"Super Sleuth Stu" will be published in the 2015 Anthology early in 2016.
At
9.15 a.m. the strident tone of my cell phone disturbs my reverie. I pick it up.
‘Hello,
Super Sleuth Stu, how can I help you?’ The lady sounds frantic.
‘Francis
is gone and the auction is at two. You have to help me!’
‘Okay,
lady, calm down. Who is Francis and what has he got to do with an auction?’
‘It’s
Francis of Assisi!’
‘But
lady, he’s been gone for several hundred years!’
‘No,
no! It’s the painting of Saint Francis of Assisi! It’s worth thousands and it’s
gone – and the auction is at two and I have to find it!
‘Lady,
slow down! What’s your name and where are you?’
‘I’m
Celia at the Gaston Gallery. We came in this morning and the painting was gone.
Please help me!’
‘Okay,
Celia, I’ll be there in a few minutes. Don’t let anyone near the scene.’
Gaston
Gallery is a door on Main Street plastered with posters announcing ‘Auction
Today - Modern and classical artworks.’ I press the button and wait, looking up
and down the grey streetscape. The door opens and I look down on a middle-aged
lady, wringing her hands in obvious distress. I guess it is Celia.
‘Hi
Celia, I’m Stu. Tell me what happened!’ She directs me into the gallery where
there is a blank space among the displayed artworks.
‘Francis
was there last night and this morning, he was gone!’ Tears fill her eyes.
‘He
is the draw-card for today’s auction – I have to find him or Peter will never
forgive me!’
‘Let’s
start at the beginning! Who is Peter?’
‘He
owns the gallery.’
‘Does
he have any enemies?’
‘Not
really, his brother, Merv would like to see him crash. Merv has some shady
connections and Peter’s ex-girlfriend, Suzie still has a chip on her shoulder –
she’d like to see him fail.’
‘Who
had access to the premises last night?’
‘Oh,
they all did.’
‘Are
there any signs of a break-in?’
‘No,
everything is locked, but Merv and Suzie both have keys.’
‘Where
does this go? I indicate a door at the end of the room.
‘It
goes downstairs to the store and workshop.’ As she turns the light on I see a
glittering object on the stairs. I stoop and pick up a diamond ear ring.
‘That
looks like the one Peter wears, he must have dropped it!’
The
workshop is a mess with paintings propped against the walls.
‘Does
Suzy wear blue socks?’
‘No,
why do you ask?’
‘There’s
one on the floor at the end of the bench.’
‘I’ll
have to speak to those cleaners! They were supposed to clean everything last
night, ready for the auction.’
The
sounds of footsteps boom on the floor above.
‘The
auction is about to start!’ Celia raises her hands to her cheeks in horror.
‘What’s
under this sheet?’ Celia turns to look.
“They
are paintings to be checked.’ I flick through them. Celia squeals.
‘That’s
Francis! That last one you turned. Let’s get it up to the gallery!’
We
rush the painting up the stairs and I place it on the vacant hook.
A
man comes mincing across the room. The name-tag identifies him as Peter.
‘Where
did you find that? Peter’s eyes narrow as he looks at me.
‘It
was in the workshop, where you concealed it. I also found an ear ring on the
stairs that looks like yours.’
Pretty
Pete flicks a wayward curl from over his right eye and slides it behind his ear.
A disdainful sneer slithers across his face.
‘You
can’t accuse me just on that ear ring! Anybody with two thousand dollars can
buy one at Sears.’
‘Oh,
it’s not just the ear ring! There was a raw hide dog bone on the floor between
the paintings.’ Peter laughs.
‘They’re
all over the place!’
‘That
may be so but you are the only person here who has a prissy little poodle that
chews boutique raw hide dog bones and wears blue socks! − Was the insurance
payout your target?’
