“And you never left your post except for scheduled breaks?”
“That’s right.I took fifteen minutes at nine like always.I bought a candy bar from the vending machine in the employee break room and used the washroom.At midnight I took a walk around the other halls then sat in the cafeteria to drink my coffee.Liquids aren’t allowed at my station.”
Bryn caught Gunnar’s eye and gave the slightest shake of his head.Redman was lying.
“Mr.Redman, I’m going to be direct with you.You’re not telling us the whole truth about that night,” Gunnar said.
Redman paled.“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do.You were told what an augur can do.Something happened during your shift that you haven’t shared with us.”
Sweat beaded on Redman’s forehead.“I told you everything important.”
“Lie.”
“You can’t know that.”
“But I do.”Bryn removed his dark glasses, revealing his intense, glowing green eyes.“Tell us what really happened that night.”
Redman’s shoulders slumped.“I didn’t believe you were real.Thought it was a trick.”
“You need to tell us the truth.”
“They threatened my daughter,” Redman whispered.
“Truth.”
“They had pictures of her.They knew where she goes to school, her schedule.”Redman’s voice cracked.“They said if I didn’t help them, they’d hurt her.”
“Who threatened you?”Giles asked, stepping forward.
“I don’t know.I never saw a person.I got calls from blocked numbers, photos of my daughter sent to my personal phone.I have the messages.I can show you.”
“What did they ask you to do?”Bryn asked.
“To leave my post for thirty minutes instead of fifteen during my early break and to leave a service door unlocked on the east side of the building.”Reeves wiped at his eyes.“That’s all.I swear.”
“Truth.”
“Did you see who took the dagger?”Gunnar asked.
“No.When I came back to my post, everything looked normal.I didn’t know what they took until the next morning when I was doing my last checks before the shift change.”
After another hour of questioning, they had extracted everything Redman knew, which wasn’t much.The threats had started a week before the theft, the communications were anonymous, and he hadn’t seen the thief.It wasn’t a huge amount of help.
Outside the interview room, Giles pursed his lips.“Well, that’s something at least.Not what I was hoping for, but progress.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Bryn said, putting his dark glasses back on.“You heard him.He was put in an impossible situation.”
“Nevertheless, he compromised security and facilitated the theft of a valuable artifact.The timeline works.The thief had time to get the cabinet key from the office, take the dagger and return the key in half an hour.”
“And there’s no camera footage?”
“No.That service door has a blind spot and the cameras in the exhibition hall were looped remotely.They show an empty hall at the time the theft must have taken place.”
“What will happen to Redman?”Gunnar asked.
“That’s not up to me.I’ll get the cops to come pick him up.”
