Zack’s thoughts were apparent; and he looked confused and desperate behind the handkerchief that gagged him. Jane repositioned the light to shine in his face, and she placed a hand on the back of the chair to stare at him closer.
“Zack, we know what you’ve been doing.” Jane said, “and you’re not going to get away with it. Organizing a band of felons to steal valuable shipments upon arrival is criminal; and you’ll wind up in the slammer if you’re not careful!”
Suddenly Zack made an abrupt movement to try and escape his bonds, then slumped back against the chair.
“You’d better come clean with us, Zack; we know all about it.”
Josh stiffened at the desk, and stepped into the light.
“He can’t answer if you leave that gag on; why not take it off and hear his half of it?”
Jane stared at him blankly for a moment while she silently deliberated.
“Zack,” she said; “I’ll take this off, but if you start squawking; it’s going right back on. Understand?”
Zack nodded in agreement, and the details of his craggy expression were accentuated by the bright lamp as Jane untied the handkerchief.
“Now you had better have a pretty good reason behind your motives. Start talking, we’re listening.”
Zack’s words rolled off his tongue without delay:
“This is ridiculous! Jane, what is all this about? I was sitting here reviewing some files, when out of no-where I get hogtied by Josh and interrogated. Why all the sudden hostility?”
“Why? You can’t sit there calmly, and tell me that you haven’t had any strange visitors at the museum after dark; that you haven’t been communicating with accomplices through pictures from your direct camera, and that you are completely ignorant of all the robberies around town.” Jane paused as she gathered her thoughts. “Not to mention, the elaborate heist that was organized in Portland, and carried out without a hitch! I must say Zack, you are truly a genius of crime, I never would have believed it of you if you hadn’t been so careless.”
Zack, stunned and speechless had turned pale, and blinked at her in surprise.
“This, this is all news to me,” he stammered at length, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jane was quite unmoved, and Josh brought over Zack’s camera to take the roll of film out of it.
“This is your camera, am I right?” he said, holding it by its strap as it swung in the air in front of Zack.
“Yes, it’s mine- well, the museum’s, not mine specifically.” He answered, “Jane, what is this all about?”
Jane studied his face, and saw nothing but confusion; he looked less like a guilty man, and more perplexed, even somewhat frightened. She shot Josh a questioning glare, and then returned her gaze to Zack’s searching eyes.
“If you’re so innocent, then how come you dodged my question the other day when I asked about the camera? Who visited you that night here at the museum? You’ve been seen, Zack; you can’t deny it.”
“I told you, I don’t know anything about this!”
Josh swiveled Zack’s chair towards him, and leaned on the armrests with a menacing look.
“Zack, don’t make this hard on yourself. Tell us what you know, it’ll be much healthier for you.”
Zack swallowed loudly, and his brow began to glisten.
“Alright, alright- I’ll talk.” With this sudden proclamation, he let out a tremendous sigh. “There have been strange things going on recently, yes; but I’m not to blame, I merely do what I’m told.”
Jane raised her eyebrows and looked at him for a moment, but said nothing. When next he spoke, he said:
“I didn’t tell you about my pictures previously, because the curator here said not to mention it to a soul.”
“Mention what?” Jane inquired.
“That I was taking pictures of the displays. At first Mr. Baker told me that the photographs were to help increase our security. He said that by taking routine pictures it would better document the artifacts, to ensure nothing went missing. I was to leave the photos on his desk every week.”
“How did you know what to takes pictures of? Did you rotate through the displays in alphabetical order?”
Zack shook his head.
“No. I would receive a list on my desk, with a detailed description of what I was to take pictures of that day. After the museum closed, I would make my rounds and snap off the photographs. It was very difficult that day you visited and asked me about them; I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. You see, I had begun to suspect something was amiss with this whole setup; I just couldn’t put my finger on it.”
“And what about the man who has allegedly been visiting here after dark?”
“I don’t know. Mr. Baker gets the strangest visitors at times, I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut and my eyes averted if I want to keep my job.”
“Then you know nothing about the robberies, or the ship that was held up in Portland?” Jane asked, she was leaning forward, listening with hawk-like eyes.
“You must believe me, I know nothing about that.”
Something about his tone of sincerity, and the earnest look in his eyes convinced Jane; and her train of thought instantly changed.
“Zack; you’re a genius!” She said suddenly, “that’s the answer to this whole mystery!”
A light in the hallway had flickered on, and it caught them by surprise. Someone was approaching the security room, and it left them without any time to escape.
“Quick, roll Zack into the shadows, we can’t let anyone find him this way.” Jane instructed, pulling the cable from the wall to turn out the light on the desk.
The footsteps neared the security room, and Jane held her breath; wishing that whoever was approaching, would pass by and not enter the room; when quicker than Jane could blink, the knob turned and the door began to creak open.
…To be continued, on Sunday, January 2nd! Jane Darcy needs your help to solve the hair-raising mystery surrounding Pinecrest; keep your magnifying glass handy, and don’t miss the next exciting chapter!