The Plague of Thieves Affair by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller

Author:Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller [Pronzini, Bill & Muller, Marcia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466876781
Publisher: Forge Books
Published: 2016-01-25T21:00:00+00:00

15

SABINA

“Sacrebleu!” Carreaux exclaimed in exasperation. He had been summoned to join Sabina, Rayburn, and Charles the Third after the gallery search was finished. “You are certain, M’sieu Holmes, that the thief could not have departed during the blackout?”

“Unless he or she has the power to walk through the solid walls, I am. Most assuredly.”

“Then why have we not found the Marie Antoinette? No hiding place has been overlooked. C’est impossible!”

Charles the Third smiled his enigmatic smile. “So it would seem. But we have eliminated the impossible, and it is an old maxim of mine that when this has been done, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

“Why do you say we have eliminated the impossible?”

“We have established, have we not, that no one could have left the premises after the theft. Also that the thief could not have hidden the missing reticule anywhere in this or the other rooms. Therefore, as improbable as it might seem, the chatelaine is still in his possession.”

“But everyone has been searched. How could the voleur still possess it?”

“The answer to that lies in the observation of trifles. The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”

“Well? What trifles?” Rayburn demanded waspishly.

“Patience, my dear sir. Patience.”

“Patience, my foot. Do you know or don’t you?”

“I do,” Sabina said.

All eyes turned to her. She had been deep in thought; now she was sure she was right in the conclusions she’d drawn from her “observation of trifles.” Had Charles the Third made the same deduction? No matter. Whether he had or not, the time had come for her to take command.

She said to him, “Do you agree that two individuals, not just one, are involved in the theft?”

Carreaux and Rayburn seemed surprised at the question. The crackbrain showed no reaction; his smile remained enigmatic. “Naturally,” he said. “One to loosen the fuse at a prearranged time, the other to step over the rope and lift the reticule from the display table.”

“Mr. Rayburn. Is it likely one of the guests would know where the fuse box is located?”

“No. Customers and guests are not allowed in the storeroom.” The gallery owner’s eyes narrowed. “Are you implying that I—”

“Not at all, sir. You have no credible reason to have stolen the Marie Antoinette.”

“One of my clerks then? Holloway, Eldredge?”

“How long has each of them worked for you?”

“Eldredge for four years, Holloway for just under one. But—”

“The storeroom door was not under careful watch, only the display,” Sabina said. “One or the other of them could have slipped through unnoticed, loosened the fuse, then hidden himself until after you tightened it to restore the electricity.”

Rayburn fussed with his mustache again before he said, “Yes, that’s possible. There are places in the storeroom where a man who knows it could briefly hide himself without my seeing him. My attention was on the fuse box when I entered by matchlight, then on returning to the exhibit once the lights were back on.”

“Did you notice where Holloway and Eldredge were standing prior to the blackout?”

“Let me think … Yes.

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