Send in the Clowns Ch. 02

"Yes sir, if you'll just come on around where you can see the painting, I'll show you something." Rudistan said as we went around the table. He then shined a flashlight that gave off a strange purplish light. I recognized it as the UV light that had been left with the disc golf discs we'd recovered, that had illuminated the message for me from the Slender Man. (Author's note: 'Return of the Slender Man', Ch. 02.)

"We were looking for hidden messages, sir." said Rudistan. "There are none, but when we shine the light at this sideways angle, the image of Pastor Westboro glows slightly differently than the rest of the painting. We then examined the painting with an ordinary magnifying glass, and you can see that it's slightly different. Most of the painting has no brushstrokes, which I'm told is a sign of computer CNC-generated paintings. But Westboro's head is painted in with a brush; you can see the brushstrokes."

"Yes, you're right." I said as I examined it, then handed the magnifying glass to Claire Michaels. "So what do you guys think this means?"

Joan Laurer said "Sir, we think that someone added in Pastor Westboro at some time after the original painting was made. Why, we have no data yet, so we don't know."

"I think I do..." I said, my voice a whisper as I went into a reverie...

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

The MCD Detectives, Cpt. Michaels, and I went to Classroom 'E', and we were joined by Chief Moynahan, Lt. Cmdr. Teresa Croyle, Lt. Jerome Davis, Lt. Mary Milton, and SBI Agent Terence Johnson, who had watched the interrogations with Teresa in the Monitor Room. They were surprised to see Julia carrying the red crowbar, which I had not yet reclaimed.

"Hello, Lieutenant Davis." I said. "What are the Feds saying right now?" I had asked Jerome Davis to liaison with FBI SSA Julius Jefferson, and he'd been at the Federal Building until I called him back.

"Mostly unprintable curses, sir." said Davis, making us all chuckle. Then he brought us down to earth by saying "The Rovers BAU Team is putting it all on Jack Muscone. They are really giving him both barrels, and what's scaring me and Julius is that the FBI leadership, including EAD Owen Lange, aren't doing a whole lot to help Mr. Muscone."

"Blaming Muscone was part of the plan." I said. "Do they have any idea at all where the painting might have been taken?"

"No sir." said Davis. "They're totally stymied."

"Yet they send no one here to liaison with us." Claire Michaels pointed out.

"Exactly, ma'am." said Davis. "That's one good example of what I'm thinking: to be candidly honest, I'm not sure how much they care. The Rovers BAU Team has their piñata in Mr. Muscone. They'll also blame the local LEOs here if and when the painting can't be found."

Teresa said "If the Swamp Frogs are behind the theft, then of course they're not going to work very hard to get it back."

Julia Rodriguez said "Do they even have it? We haven't found anything to show the painting was actually removed from the Museum."

"You're making a strong case for keeping that red crowbar, arentcha?" I said with a grin. "That's a good point, Julia, and one we haven't really explored yet. And Jerome, how upset is the Rovers BAU Team that George Aurus didn't show up in person?"

"Uhhh!" Davis said, blinking as if he'd just been slapped in the face. "You know what, sir? They didn't mention that guy all day! Not one time."

"What about what that guy Steve said?" asked Claire Michaels. "That Lionel Carmela recruited him with a grade-fixing scheme?"

I said "I'm not at all surprised. Carmela is notorious for doing things like that. He often resorts to outright blackmail. What he did with Steve is an exact repeat of what he did to FBI Special Agent Tracy Stone when she was in college." (Author's note: 'Jupiter Rising', Ch. 03.)

I continued: "And I don't think it's a coincidence that a couple of people who took Carmela's courses and got 'A's, which means the students are as rabidly Leftist as he is, are showing up in this case. It shows there's definitely a connection between Carmela and the Swamp Frogs... in my opinion, anyway."

"Sir," said Teddy Parker, "after what the security guard Nicholas Mancini said... do you think Anti-Semitism is the reason behind the theft?"

I said "I think that was a red herring. Nicholas Mancini might indeed be a Jew-hater, and it's very obvious that he was recruited into the Swamp Frogs for that reason. And maybe he is happy to be a part of them because of his Jew-hatred. But I think one reason he said that was to distract us."

