshow booths selling trinkets or chances to win a teddy bear in the shooting gallery or water balloon contests."

Jefferson: "The Wrangler Circus ultimately went bankrupt and closed down. The employees scattered to the Four Winds, and Aurus did some work with a City University professor that later died. Aurus began his career as a serial killer after that, and while we know of a number of his victims, the FBI believes there may be more, over a dozen, that we never found.

Jefferson: "We have recently received intel information that Aurus has put together a gang of highly at-risk youths, and either he or someone connected with the Wrangler Circus has been teaching those youths acrobatic skills as well as how to commit crimes such as shoplifting, breaking and entering, carjacking, and more sophisticated burglaries."

Jefferson: "We believe that this gang may have stolen art and artifacts from museums in Tennessee and San Francisco. The criminals defeated sophisticated detection and alarm systems and stole items valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And we don't yet know if there have been more thefts that were completely undetected."

Jefferson: "And that brings us to here and now, and the 'Lost Greuze'. We have intel evidence that suggests the Lost Greuze may be a target for art thieves, and the evidence suggests that the George Aurus and his new gang may be the ones targeting the Lost Greuze, and possibly the Statue of Artemis, as well."

Jefferson: "The Museum Curator has agreed to give us a tour of the Museum, and I understand that there will be a discussion of the new security measures that have been installed recently. The Museum is a short distance from here, between this Conference Center and the President's Office building, and the University President is treating us to lunch at the museum."

Nothing like free food to get people out of their chairs and moving. As we filed out of the building, Jack Muscone came up and walked alongside me, Teresa, and Cindy.

"I called EAD Owen Lange about that intel." said Muscone. "He ran it up the chain and this is what came back down: apparently some gypsy type was caught shoplifting and then was charged with theft by receiving after other stolen property was found in his camper. He agreed to be a C.I. in exchange for ultimately dropping the charges."

Muscone: "He came back with information that George Aurus had been recruiting gypsies and other low-lifes, and teaching them criminal ways, like 'The Teacher' does in this County..."

I was barely listening. I'd just gotten slapped in the face with a 'vibe', and I realized it was coming from Cindy... who had taken great offense at Muscone calling gypsies 'low-lifes'. After all, her blood father, Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart, founder and great leader of 'The Vision' self-help empire, had been raised among said gypsies.

Muscone was still talking: "EAD Owen Lange said the intel on the 'Lost Greuze' had come from more traditional methods of acquiring information, mostly from C.I.s and other contacts in the California area and the Atlanta FBI Office. We, meaning the FBI, get word from time to time that Aurus is in an area, and the pattern has been a slow migration from Virginia to Pennsylvania, and now to our region of the country."

I just nodded as Muscone concluded his report, so he asked "Does that allay your suspicions?"

I shrugged my shoulders and turned my palms upward as I said "Sure. I appreciate you checking up on it. What do you think about it?"

Muscone said "I didn't think about it at all until you asked questions about it this morning. But aside from the source of the intel... Pennsylvania, where we know Swamp Frogs like to collect and breed... I don't have any issues with it. I'll do follow up checks on those museum thefts in Tennessee and San Francisco, but I'm not expecting anything new."

"Me neither." I replied...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Unlike many of the University's buildings, the University Museum building was not old at all. It was not some kind of avant-garde design one might find in Paris, France; rather, it was granite walls that made me think it was like a Federal Courthouse or Federal Reserve Bank building.

The building was not all that wide nor deep, but it was two stories tall. The Main Hall's ceiling was the roof of the building, and there were first-floor and second-floor side rooms on each side, accessed by a balcony hallway that went only to the doors in front and back, with the side walls flush with the Main Hall.

"They could put in some bumps on those walls and have rock climbing for the kids." I said to Teresa as we came in and looked around."

"Or rappel from the roof if there was a trap door up there." Teresa replied.

One thing the University Museum had done as part of its expansion was to refurbish a conference room, which was at the front left of the building while the Gift Shop was at the front right. The Museum also created for itself the ability to host banquets and events for those wishing to rent the museum. Today we saw that tables were set up in the main hall, right there among some of the artifacts, and a buffet was set up on one side.

Greeting us at the museum were University President Sidney P. Wellman and, to my surprise, my lovely wife Dr. Laura Fredricson. Dr. Wellman spoke as we gathered in a semi-circle in front of him and Laura.

"As you know," said Dr. Wellman, "I'll be retiring after the graduation ceremonies in May, and I'd like to use this occasion of your gathering to express my gratitude to the law enforcement officers at every level, Federal, State, Local, and the Campus Police, for all you've done these many years to keep our students safe. And so this lunch is with my thanks and my compliments to you all."

