To Steal a Weeping Widow

Chapter Forty-Two: Speak Now or...

She was silent, still considering me. I refused to even blink.

Finally, Agent Gallick leaned forward in her chair, linking her hands and holding my gaze. "Eleanor, I have to say, I'm impressed," she complimented.

I gritted my teeth. She wanted to blindside me, confuse me, surprise me. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"Me, agent? What have I done to earn your praise?"

"Praise? No." She shook her head. "I wouldn't go that far. But you've found a way to surprise me. That doesn't happen often in my line of work. You haven't gone about this in a way any of us would've expected, or as others before you have."

"I gave you your time to investigate," I reminded. I leaned forward too, aware of my lawyers silent signs to stand down. If I pushed any further, their silence would lose control. But I couldn't stop, so I forced myself to cool instead, reaching for the tact of diplomacy. "Agent Gallick, I brought my lawyers here today so we could approach this together, in the hopes of finding a solution. My goal is to leave with clarity for all parties. I want to move on with my life."

"That sounds desirable, Ms. Vaycker. Let's begin then. We can start with a rundown of prior events, so we're all on the same page."

Agent Gallick gestured to the agent beside her, who began the most laborious drone in history.

"On the morning of September 27th, between the hours of midnight and one AM, Eleanor Vaycker was the last remaining Whitehill employee on scene, outside of the four-person security team. All security was documented to be at their stations at the time of the event. From 1:13 to 1:26 AM, the Lieftenwold security system, model "DLG1966", was set to a remote, continuous loop. Data analysis by federal teams have indicated this was a backdoor hack by a person, or persons, with extreme skill paired with inside opportunity."

Backdoor hack, front door entry, fire exit escape.

"The security system has a number of overrides in place, accessible and open for use by a few members of the Whitehill family. At this time, we are not at liberty to discuss which override was used, but in combination with the technical expert's ability, the system was set to a loop until 1:26. At that time, the security system was allowed to come back online at full capacity; the loop ended and the system caught up to real time. The painting was no longer in place. This triggered a series of alarms when the system recognized a change in the pressure sensor within the painting's enclosure."

He flipped a page, eyes scanning. "System-wide alarms went off, at which time, no third-party individuals remained on site. Eleanor Vaycker went from her office directly to the exhibit in question, seen on cameras arriving at 1:27 AM. At 1:30, Ms. Vaycker was joined on scene by security members Eugene Costello and Nicholas Brunting. The first responding city officers arrived on site at 1:32, six minutes after the alarm alerted authorities."

"By your own documentation, as well as the documentation of said security system, there is no indication my client was in any way involved in this crime," Ms. Filbright argued. "You are accusing her of theft by way of—what? Her dedication to her job that had her working late? Her closeness to a family she's known for over a decade, that you are now accusing her of betraying?"

Agent Gallick wasn't looking at her, she was looking at me. However, she still addressed my lawyers. "Eleanor Vaycker is a close friend of the Whitehill family, seeming to have assumed the role of a surrogate granddaughter to the head of the family. As such, Ms. Vaycker was given open access to all parts of the museum and offered freedoms not commonplace for employees of her age, experience, or title. It wouldn't be a reach to assume she'd have the ability to gain access to the system overrides and provide them to others, who then assisted in the crime."