CHAPTER --------- 4
Two days later, Skye and Brandon were sitting on a bench in the magnificent Tuileries Gardens, and eating their lunch with Professor Airbon. The sun was bright with barely a cloud in the sky. The Gardens themselves were massive and ran along the bank of the River Seine from the Louvre. Amongst the gardens were large water fountains and beautiful sculptures that Skye thought were good enough to be in a museum. There must not have been a single colour that Skye couldn’t see in the gardens; from red to green, yellow to violet, colour surrounded them. There were also vendors selling delicious chocolate crepes, and others hiring deck chairs for people to sit on. Skye was eating a baguette filled with more delightfully tasty cheeses. She couldn’t believe how many different types of cheese there were to eat! ‘We met Henri Chassel yesterday,’ Skye said between mouthfuls of her baguette. A cloud of sadness come over her face as she mentioned Chassel’s name. ‘Oh yes, he is a true gentleman,’ the Professor said, not for the first time. ‘We were very fortunate that he helped fund our expedition. We never would have been able to succeed without him.’ He looked down at the ground and frowned. ‘I haven’t had the heart to tell him yet about the theft.’ Skye exchanged an embarrassed glance with Brandon. ‘Um, we told him, Professor,’ she said. ‘Oh dear,’ the Professor replied, sounding very anxious. ‘How did he take it?’ Skye thought for a moment before answering. ‘Actually, not as badly as I had thought he would.’ The Professor let out a long sigh of relief. ‘That is comforting. He was deeply interested in all of our discoveries, and I imagined that the thought of losing some of them would have made him furious.’ He frowned slightly, as though he wished Henri Chassel were more upset about the loss. ‘Still, I suppose someone like him has lots of interests,’ he added. They ate their lunch in silence for a while, watching the people walking leisurely through the Gardens, many of them being followed by small dogs. ‘I do hope we can recover the stolen pieces quickly,’ the Professor said after he had finished eating. ‘So far the police haven’t found anything; no
finger prints, no film of anyone entering the room, nothing.’ He sighed again. ‘I was hoping to discover more about the women who lived in Xerxes’ palace.’ Skye’s head shot up with interest at the Professor’s comment. ‘Um, do you know much about his wives?’ she asked timidly, then immediately wished that she hadn’t. She never said anything timidly. Brandon had obviously noticed the hesitation in her voice and was watching her with a look of concern on his face. She hated to admit it, but she was worried about what Chassel had said to her. If she showed the Professor that she believed too much in the bible, maybe he would think she was a fool too. She lowered her head and looked down at her feet felling a little bit guilty. Thankfully Brandon hadn’t seemed to have thought too much about it as his attention was focused back on his iPhone. ‘We know that his wife’s name was Amestris’ the Professor said, mercifully not having caught any hint of her embarrassment. ‘Some people think that his wife’s name was Vashti,’ Skye ventured tentatively. ‘Oh yes, the bible mentions that name. It is possible that Vashti and Amestris are the same person, with their names just being written in different languages. Similarly the bible mentions the king’s name as Ahasuerus, which we suspect may have been what the Greeks called Xerxes.’ Professor Airbon smiled at her. ‘You seem to know a lot about history, especially biblical history. You’ve not actually told me how it is that you are both so interested in these artefacts. Why did you fly half way around the world to come and see them?’ Skye felt uneasy. She wanted to tell him about her aunt, and that they were hoping to discover how Esther could have been so courageous. But what Chassel said had scared her. She stared at the Professor and tried to think of another answer. ‘Um,’ she began, but no other words came out. ‘Wait!’ Brandon exclaimed, interrupting them. ‘Look at this!’ ‘What is it?’ Skye asked, immediately attentive. She was glad to have the attention diverted away from her. ‘Have a look at this picture,’ he said. He turned his phone towards them so they could see the screen. On it was a picture of the table in the Professor’s room from where the artefacts