YIC: "Julia is carrying the red crowbar right now because she pointed out that the most virulent Jew-hater of all the Swamp Frogs, Nathan Masterson, hasn't shown up, at least not yet. And if it were an anti-Semite thing, he would've been in there with Mancini. So I can derive two inferences from that: that Judaism is a red herring, and that they're holding him in reserve."

"For what, sir?" asked Julia.

"For the one that got away." I said. "The woman carrying the champagne on the tray. The one the others called 'Beth'. She totally disappeared, and I think she's the key to the case."

Julia handed me back the red crowbar. "It's fun to hold it for a little while, sir, but you're the only person who can carry its weight for any length of time."

"The Sheriff would love your asskissing skills." Teresa said cattily. Of course, we knew she meant it with love.

"What about the four-foot-two elephant in the room?" Mary Milton said. "George Aurus."

I said "The only persons involved in this case that are anywhere near four-foot-two are the Detective that saw more than the rest of us put together, and her best friend." Everyone broke out laughing at that.

I continued: "Let's just put Aurus aside for a minute. Like I said, the woman that disappeared is more interesting to me than George Aurus right now."

"Does she have the Greuze?" asked Claire Michaels.

"I don't think so, at least not yet." I said.

"Mis-ter Crowbarrrr," said the Chief, looking very hard at me, "do you know where the Lost Greuze is?"

"No, Chief." I replied, looking right back at him. "I have some ideas, but nothing solid."

The Chief was not mollified. "Then why aren't we acting upon your ideas, and looking for it?"

I said "I think the thieves hid the Greuze somewhere in the Museum, but I think an attempt to find it by tearing up the Museum will be fruitless. What I want to do is have the thieves lead us to the painting, and then recover it at the same time we add them to our bag."

"So what are you going to have us dooooo?" drawled the Chief.

I smiled and said "Congratulations, everyone! You've been reassigned to 'Stakeouts'!" Everyone groaned; the inside joke is that no one wants to be in Stakeouts...

Part 11 - Circus Act

8:00pm, Saturday, March The Chief and I had pizzas brought in for dinner. I'd also told the Detectives as well as the SWAT Team unit backing us up that we were wearing our 'black' uniforms with black military-style boots, and of course some serious armor.

An hour earlier, Shane O'Brady had called me and said he was sending a video that I would find of interest. I pulled it up. It was Republican Wilson Hammonds, speaking to reporters at the State Capitol.

Hammonds: "It is obvious that the University Museum is unable to protect their artworks, and there is no way the Statue of Artemis should be allowed to be moved there from the much more secure Pottsville Museum. I will be adding an amendment to any Budget bill that will forbid any State or local funding to be spent to move the Statue of Artemis anywhere, and especially not to the University Museum."

"Well, that's not good." I said to Teresa, who had watched it with me on the television monitor in my office. "If we don't get the Greuze back, and by Monday morning, Hammonds will probably win that one."

Teresa replied "The flip side of that is that Hammonds is so vindictive that he just might concede other things to get the Budget passed with that amendment. What bothers me is how quickly Hammonds found out about the theft."


I said "KFXU and Alison McFarland both had it, since they were there covering the exhibition and the auction. And I'm sure Tim Sioban of KSB would be eager to get it on air, just to gin up controversy and angst."

And then came the shocker. Lt. Myron Milton came to my office. "Sir! You just got an email with a video file in it. We've checked it for viruses and it's clean."

"Okay, thanks." I said, bringing it up. And when I did, I gasped. The image that appeared on my screen was George Aurus!

"Hello, Commander Troy. Please give my regards to Detective Bell." Aurus said, his voice quiet and whispery. He was wearing a black t-shirt with the logo of the defunct Wrangler Circus on it. Behind him were four persons, all in black, including their full head masks. The circus logo was on their black shirts, as well.

"It's such a farce, Commander." Aurus said. "Such a farce." And then he began singing. Yes, singing. He had a pretty decent singing voice as he delivered excerpts from Stephen Sondheim's 'Send In The Clowns':

"Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around
One who can't move
Where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns.

Don't you love farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you'd want what I want
Sorry, my dear
But where are the clowns?
Quick, send in the clowns
Don't bothеr, they're herе..."

I'd barely had time to give Teresa the instructions to assemble everyone in Classroom 'E' when my Police iPhone rang. It was Jack Muscone.

"Hey Dog, I'm on speaker. EAD Lange and Bob Rovers are here with me." Muscone said. "We just got a video from George Aurus."

