30 - There dwells a spirit, waiting to be released

Merlyn paused at the office door and felt a wave of loss flood him. He’d been here so many times to visit Alton. He knew the room like the back of his hand. It had been designed with Alton’s flair for the dramatic with plush carpets and antique furnishings, accented with bright flashes of color in the paintings on the wall and the pieces on the glass-fronted shelves of the long display case that took up one full wall.

As he started across to the file cabinets he stopped, frowning. “Did your people take anything from the shelves for some reason?”

The detective shook her head. “No. Why?”

“Because there are some pieces missing from the display case.”

“Are you certain?”

“Very, yes.” He walked over, pointing. “One was there where the Forster dog is now, the other, a set, was here between those two. THey've been moved, I’d presume to disguise the fact that something’s missing.” He chuckled as he remembered what had been there, eliciting a questioning look from the detective. “One was a Japanese okimono of two men practicing lovemaking on a barrel while sharing a Kama Sutra kiss called the ‘fighting of the tongue’. Very erotic and extremely expensive. Actually the other missing pieces were also okimono. Three male figures, one kneeling with his mouth open and his ass exposed, the other two with very large cocks that could be placed… Well you get the picture I’m sure. They were small, between two and three inches tall I’d say, dating from the nineteenth century.”

“So the thief was apparently after those specific pieces unless either Mr Weber or Mr Hunt moved them for some reason.”

“Alton wouldn’t have. He loved all of these,” Merlyn swept his hand out to encompass the display case. “They’re part of his private collection. He enjoyed being able to sit as his desk and look at them. As for Brian, I rather doubt he’d have touched them. He respected Alton’s wishes in everything. That's what made him a good manager in Alton’s estimation.”

“Would they be worth killing a man, or two men, over?”

“Under the right circumstances, perhaps. An avid collector might have fixated on obtaining them. Or someone knew their worth, and that they could find a buyer for them who wouldn’t ask questions about how he or she obtained them.”

“There’s a large market for stolen art?”

“Not large like say for guns or whatever, but there are buyers as I said who are willing to turn a blind eye in order to have a painting, a sculpture or what have you in their very private collection.”

“I presume that Mr. Weber didn’t deal in or buy stolen art for the gallery or for himself,” Detective Jonas said.

Merlyn replied vehemently, “Hell no. Alton may have had his faults but that was not one of them. In his business he was scrupulous to a fault.”

“Then this definitely bears looking into. Not that it lets you off the hook just yet but it is certainly an interesting and logical motive for murder that covers most of the facts.”

He nodded. “At least maybe I can start breathing regularly again and stop looking over my shoulder for a potential killer.”

“Speaking of which have you heard anything more for the person who left the roses?”

“Nope, thank goodness. I hope whatever that was about is past history now.”

“Just be very careful for a while yet. Personally I wouldn’t count out your ex as the perp. Especially now that you’ve got a new man in your life.”

“Elliot’s not like that. Even during our last epic battle he was all verbal, nothing physical at all.”

“That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t threaten you to try to scare you into coming back.”

Merlyn thought about that then shook his head. “I wasn’t even seeing Alan when the roses were left. I met him later that evening actually.”

“Either way, just be careful.” She glanced at the office door. “And unless you see any reason to go through the files at this point, it’s time for you to leave so I can get on with what I have to do.”

“No. The files were just a wild idea and I’d say useless under the circumstances, though your people might want to check them to see if there are any inquiry letters about the okimono.”

“Oh believe me we will, and we just might get lucky.”

“I hope so. I want to see the murderer caught and as Alton once said about someone, castrated and de-cocked among other things.”

The detective chuckled. “An interesting idea although I doubt the courts would go for that. Anyway, I’ll keep you updated on what we find out.”

“Thank you, and thanks for believing in me.”

“Welcome,” she replied even as she took out her phone, an obvious sign of dismissal that Merlyn took to heart.