had been stolen. Skye looked closely but couldn’t see anything remarkable. ‘I don’t see anything,’ she said at last. ‘What about now,’ Brandon said as he zoomed in on the picture. Skye looked again at where Brandon was pointing but could only see a mark in the dust on the floor. ‘It’s just a mark on the ground,’ she said. Beside her, the Professor was peering intently at the screen as well but shaking his head; he couldn’t see anything either. ‘Here’s another picture,’ he said, swiping to the next one. Skye looked but shook her head. She was beginning to think that Brandon wasn’t taking this seriously. It was just a photo of the ground underneath the table where the mark was. ‘Have you found anything or not?’ she asked impatiently. Brandon smiled at them as he zoomed in closer. Skye and the Professor gasped at the same time. ‘It’s a foot print!’ she exclaimed. She smiled too as she turned to the Professor. ‘I’m glad you haven’t had your floor swept clean in a long time,’ she said. ‘But it could be my foot print,’ the Professor said dourly. ‘No,’ Brandon said happily, ‘I’ve already done some measurements and this footprint is from a size 11 shoe. Your shoes aren’t that big.’ Now even the Professor was smiling. ‘Do you think this could be the footprint of the thief?’ ‘Do you have any assistants or security guards that would have been in the room?’ Skye asked. ‘No, I’m the only one with the key,’ the Professor responded. ‘Then this could be the foot print of the thief,’ Brandon said. ‘But how can we use this picture to help us find them?’ asked the Professor. The Professor’s question was a good one. Skye and Brandon looked at each other, puzzled. ‘We don’t know yet,’ Skye admitted. ‘But we can send it to the police. Maybe it will help them in their investigation.’ It had been a long day and Skye and Brandon were both tired as they returned to their hotel. ‘I don’t understand why the police haven’t found anything yet,’ Skye said as they walked down the corridor to their room. ‘The thief had obviously been planning this for a long time,’ Brandon said. Skye looked at him, confused. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘All of the trouble they went to. They knew where the artefacts were kept, they were able to break the cameras so that they wouldn’t take any footage of them, and it was only the jewellery that they stole. It seems like they’d known for a while what they wanted.’ ‘But they couldn’t have,’ Skye said dismissively. ‘Nobody knew about the expedition until it was reported in the news.’ ‘Well, we didn’t know about it,’ Brandon grumbled defensively, ‘but others would have.’ Skye was about to open the door to their room when she froze. ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘There would have been people who were part of the expedition or who helped to organize it. They would have known well before we did.’ ‘That’s what I said,’ Brandon mumbled grumpily. Skye opened the door and walked into the room. ‘Maybe we can find a list of all the people who ‐’ she stopped as she looked around the room. Their room looked as though a tornado had blown through it. Their bags were open and clothes were thrown all over the room. The wardrobe and chest of drawers had been flung open and all of their contents strewn on the floor. ‘Oh no!’ Skye exclaimed. Brandon looked to be in shock. ‘Who would want to rob us?’ ‘And what would they want?’ Skye replied, coming back to her senses. ‘Have a look and see if anything is missing,’ she commanded. They began searching through all of their belongings, checking pockets and trying to remember anything that might have been missing. After 10 minutes of searching, they both sat down on the bed. ‘I don’t get it,’ Brandon said. ‘Nothing’s been stolen.’ ‘I know; it doesn’t make any sense.’ Skye crossed her arms and tried to think if there was anything they had missed. She tried hard to think of anything that they had brought with them that might be missing. But there wasn’t anything. Unless… she jumped up from the bed and searched through the bottom of her bag again. Sure enough, there was something missing. ‘The photos,’ she said. ‘What photos?’ Brandon asked. ‘The photos the Professor gave us; the photos of the jewellery. They’re gone.’ They stared at each for a long moment.
‘Someone knows that we’re looking for the stolen jewellery,’ Brandon said ominously. ‘Yes. And I think that person is also the thief.’
