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Duncan scratched his cheek. “We’ll also need to find out exactly how long they keep their surveillance footage for.”
Robert agreed. Every museum—unfortunately—had its own protocol when it came to the storage of their security film. He hoped for their sake, this place kept it for at least a year.
“Excuse me,” a soft voice behind them interrupted their conversation. “Ms. Dickson has requested I take you to the storage facility and answer any questions you may have of the area.”
Robert turned, giving his full attention to the mousy female who stood before them. “And you are?”
“Rebecca Jones,” she said before she held her hand out to him. “I’m in charge of the restoration of the frames. I’m, uh, the one who found the painting missing this morning.”
Robert took her hand in his. “Agents Famosa, Wilcox, and Hooks.”
Rebecca nodded. “Gentlemen.” She paused and gestured to the hallway to the left. “If you’d follow me.”
Robert followed behind the younger woman, taking note of the procedures and devices used to get to the basement. The elevator required a swipe key card after the button had been pressed. When they reached their destination, and only their destination—the elevator made zero stops—they stepped out into a hallway where a half dozen doors deviated in different direction. The area was a maze of rooms. All of them were closed and locked, which considering what happened there, only piqued Robert’s curiosity more. When they reached the end of the hallway, Rebecca pulled down a small keypad from one of the doors. The small screen blinked to life and showed a prompt for a passcode. Rebecca typed hers on the keypad before she pressed her thumb to the scanner beside the pad. Seconds later the door buzzed and the snick of the lock disengaging echoed in the hall.
“Do all the employees have access to this room?” Robert asked before stepping through the reinforced heavy-duty steel door.
Rebecca waited until they were securely inside the area before she spoke. “No. Only those employees who do cleaning and repair on the pieces and the curator.”
Duncan glanced around the space. "Is it a shared passcode and who gives them out?"
“No, they aren’t shared, and they’re not given out. The administrator—Ms. Dickson—has us set and reset our passwords from the keypad by the door and scan in our fingerprints there. We’re required to change them every quarter.”
So, they weren’t lax on their safety systems, at least from what he could see.
“Do you know the last time the painting was seen or even touched?” Robert prodded.
Rebecca fidgeted, her gaze refusing to meet his. “As far as I know, when it was stored.”
“And that was when?” Duncan pushed.
“Three months ago,” she stated, her gaze finally finding and hold his. Robert’s gut told him she didn’t know anything about the crime. She was shy, not guilty. “I helped box it up and store it.”
“Can you take us to where it was held?” Benjamin asked.
Rebecca nodded.
She took them further back into the room, where storage containers stood. The hum and whirl of the fans used to keep the air at the perfect temperature for the painstaking delicate work done in those rooms was all he could hear. If someone cut the power, the airtight rooms would be exposed to the natural elements.
“If you wouldn’t mind stepping back,” Robert said as he retrieved his flashlight from his jacket pocket.
However, if this site matched the others, no evidence would be left behind for them to use. Maybe their forensic department could see something they hadn’t. At least that was his hope. Duncan stepped away with Rebecca while he and Benjamin looked for evidence. Robert kept his focus on what was in front of him while eavesdropping on Duncan and Rebecca’s conversation.
“And, the elevator the only way in or out?” Robert glanced over his shoulder.
“There are stairs, though they’re rarely used.”
“Take me there,” Robert ordered.
While they'd descended into the bowels of the museum, he'd noticed the cameras inside the elevator. They had a three hundred and sixty-degree view of those coming and going. No way a person could leave with a priceless piece of art without being seen. Which left the stairs, if his hunch was right. He followed Rebecca back outside the room and toward a door he'd missed near the elevator. She placed her thumb on the pad next to the door and nothing happened. It took three attempts for the lock to finally disengage.
“Is the fingerprint scan at all of the doors, including non-essential?”
“Yes. Although they can be fussy as you can see. Like when you use your thumbprint to unlock your devices—phones or tablets—it only works a small percentage of the time. Since it’s more of a hassle, we all tend to just use the lift.”
Robert gestured to the door. “Open it please.”
She did, trying to get the reader to recognize her print three times before it finally accepted it on the fourth time. He did a sweep of the area, taking the steps one at a time, up and down, moving slowly using his flashlight to see something he might miss otherwise.