Everyone applauded, mostly politely, then Dr. Wellman said "Unfortunately, I have an appointment today, so I will not be able to stay with you. Fortunately, Dr. Fredricson has agreed to be your host in my stead. Again, thank you, and enjoy your day and our museum!" Everyone applauded politely again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There were four persons per table. Karina White had asked me and Teresa to join her and Tracy Stone, almost forcefully so. And no, I had no problem sitting at a table with three lovely ladies, even with my wife present in the room. And for the record, Laura was sitting with Jack and Tanya Muscone, and Miles Winters. Shane O'Brady was sitting with Cindy, Norm Chow, and Julius Jefferson. An interesting combination, I thought to myself...

Karina said "Don, I wanted you to sit with us so that we could ask you about that FBI intel report on Aurus and the Lost Greuze. Tracy and I both think it's weird."

"And you're both right." I said. "So what do you find to be 'strangenesses'?"

Tracy Stone said "I agree with what you said this morning... if they have any idea of where George Aurus is, why aren't they going after him with everything they've got? And I checked; they have not been doing a damn thing about him since he escaped well over a year ago... until now, all of a sudden."

I nodded and said "I totally agree, and that's a huge bee in my bonnet, too. Karina?"

Karina said "We got this particular FBI intel report because of the direct effect it has on the State. It just reeks of made-up hogwash. It sounds like something the Bob Rovers BAU Team would put out... oh wait...maybe they are the ones that put it out."

I nodded in her direction and said "That's Iron Crowbar thinking, there. Teresa, did you get to see the report?"

"Yes sir." Teresa replied. "I looked it up after that meeting with the FBI guys at Police Headquarters. Yes, it's strange, but Julius's briefing this morning was worse. For example, they know of only two art thefts? How do museums not know when they've been burgled?"

Teresa; "And Julius said the losses were in the (air quotes) 'hundred of thousands' of dollars? Folks, if I could defeat sophisticated systems, I wouldn't be stopping in the six figures total. I'd be going for millions. Pretty non-enterprising thieves, there... almost Rudistan-'ish' in their laid back attitude... oh, hello Micah."

"Hello, ma'am." said Rudistan jovially. Teresa had seen him coming up to our table on the way back to the buffet line, and had said his name to needle him. "It's fortunate for this world that you are one of the good guys, ma'am."

"Yes." I said as I got up. "I'll go through the buffet line with you, Rudistan, before all the food disappears. And when I get back, ladies, I'll tell you what I saw, and didn't see, in that report."

As I followed Rudistan through the line, he said "Sir, Julius Jefferson is pretty embarrassed about that briefing he gave. He said he realized halfway through it that a lot of it didn't make sense."

I said "As long as we're alerted to George Aurus and to threats to the Museum, I won't worry too much about it... yet." Rudistan nodded vigorously in agreement.

A few minutes later I got back to the table and sat down with a plate full of food in front of me. "This Shrimp Alfredo is really, really good." I said. "Almost to the Luigi's standard."

"Nothing is to the Luigi's standard, at least in Italian cuisine." Teresa replied. Karina and Tracy nodded vigorously in agreement. Teresa then said "So what did the Iron Crowbar get out of that report?"

I said "You hit my first point, Teresa: the small value of the stolen items, and other museums not knowing if they'd been hit or not. Of course they would know. And I didn't think of it, but I think you might be right, Karina, about it being the Bob Rovers BAU Team's work. I'm wondering if it's their usual incompetence, or if it's deliberate. But I'll circle back to that in a moment."

YIC: "What I saw beyond that, is that the two thefts they know of are in Tennessee and San Francisco. Last time I checked a map of the USA, those locations are verrrry far apart..."

"Like the 'Silverfish' crimes?" Teresa asked. (Author's note: 'Silverfish'.)

"Not really." I said. "Those weren't scattered all over the place from day to day, but moved progressively along from one side of the country to the other as Oldeeds's tour moved along. And in that, there was a reason for the pattern."

I continued: "Now those recent crimes likely did happen... it'll be easy to check up and see... but I just don't see one gang hitting one place then traveling that far to hit another place. Maybe more data will come in that will show why, but to me right now it's a 'strangeness'."

I continued: "I also just don't buy the source of the information. I'm not blaming Jack nor EAD Owen Lange; they're telling us what they were told. But a gypsy arrested for minor crimes like shoplifting or petty theft or theft-by-receiving? And you can go ask Cindy Ross over there, and she'll confirm what I'm telling you: the gypsies do not turn, and they do not snitch on their own. So either they literally tortured the guy to get the info out of him, or this gypsy C.I. is a total fabrication, a figment of someone's imagination."