Two days later, Skye and Brandon were sitting on a bench in the magnificent Tuileries Gardens, and eating their lunch with Professor Airbon. The sun was bright with barely a cloud in the sky. The Gardens themselves were massive and ran along the bank of the River Seine from the Louvre. Amongst the gardens were large water fountains and beautiful sculptures that Skye thought were good enough to be in a museum. There must not have been a single colour that Skye couldn’t see in the gardens; from red to green, yellow to violet, colour surrounded them. There were also vendors selling delicious chocolate crepes, and others hiring deck chairs for people to sit on. Skye was eating a baguette filled with more delightfully tasty cheeses. She couldn’t believe how many different types of cheese there were to eat! ‘We met Henri Chassel yesterday,’ Skye said between mouthfuls of her baguette. A cloud of sadness come over her face as she mentioned Chassel’s name. ‘Oh yes, he is a true gentleman,’ the Professor said, not for the first time. ‘We were very fortunate that he helped fund our expedition. We never would have been able to succeed without him.’ He looked down at the ground and frowned. ‘I haven’t had the heart to tell him yet about the theft.’ Skye exchanged an embarrassed glance with Brandon. ‘Um, we told him, Professor,’ she said. ‘Oh dear,’ the Professor replied, sounding very anxious. ‘How did he take it?’ Skye thought for a moment before answering. ‘Actually, not as badly as I had thought he would.’ The Professor let out a long sigh of relief. ‘That is comforting. He was deeply interested in all of our discoveries, and I imagined that the thought of losing some of them would have made him furious.’ He frowned slightly, as though he wished Henri Chassel were more upset about the loss. ‘Still, I suppose someone like him has lots of interests,’ he added. They ate their lunch in silence for a while, watching the people walking leisurely through the Gardens, many of them being followed by small dogs. ‘I do hope we can recover the stolen pieces quickly,’ the Professor said after he had finished eating. ‘So far the police haven’t found anything; no
finger prints, no film of anyone entering the room, nothing.’ He sighed again. ‘I was hoping to discover more about the women who lived in Xerxes’ palace.’ Skye’s head shot up with interest at the Professor’s comment. ‘Um, do you know much about his wives?’ she asked timidly, then immediately wished that she hadn’t. She never said anything timidly. Brandon had obviously noticed the hesitation in her voice and was watching her with a look of concern on his face. She hated to admit it, but she was worried about what Chassel had said to her. If she showed the Professor that she believed too much in the bible, maybe he would think she was a fool too. She lowered her head and looked down at her feet felling a little bit guilty. Thankfully Brandon hadn’t seemed to have thought too much about it as his attention was focused back on his iPhone. ‘We know that his wife’s name was Amestris’ the Professor said, mercifully not having caught any hint of her embarrassment. ‘Some people think that his wife’s name was Vashti,’ Skye ventured tentatively. ‘Oh yes, the bible mentions that name. It is possible that Vashti and Amestris are the same person, with their names just being written in different languages. Similarly the bible mentions the king’s name as Ahasuerus, which we suspect may have been what the Greeks called Xerxes.’ Professor Airbon smiled at her. ‘You seem to know a lot about history, especially biblical history. You’ve not actually told me how it is that you are both so interested in these artefacts. Why did you fly half way around the world to come and see them?’ Skye felt uneasy. She wanted to tell him about her aunt, and that they were hoping to discover how Esther could have been so courageous. But what Chassel said had scared her. She stared at the Professor and tried to think of another answer. ‘Um,’ she began, but no other words came out. ‘Wait!’ Brandon exclaimed, interrupting them. ‘Look at this!’ ‘What is it?’ Skye asked, immediately attentive. She was glad to have the attention diverted away from her. ‘Have a look at this picture,’ he said. He turned his phone towards them so they could see the screen. On it was a picture of the table in the Professor’s room from where the artefacts