"I'm on speaker with Commander Croyle." I replied after hitting the speaker button. "We just got it, too. I'm about to show it to my Detectives and have them evaluate it."

"What do you make of it?" Muscone asked.

I said "Only that George Aurus has a surprisingly good singing voice. Teresa might have some competition at next year's Christmas concert." Not having a crowbar, Teresa wagged her finger in my general direction.

"Commander!" EAD Owen Lange's voice came through the phone's speaker. "This is a serious situation, and I'll ask you take it seriously. Now what's going on with that video?"

"With all due respect, Mr. EAD," I said, barely holding on to my temper, "I am giving it every bit of the attention it deserves. You'll have to excuse me; I've got a meeting to go to." I hit the disconnect button, which I'm sure infuriated the Federal Agents. But no one tried to call me back.

"Of all the fucking nerve." Teresa said. "They just expect you to know what that was about not two minutes after we got it?"

"And they expect me to tell them, and with Bob Rovers in the room." I replied. "Fuck that, and fuck them." I got up and said "Come on, let's go to Classroom 'E'..."

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

"Well, that changes the dynamic." muttered Chief Moynahan after we watched the video in Classroom 'E'.

"If it's real, of course." said Lt. Mary Milton.

"It's real." I said. "Aurus said something that I highly doubt the Swamp Frogs would remember to include. It was him." His inclusion of the Midtown PD Detective Nell Bell's name was my cluuuuue there..

Deputy Chief Tanya P. Muscone had come in earlier, and had joined us for the airing of the video. She asked "What do you think it means?"

Claire Michaels said "My question is why he sent it, and why now?"

"He's goading us?" asked Tanya. "Or goading Commander Troy, like that painting they exchanged for the Greuze was meant to do?"

"And that's part of my point." replied Claire. "Why goad Commander Troy? Why give him any more incentive to come after him?"

Teresa Croyle said "Maybe Aurus wasn't goading Commander Troy. Maybe there's something in the words that Aurus chose from that song."

"That's Iron Wolf thinking, there." I said quietly.

"So Aurus is trying to help us?" Tanya said. "Mighty kind of a serial killer and wanted fugitive to do."

"Isn't it, though." I replied cryptically.

"Maybe he's trying to distract us." said Jerome Davis. "Get us looking for him while a confederate gets the Greuze out of here?"

"Maybe, just maybe, we're theorizing without sufficient data." I said loudly as I stood up. "Let's not worry about this, and go complete our mission for the evening. Suit up, everyone..."

Part 12 - Doubly Deceived

2:30am, Sunday, March 21st. The University Museum Curator turned off the alarm and unlocked the front door. He and Dr. Nadler went inside, then he locked the door back.

"I really appreciate you coming down at this hour." said Dr. Nadler. "I really wanted to re-check that painting. I'm afraid I may have made a mistake when I looked at it after the fire alarm."

"If it gets us the Greuze back and my reputation restored, it will be worth it." said the Curator as he unlocked the door to the Gift Shop.

They went inside, and Dr. Nadler stepped behind the counter and up to the painting on the right, with the red 'SOLD' label. He began re-examining it, first with his magnifying glass, then the blue-light device. Then he used another, similar device, but one that gave out a reddish light.

"Oh my God." said Dr. Nadler. "It... it's the real Greuze! The thief must've put it here, and was going to pick it up after the heat died down."

"That's right, Dr. Nadler."

They whirled to see a slender person in all black, with a black mask on. Her body shape and breasts suggested she was a female, as did her voice. The.22 WMR autopistol in her hand suggested she was serious.

She continued: "A quick spray of UV-absorbing material was enough to throw off your device long enough to fool the idiot Police here." She threw two plastic zip-tie onto the counter. "Now, both of you lie down on the floor. Dr. Nadler, secure the Curator's hands behind him, then his legs.... and do it right if you want to live."

Dr. Nadler secured the Curator's hands behind him, then his legs. "Now your own ankles." said the woman. After Dr. Nadler did so, she ordered him to roll onto his belly, whereupon she zip-tied his hands behind him.

"Hopefully they'll find you before too long." the woman said. "And when they do, you can tell the Iron Crowbar that he is as clumsy as he is stupid. Now don't try anything stupid yourselves until I'm long gone." And with that, she took the Greuze off the wall and exited the room for the Museum's front doors...

To be continued.