YIC: "I really studied him several years ago when he was committing the 'Black Velvet' crimes. While Aurus did grow up among the gypsies, he's not fond of them; the defunct Wrangler Circus was the only place he was happy and found friends and family. Furthermore to that subject,... it would not be his M.O. to train a gang of Cirque du Soleil trapeze artists to steal from museums with elaborate schemes of hanging from the ceilings. That crap is for the movies, and you'll see what I'm talking about when we tour the museum after lunch."

I finished up: " So the museum burglaries may have happened, but I'd be shocked... shocked!... if it really was George Aurus behind the crimes. And that, of course, leads aspiring Detectives like myself to ask why his name is being brought up, and why now..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After lunch, the Museum curator gave us a tour. He pointed out the conference room to the left of the entrance hall/foyer and the Gift Shop to the right of it. Then he took us into the Main Hall, pointing out some of the Museum's more well-known items as well as the most valuable. The Main Hall had artifacts like statues and busts in the ubiquitous glass/plexiglass 'boxes', and jewelry on display under glass very similar to a jewelry store in a mall. Along the walls were a number of paintings and framed photos, of more historical value than monetary value.

The Curator stopped at one of the displays on a stand, in a glass 'box', and said "These three bricks are from the Great Wall of China. They were first displayed at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, and these three came here instead of going back to China, with the Chinese Government's permission, of course. In terms of money, they're not worth what you might think; after all, there are millions of bricks in the Great Wall itself. But for the historical value, they're among our visitors's favorite exhibits."

To the left of the main hall was the side room that was the art gallery, and the room on the second floor above it was an exact duplicate. Special lighting that was said not to harm the artworks was installed, and a number of the paintings were in insets into the wall behind glass shielding. All of the glass housings in the museum were bulletproof, and I knew that because the manufacturer's logo in the bottom right corner was the same as the windows of The Cabin.

To the right of the main hall was the newly improved area that housed the most valuable objects in the museum. The room above it on the second floor was nearly a duplicate, but not quite as secure. We filed into the room on the first floor from the entrance near the front of the museum, just a few feet from the side entrance to the Gift Shop.

"And here it is, the new sensation of the art world." said the Curator. "The Lost Greuze." The painting of a 1700s-era family at the dinner table was behind glass, in an alcove set into the wall. A small LED light underneath it was flashing red; the alarm was armed.

The Curator said "The exhibition of the painting and the start of the auction will be this Saturday. It will be in the Main Hall on an easel, and guarded by two Security Officers. Other than that, it will stay behind the glass until it is sold and the new owner arranges for its delivery."

As everyone took turns admiring the painting, I said "I saw a couple of these in the Gift Shop near the front. Replicas?"

"Yes, they are." said the Curator. "Computers can actually replicate a painting with amazing accuracy these days, and people like buying them for their own homes. But expert analysts wouldn't be fooled; there is no way to truly replicate the paints of the 1700s, nor the aging of the painting."

"Experts." Teresa said simply but quietly, causing Rudistan to chuckle. It did not take much to cause Rudistan to chuckle, of course.

"I don't mean this facetiously when I ask," said Jack Muscone, "but how will you know it's the original, the real deal? I mean, that painting in there could be a very good forgery, could it not?"

"It is a legitimate question." said the Curator. "And on Saturday we will have the gentleman who confirmed it's authenticity, Dr. Nadler from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., here to re-confirm its authenticity, and then we will begin the auction. The painting will be under at least two-man control from that point forward until the buyer takes possession of it."

After the Curator was finished, Campus Police Commissioner Briscoe began discussing the security arrangements.

"All the glass in all of the halls is new, and the glass is a lot like a car windshield; it's nearly impossible to shatter it, but even if you did, but it shouldn't come apart into shards." Briscoe said. "Also, I'm told that a 'nanometer' is a billionth of a meter. BOW Enterprises developed wires measuring just a few nanometers, and they're embedded in the glass. Break the glass and stop the current, and they'll set off an alarm."

"Todd should be making a fortune off that technology." I whispered to Teresa. She nodded vigorously in agreement.

Briscoe: "There are motion sensors in the floors and mounted in the ceilings of the two side rooms and the new back room, which we'll visit in a moment. There are numerous videocameras in all the rooms, some visible and some hidden from view, and the feeds go to both our Security Room and Campus Police Headquarters."

Jack Muscone asked "So there are no motion sensors in the Main Hall?"

"No." said Briscoe. "There are at least four security guards on duty at all times, and there must be two in the Security Room at all times, monitoring the cameras. The other two can and do walk around the Main Hall... to get exercise as much as anything else. If you all will step into the Main Hall, I'll show you something."