had been stolen. Skye looked closely but couldn’t see anything remarkable. ‘I don’t see anything,’ she said at last. ‘What about now,’ Brandon said as he zoomed in on the picture. Skye looked again at where Brandon was pointing but could only see a mark in the dust on the floor. ‘It’s just a mark on the ground,’ she said. Beside her, the Professor was peering intently at the screen as well but shaking his head; he couldn’t see anything either. ‘Here’s another picture,’ he said, swiping to the next one. Skye looked but shook her head. She was beginning to think that Brandon wasn’t taking this seriously. It was just a photo of the ground underneath the table where the mark was. ‘Have you found anything or not?’ she asked impatiently. Brandon smiled at them as he zoomed in closer. Skye and the Professor gasped at the same time. ‘It’s a foot print!’ she exclaimed. She smiled too as she turned to the Professor. ‘I’m glad you haven’t had your floor swept clean in a long time,’ she said. ‘But it could be my foot print,’ the Professor said dourly. ‘No,’ Brandon said happily, ‘I’ve already done some measurements and this footprint is from a size 11 shoe. Your shoes aren’t that big.’ Now even the Professor was smiling. ‘Do you think this could be the footprint of the thief?’ ‘Do you have any assistants or security guards that would have been in the room?’ Skye asked. ‘No, I’m the only one with the key,’ the Professor responded. ‘Then this could be the foot print of the thief,’ Brandon said. ‘But how can we use this picture to help us find them?’ asked the Professor. The Professor’s question was a good one. Skye and Brandon looked at each other, puzzled. ‘We don’t know yet,’ Skye admitted. ‘But we can send it to the police. Maybe it will help them in their investigation.’ It had been a long day and Skye and Brandon were both tired as they returned to their hotel. ‘I don’t understand why the police haven’t found anything yet,’ Skye said as they walked down the corridor to their room. ‘The thief had obviously been planning this for a long time,’ Brandon said. Skye looked at him, confused. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘All of the trouble they went to. They knew where the artefacts were kept, they were able to break the cameras so that they wouldn’t take any footage of them, and it was only the jewellery that they stole. It seems like they’d known for a while what they wanted.’ ‘But they couldn’t have,’ Skye said dismissively. ‘Nobody knew about the expedition until it was reported in the news.’ ‘Well, we didn’t know about it,’ Brandon grumbled defensively, ‘but others would have.’ Skye was about to open the door to their room when she froze. ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘There would have been people who were part of the expedition or who helped to organize it. They would have known well before we did.’ ‘That’s what I said,’ Brandon mumbled grumpily. Skye opened the door and walked into the room. ‘Maybe we can find a list of all the people who ‐’ she stopped as she looked around the room. Their room looked as though a tornado had blown through it. Their bags were open and clothes were thrown all over the room. The wardrobe and chest of drawers had been flung open and all of their contents strewn on the floor. ‘Oh no!’ Skye exclaimed. Brandon looked to be in shock. ‘Who would want to rob us?’ ‘And what would they want?’ Skye replied, coming back to her senses. ‘Have a look and see if anything is missing,’ she commanded. They began searching through all of their belongings, checking pockets and trying to remember anything that might have been missing. After 10 minutes of searching, they both sat down on the bed. ‘I don’t get it,’ Brandon said. ‘Nothing’s been stolen.’ ‘I know; it doesn’t make any sense.’ Skye crossed her arms and tried to think if there was anything they had missed. She tried hard to think of anything that they had brought with them that might be missing. But there wasn’t anything. Unless… she jumped up from the bed and searched through the bottom of her bag again. Sure enough, there was something missing. ‘The photos,’ she said. ‘What photos?’ Brandon asked. ‘The photos the Professor gave us; the photos of the jewellery. They’re gone.’ They stared at each for a long moment.
‘Someone knows that we’re looking for the stolen jewellery,’ Brandon said ominously. ‘Yes. And I think that person is also the thief.’
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