"I saw you, you know, that night at the university. I saw you change into that magnificent creature."
Crap!
I hope my panic didn't show on my face as I relayed that bit of information to Ian."Ian, Atkins saw me shift."
"Does he have a recording?"Ian asked.
"No, I erased everything."
"Keep it that way,"Ian said."Don't shift unless you absolutely have to."
"Understood."
"I'm not exactly sure what it was you think you saw, Mr. Atkins, but I can assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about."
The man smiled and set his champagne glass down on the table. "Why don't you come with me, Danny. I have something I want you to see."
I didn't know what game Atkins was playing, but I got up and followed him out of the glass room and down the hallway to an office that was decorated much like the room I'd woken up in. Only this one had a large mahogany desk in it instead of a pool table.
Atkins shut the door behind me then walked over to the desk. When he reached down under his desk, the wall behind him slid away, revealing a staircase leading down. "Please follow me, Danny."
"Ian, there's a hidden staircase behind the bookshelf in Atkins' office. I think the button to open it is under his desk."
"We're right behind you, Danny,"Ian said. "We're just about to get inside the house. We just have to find a way in where we won't be seen."
"The greenhouse thingy. It had patio doors that were open. You can get in that way."
"We'll be there soon, Danny."
I hoped so, but I wasn't holding my breath. This day was just full of surprises.
The secret staircase led to a surprisingly modern and well-lit area. It was obvious from the marble floor and walls that the place was custom built. I'm not sure I would have picked a black and gold marble, but I wasn't insane either.
Atkins led me over to a large set of double doors directly across from the staircase. They had to be at least ten feet tall. Atkins pulled a gold key out from under his shirt and stuck it in the lock, turned it, then put the key back.
When I stared at the key, he chuckled. "I don't trust keypads. They can be too easily hacked as I am sure you are aware."
Unfortunately, I was.
Atkins opened the doors and stepped inside, moving back so I could walk in. "Welcome to my collection, Danny Jenkins."
Holy shit!
Chapter Fourteen
Tears flooded my eyes as I looked around the room. It was bigger than my entire brownstone even if you put all the floors right next to each other then stacked them on top of each other. The three-story structure easily held everything that Atkins had collected.
I doubted any of it had been collected legally.
High on a round dais situated in the middle of the room was a single chair and a small side table. A glass of amber liquid sat on the table in a cognac glass. I was pretty sure that was where the megalomaniac sat while he perused his collection.
What an ass.
Artwork by artists I'd seen in museums hung on the walls, making me wonder if these were fakes or the ones in the museums were fakes. Some of the artwork and statues were items I had only ever seen in magazines.
Rooms—more like cells—lined most of the wall space in the massive round room. The first cell housed gems and jewels. The second fine bone china that looked ancient. A golden toilet that I knew had been in Saddam Hussein's palace in Bagdad. Viking swords. Roman shields. Medieval armor. A library of ancient books and scrolls sealed behind a glass wall. There were even a couple of cars.
It wasn't until I had turned in a full circle that I spotted the second-floor cells that almost took me to my knees. These cells housed some of the live animals I'd discovered in my search of Robert Atkins, the exotic animals, and the endangered ones.
