Prologue: Night at the Museum [Complete]

I had never seen a carving quite like it before. A good foot-and-a-half tall, the carving was that of a naked woman on her knees, but in pleasure rather than in supplication. Her knees were spread wide and both hands were laying on her sex. Her head was back, eyes closed, her mouth open in an apparent moan.

You see the strangest things when you pull a museum job.

The carving wasn't the target of this job, however. That honor belonged to a musty-smelling journal that had arrived so recently it still had cave-dust on it. I didn't know what was in the journal and I didn't want to know. My job was to get the journal, and that's why I was now sneaking around the Chrystal Heights Museum of History after midnight. Tonya was my help for this part of the job, but her only assignment was to watch the hall while I did the dirty work. That was fine with me, however. In fact, it was perfect for what I had in mind.

Getting the journal was actually only half the job. The other half of the job was getting some crystal that apparently had something to do with the journal. Chrissie and the others were handling that job at the Chrystal Heights Natural Museum, which was on the other side of the building.

I had completed my part of the job, so there was nothing to do now but wait for Chrissie and the others. I glanced once more at the statue. I realized there were three glass paperweights arranged around the base of the statue. At least, that's what I assumed they were. They were different shapes and sizes. One was a rounded half-moon, with a four-inch base and a one-inch projection on top. The second glass paperweight appeared to be an eight-inch rod with two round balls on the end. The last one appeared to be a glass "V", with eight-inch rods projecting from either side. All three paperweights or whatever the hell they were made of what appeared to be smooth colored glass. They were actually quite nice. The lights were dim in this area, but the glass pieces seem to catch each ray and glow with a life of their own. The damn things were nearly sexual.

After waiting for what seemed to be ages, I finally heard a soft, "Erica? Where are you?" I looked over my shoulder. In the dim light I could barely discern Chrissie's outline. She was nearly invisible in her black catsuit and even blacker hair. She obviously was having trouble spotting me in the deep shadow.

I stepped forward. "I'm here," I said. I could see the outlines of Laura and Tonya behind Chrissie.

Chrissie walked over and patted her bag. "I got mine," she said. "You?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I got mine."

"And you didn't mess it up? Amazing," she said.

"I'd already be out of here if I didn't have to stand around waiting for you," I said.

Laura and Tonya rolled their eyes. They were used to Chrissie and me bickering. Chrissie was the nominal leader of our group- she had been the leader when I first joined- but I didn't agree with a lot of her decisions, and it was creating a serious rift between us. Unless something changed, this was likely our last job together. Chrissie and I simply didn't trust each other, and in this business that didn't make for a comfortable working environment.

Chrissie's eyes moved to the statue and the paperweights. "Hey, now, what's this?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. They must be new. They're not out for display yet."

She ran a finger along the smooth paperweights. "They're nice. They'd probably fetch a decent price from our patron. He seems to be an art lover."

I shook my head. "Chrissie, don't get side-tracked. The job is the crystal and the journal. Anything else is asking for trouble."

"The trouble with you, Erica," said Chrissie, "is that your thinking is too limited. The statue is too big, yeah. But the little glass figures are small, light, easy to carry and will likely get a nice price. Why the hell should we leave money on the table?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you want, Chrissie."