“This morning,” she whispered back. “This is the Victoria and Albert Museum, in South Kensington.”
He recognized the interior now—the shallow pool in the central courtyard, the luminescent Chihuly sculpture hanging low from the main lobby, the rotunda filled with fashion through the centuries. The video swung jerkily as it broadcast from the ring on Connor’s finger.
“Looks like the museum’s empty,” he said.
She nodded. “Hasn’t opened yet.”
As they looked on, Connor made his way through a set of double doors, then into what seemed like a maze of back corridors.
“Eli donated the newest extension to the museum ten years ago,” Sydney explained, “and in return, earned a private wing of his own here that is mostly kept away from the public. Looks like Connor’s using a back entrance.”
Winter narrowed his eyes. “Well, I’m guessing he’s not just enjoying a leisurely day indulging in the arts.”
“Not after last night,” she mumbled. “If Penelope was the target, he might be moving to secure Eli’s holdings from her father’s attackers.”
At last, Connor reached the end of a new wing where four guards were posted at each corner. He raised his hand in a possible greeting, and the video turned briefly up to show the ceiling of the wing arched up in an elegant dome. No windows were in this space—and even though Winter knew they were two stories up, he had the sudden feeling of stepping into a sepulcher.
As he walked through the small corridor, one of the men nodded in silent greeting to him, then stepped aside. Connor pushed open one of the double doors before him and led them into a room lined with white, elegantly carved pillars.
Winter couldn’t help letting out a faint whistle.
It was Connor’s personal collection that he’d donated to the museum.
There were jewels of all kinds in here, colorful diamonds and sapphires and rubies, rare jade so pale it looked translucent, blocks of raw quartz, then rows upon rows of jewelry, all protected in individual cases.
“Look,” Sydney whispered. She zoomed in on one of the jewelry boxes sitting in a thick receptacle of glass. As she did, she tapped another button on the screen.
The video recording shifted into what looked like an infrared mode.He saw the outline appear plainly behind the glass cases. He sucked his breath in sharply.
“There’s a hidden room in there,” he said.
Sydney nodded, although she was frowning. As Winter studied the box further, he noticed the silhouette of a face emerge against the jewelry box’s glass surface. He recoiled at the eerie sight.
Connor stopped before the box. For a second, nothing happened. Then there was the faint sound of a click, followed by a door sliding silently open against the wall.
The man stepped inside. And the snake ring’s footage cut off.
Sydney cursed. “That room must have fortified walls,” she whispered. “The video feed can’t transmit from inside.”
Minutes crawled by. Just when Winter thought they wouldn’t see any more footage, the feed flickered back to life. Connor was already back outside in the small corridor, walking past the four guards again.
Winter’s mouth felt dry. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Hadn’t Sauda said Eli’s ledgers were kept somewhere in central London?
“How do we get in there?” he murmured.
Sydney’s brows were furrowed, her eyes stormy with thought. “The code to open that room seems to be made with pattern recognition of the blood vessels under the skin of Connor’s face,” she said.
Winter frowned. “So, short of dragging his decapitated head in there, we’re not getting in? And before you suggest it, I’d really prefer if we didn’t decapitate him.”
“No one needs to be decapitated. We just needed a good 3D hologram of his face.” She reached over to tap his earrings. “Which you got last night at the party.”
The touch of her cool skin against his earlobe sent a shiver down his spine. He looked closely at the image again. “Can we tell what’s inside?”
She shook her head. “Not until we get in ourselves. But all weneed is one piece of evidence. Just one, and it’ll be enough to stop that shipment.”
His heartbeat quickened.Just one, and it’ll be enough.But Eli Morrison was dead, and they didn’t even know who had done it, nor who was running his empire right now and dealing with the Corcasians in his absence. They were working with zero leads, and they were running out of time.
“What do you need to get in?” he whispered to her instead.
