No bloom in the first box

The rest is easy. It doesn't take much to persuade Abs to give you some time alone, after having removed your deposit box from the wall with your keys: a quick request and she's out the door, pointing to a buzzer to contact her when you're ready to leave. The second she's walked out the door you cross the room, pull out Bob's cards, and get to work on the next box over. It takes a little work, but you manage to pick the locks and open the box.

There's nothing there. Just an empty box, devoid of any contents. The bare metal stares back at you.

"It's not in the other one, either." Ab's voice resounds behind you. You never heard her enter the vault again. You spin around in surprise, reaching for your pen.

"Don''t," she says, leveling her own pen at you. "You'll never make it before I zap you."

You let a look of puzzlement cross Bob's face. "What do you..."

Abs shakes her head. "Drop the act. You're a trainee, same as me. You've been tasked to get the Bloom. You worked out it wasn't at the wedding at all, so headed straight here. Only problem is, it's not here either."

Your mind races, but suddenly everything is starting to make more sense. The whole crazy wedding has been ludicrous, a delirious whirlwind of insanity. It's a giant set-up. The soap opera lives of the Holdens and Parrys and Hamiltons are real enough, but it's been a playground - a proving ground - for trainees. Whoever passes the test gets to stay. You wonder how many other trainees...

"There's at least four of us," Abs continues. "I made two of them. Didn't make you, I think; not until you came here and started breaking in to the vault. I caught you taking a look at the computer. This pretty face is perfect for setting people off guard. The mousy glasses, the barrette? She was too inconspicuous to pass up. I just waited to see who'd come for the Bloom. She has no idea it's already gone... which is hardly surprising. She has no idea what's kept in the boxes."

"So who knows?" You ask, crossing Bob's arms. There are no cameras in the vault, so you might as well listen up.

"Wendel, the bank manager. She's home with the family right now; why work weekends when you have staff? The security detachment, perhaps. And of course Clarissa Van Lewen, who visited the vault with Ms Wendel late last night. My guess is that one of them was our handler, who decided to take the real Bloom and plant it at the wedding."

"Wait," you sigh. "The Bloom is back at the hotel? I just left there."

"It might be. Can't be sure. The Van Lewen estate is another possibility. Or Wendel might have had it relocated to another branch. Ugh... Abigail's here's memories tell me she's a total bitch, and was chewing her out about security down here. Of course, it's Wendel's fault there's no cameras, but Abs is too timid to fight back. Anyway, I've been waiting until Abigail's break so I can sneak off to the diner, swap skins and head back."

"Back to that mad house?" You refer, of course, to the wedding. "I don't know if the wedding is even going ahead. The bride did some pretty strange things."

"Even better," Miss Abigail Charlotte grins. "Nothing duller than a wedding reception. If the wedding is called off, people will be scattered around the hotel. Security will be tight, but everyone's still going to make a grab for the Bloom."

"But which? If there's four of us, there's at least five fakes, plus the real gem."

"There's nothing in our orders that said we can't work together. We could partner up. If we grab three stones each - from the others and from Alexandra - they'd have to pass us both. The others don't know they've been made, yet. Abigail's break is up in five minutes. You and I could grab a couple and head back to the hotel. Unless you prefer to work alone? Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to zap you here. Two people into a vault, one out? Questions would be asked, even if it would be easy to cover up."