Busted Word Count 300

Chief Detective Barton Flatbottom arrived at the museum shortly after being summoned by the London Police Department who informed him that there had been a burglary where a thief entered a secured area and made off with a very rare Van Gough Sketch worth over fifteen million dollars. Barton pulled his monocle from his vest pocket and held it up to his right eye while closing the left and bent forward in order to get a close look at the display case that once held the rare piece of valuable artwork.

“Can I help you sir?” asked a man entering the room.

“And you are?” replied Flatbottom.

I’m Dillworth Pennington, the Museum Curator. You must be Inspector Flatbottom?”

“I am.” Said Barton still closely studying the area.

“Do you have patrols out looking for the stolen piece?” asked Pennington.

“Not sure that will be necessary” Flatbottom raised his head and made eye contact, then studied a man standing next to him holding a mop.

“What do you mean?” Pennington snarled.

“This was an inside job Dillworth.”

“Inside?”

The inspector concluded that the scene was staged. Tiny shards of glass covered the entire base of the display that held the sketch including the velvet pad on which it rested. That meant the glass was broken after the sketch was taken. If it was broken to gain entry, the glass should only surround the sketch.

“Your janitor here looks awfully familiar. Pretty sure I saw his face, minus the beard and mustache, on the wall of the Post Office. Notorious Jewel Thief, Frank Masters. I’ll need to bring him down to the station for some questioning. Also, I have to seriously question the hiring practices of your museum. Why don’t you come along as well and explain to me, how this man, or should I say accomplice, was able to pass a background security check for a major metropolitan museum?”