A four-door sedan arrived and parked behind one of the patrol cars. Gaston Spelling sprang from the vehicle and hurried to the back of the museum.
Detective Polivich met him near the gate. There was a brief conversation, and then they disappeared from sight.
“Let’s go.” Mercedes grabbed her mother’s hand and dragged her to the gate. They approached the caretaker’s cottage where a cluster of officers gathered. Polivich and the museum’s curator stood off to the side.
Carlita hurried to join them. “You found it.”
Polivich turned to face her, his stern expression softening. “As a matter of fact, we did. The Cagles were in possession of the stolen artwork. Now, all we have to do is figure out if there are additional accomplices.”
“Meaning Astrid Herve,” Carlita said.
“Yes. We’ll know more as soon as we have a chance to question the Cagles.”
Chapter 22
“Astrid is officially off the hook.” Carlita breezed into the apartment.
“She really didn’t know what was inside the wrapped package?” Mercedes joined her mother in the living room.
“No. The Cagles confessed. They told the investigators they tricked Astrid under the premise Mrs. Cagle was surprising her husband. She asked Astrid to hang onto his birthday present.”
“What about the museum’s curator, Mr. Spelling?” Mercedes asked. “We saw him hand Astrid something.”
“It was money. Gaston Spelling was sympathetic to Astrid’s predicament,” Carlita said. “She was hiding out in the sheds on the edge of the property. Spelling spotted her one evening on his way out and asked her to leave. When he found out she was homeless, he felt sorry for her and started giving her money.”
“Surely, there are homeless shelters in the area,” Mercedes said.
“Yes, but Astrid refused to go because of her phobia of enclosed spaces,” her mother reminded her. “And the women’s shelter was full.”
“Where do the caretakers…the Cagles come in?”
“According to Astrid, the couple befriended her, even inviting her to the cottage for dinner.”
Carlita told her daughter that early the previous week, after Elvira’s interview at the museum for the security job, she found Astrid digging in the dumpster and offered her a temporary job, working under the table. “The couple knew she was working with Elvira.”
“It must’ve taken some planning to pull off the theft,” Mercedes said.
“Yes. The Cagles tripped the power source, knowing the alarm would go down until it kicked into backup mode.”
“What about the surveillance cameras? I’m sure the cameras were on battery backup.”
“They were.” Carlita nodded. “Except that someone had removed the backup batteries.”
“The Cagles.”
“Mr. Cagle shut down the power, knew he had a couple of minutes before the alarm reset and knew the cameras were off. He sneaked into the museum, grabbed the painting and took off before the alarm came back up. The couple knew the authorities would search the premises and they needed to get the painting out of there.”
“This is where Astrid comes in,” Mercedes guessed.
“The painting was already protected inside a special Plexiglas shadowbox, both waterproof and humidity controlled. They placed the special box and painting inside the telescope box. It was small…small enough to conceal. Mrs. Cagle tracked Astrid down and told her she had a very special gift for Mr. Cagle, a birthday present, and she didn’t want him to find it. She asked Astrid to hang onto it for her. Astrid agreed.”
“But what if Astrid got caught with the painting or Elvira started snooping around Astrid’s things?”
“I guess it was a risk they were willing to take. The Cagles were never suspects, having lived in the caretaker’s cottage and caring for the grounds for years.”
“But why would the couple steal the painting? Why now?”
“I wondered the same thing. Detective Polivich said they were angry and bitter. The museum’s board had decided it was time for the Cagles to retire and move out of the caretaker’s cottage. They thought they would be living there forever. They came up with a plan to help themselves to a ‘parting gift.’”
“Some parting gift,” Mercedes rolled her eyes. “Elvira should thank you for saving her hide, not to mention her company’s reputation.”
“I’m not holding my breath,” Carlita said.
“What happened to Astrid?”
“The authorities are trying to get Astrid’s plane ticket changed without incurring change fees. Elvira offered to let her hang around for a couple more days until they get it straightened out.”
“In her tent?”
“Yes. I don’t know how that poor woman is going to manage on an overseas plane ride if she’s claustrophobic.”
“So Elvira is off the hook, too?”
“As far as I know. There was some sort of mix-up over the discarded painting frames. One of the employees had placed several empty frames in the recycle pile by accident,” Carlita said. “Elvira saw them and decided to bring one of them home.”
The downstairs bell rang.
“That’s probably Elvira.” Carlita hurried down the steps.
Astrid stood on the stoop. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Garlucci. I wanted to stop by to thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry the Cagles weren’t the people you thought they were. You’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why don’t you come in?” Carlita motioned her inside.
“I-I don’t want to bother you.”
“It’s no bother. I insist.” Carlita led Astrid up the steps and into the apartment. She motioned to her backpack. “You’re taking your backpack with you?”
“Yes.”
“Now that the painting is off your hands, you have some extra room in your backpack for clothes.” Carlita eyed her critically. “I think you and Mercedes might be close to the same size.”
Astrid shifted her backpack. “You don’t have to give me anything.”
Mercedes joined them. “Ma’s right. I have a closetful of clothes I rarely wear. Let’s go see what we can find.”
Mercedes and Astrid headed to Mercedes’ bedroom to dig through the closet while
