The museum’s new gem display is missing its finest exhibit. Puz joins Curator Ada to investigate, but one visitor seems remarkably untroubled. Even an ordinary break for a drink may hold a clue.
An empty place in the gallery
At the morning inventory, Ada found an empty space on a dark blue velvet cushion. A large blue sapphire, nearly as wide as her thumbnail, had vanished. The other exhibits were still in place.
The evening before, a photographer named Rowan had stayed late to photograph the display. He had also offered to prepare the refreshment room for the next morning, filling the ice trays before the museum closed.
Rowan was not the only person who had worked near the exhibit. The museum’s security team asked everyone involved to wait while they checked the rooms, bags, and equipment. Ada invited Puz to help. Nothing missing had turned up yet.
While Ada checked a camera bag with a security officer, Puz stayed with Rowan in the adjoining refreshment room. From there, Puz could see the doorway and everything Rowan did. Rowan glanced toward the small freezer, then settled into a chair.
An ordinary offer
“We could be here a while,” Rowan said. “Shall I pour some water?” He set out three clear, wide glasses. Ada was still busy in the next room.
Puz watched Rowan pour plain, cool water from the jug into two glasses. He opened the freezer, pulled out an ice tray, and used tongs to drop three cubes into each filled glass. There was no spoon or decoration in either one. Rowan gave one glass to Puz and kept the other.
The cubes were roughly the same size, each about two centimetres across. Their cloudy white centres were difficult to see through. The cubes in Puz’s glass bobbed at the surface.
In Rowan’s glass, two cubes floated near the top. The third travelled down through the water and stayed on the bottom.
Puz waited for the water to settle. Rowan turned his glass a little, and the low cube slid across the bottom. It was not stuck to the glass. It still did not rise.
A reason to wait
Rowan’s bag and camera had been checked, yet he seemed quite content to sit with his drink. Puz looked from the glass to the freezer, then back to Rowan. They had an idea worth checking.
Puz did not leave Rowan alone or announce a discovery. “Ada, would you join us?” they called in an easy voice. “There’s a glass for you here.”
When Ada came over, Puz spoke quietly: “Please keep this glass exactly as it is.” Ada placed Rowan’s glass on a tray and moved it out of his reach. Rowan’s hand paused above the empty space on the table.
A careful check later showed that Puz had been right to keep the glass. Before that check, however, Puz had seen no trace of blue through the cloudy cubes. What had made this ordinary drink so suspicious?