Hidden in Plain Sight: Chapter 6

Pulling on her dark jumpsuit, Artemis explained her plan to Biscuit’s once again.

“So, I’m going to the back end of the Croix Building to use the fire escape to get to the roof. I measured that alley between the two buildings earlier and it’s only two steps across. It won’t be a fun jump, but it should totally be doable. Especially because the fire escape sticks out at least half a step from the side of the building. I may be able to just take a big step and not have to jump at all. Once I get to the museum I need to head towards the back of the dome to look for a maintenance ladder or something else that could be used to scale it. There are two guards who do rounds inside the museum on the second floor, so I will need to make sure not to hangout in front of any of the windows. If I find a ladder I will explore a bit tonight and see what I can find. If not, I’ll make a note of what is up there and try again next week on New Year’s Eve with a better plan.” Biscuits gave a large yawn and jumped up on his favorite cushion of the sofa. Artemis tucked her dark hair into the black stocking cap, laced up her boots, and slipped out the back door of her house under the cover of darkness.

It was a clear but bitterly cold night with just a sliver of pale moon to light the Christmas Eve sky. Some people in the area were disappointed that there was no snow in the forecast, but Artemis was not one of those people. This whole outing would have had to be postponed if it had snowed because fresh snow meant fresh footprints. It’s hard to be an undetectable burglar when you leave a trail of footprints around the place that is being burgled. As good as Artemis was at being undetectable, she couldn’t float. So, no snow and lowered security because of the holiday meant this was an ideal night to attempt a heist. Artemis passed a neighbors house covered in twinkling Christmas lights with a tree visible in the front window. Maybe instead of her usual “shadow” outfit she should have dressed up in a red suit and beard. She rolled her eyes at the absurdity of it. Then if I made too much noise on the roof the guards would just think Santa had stopped by. Let’s be honest though, she was more of a Grinch kind of girl anyway.

She made it across town to the Croix building without seeing another holly jolly soul. The Christmas Eve church crowd had come and gone hours ago leaving the town deserted. She stuck to the shadows anyway and climbed the three story fire escape with squirrel-like efficiency. Now comes the tricky part. Artemis wasn’t scared of heights by any means, but she assumed stepping into open air with no safety net made everybody a little nauseous. She climbed onto the iron railing swinging her legs over it like she was about to enter a swimming pool. Heart racing, she took a step and let go of the railing leaping forward with one foot into the open air. She cleared the gap and slipped on ice on the roof of The Damn landing on her backside with a “Oomf.” Without hesitation she rolled underneath the closest window and listened for footsteps. Silence, “No guards. No style points for that landing either.” She thought to herself as she rubbed her sore butt. Carefully she stood up, back pressed to the building in the gap between the windows. Checking that the coast was clear, She snuck to the back side of the building and Voilá! Just as she had thought there would be, there was a very small maintenance ladder that scaled the curve of the dome. Artemis grabbed the first old iron rung and began to climb. The sooner she was above the windows and off of the white dome the better. Her shadow suit was great for sneaking between buildings in the dark. It was not so great for climbing up the side of a white wall. Very much resembling a giant black spider, she scuttled up the side of the dome and snuck back into the shadows on the balcony above. Artemis took a deep breath of the chilly night air and gazed in amazement. The top of the spire on this dome would be the highest point in the whole town. The view from the balcony she was standing on was serene. The whole town and campus laid out before her like a map. The sturdy historic gothic buildings paired with the sleek and delicate state of the art new additions to the campus accented with Christmas lights all across the landscape was a view Artemis had not considered when planning this adventure. She pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture to show Biscuits later.

Artemis was standing next to a rusty trap door with a padlock holding it closed. It was safe to assume that this door would either open up straight into the ceiling below, or into a small crawl space between the ceiling and the outside roof. Does it have an alarm? Who knows! If she opens the door and the alarm sounds she can bolt back the way she came and be a mile or more away before the police show up. If there isn’t an alarm and it opens into the ceiling she would need to hope she isn’t seen, and then most likely come back next week with a better plan. If it opens into a crawl space she might be able to creep around in there for a bit and see what she is able to find before having to turn back.

She reached for the set of lock picks on her belt to take care of the padlock, but a glint of brown metal on the chalk white spire by her side caught her eye. Puzzled, she stood up and walked over to investigate. Brushing off snow and ice she found a small bronze keyhole that looked to be as old as the building itself. She didn’t know there was a room in the spire of The Damn? Maybe this is a long forgotten storage closet? While Artemis had an internal battle about whether or not taking something out of this room actually qualified as stealing from the art museum, she pulled out her picks and made quick work of the ancient lock that gave way with a slight pop. She pushed the door the slightest bit and listened intently. Not a sound. No alarms or running feet. She pushed the door a bit more, the hinges creaking in agonized protest, and squeezed inside closing it behind her. The room was a little bit bigger than the average elevator, windowless, and smelled stale like the door hadn’t been opened in a hundred years. She couldn’t see much through the cobwebs and darkness, but there was no trace of an alarm or any sort of electronic surveillance anywhere to be seen. It looked to be a long forgotten office or study. Why would someone want a windowless study on top of an art museum? Artemis flipped on her flashlight and took a better look around the tiny room. There was a sturdy looking wooden desk with a chair, a floor to ceiling wooden bookcase with volume upon volume on it, and a small shelf with some half gone candles. Artemis stepped into the room and examined the floor to ceiling bookcase. She found titles that looked like they were a hundred years old in at least three languages she recognized and a few others she didn’t. Artemis began pulling the moth-eaten volumes off the shelves and examined them and the book case closer. Someone isn’t going to have a hidden office on top of this ancient building and not keep their secrets in it. She moved from the book case to the desk and continued her looting. There appeared to be a half inch thick layer of dust and a few pieces of moth-eaten paper sitting on it as if someone had started writing, took a study break, and then never returned. Artemis couldn’t help but appreciate the ornate penmanship of whomever had sat here last. She didn’t recognize the language that the last letter was written in, but it was beautifully executed. She picked up the bottle of dry black ink and the quill wondering exactly how long it had been since somebody had entered this room. Opening the top desk drawer she found it full to the brim with thick white paper. Removing the paper, the drawer seemed a bit shallower than she thought it should be. she knocked on the bottom and smiled with satisfaction. She took out her knife and used it to gently pry up the false bottom separating her from her treasure. With a groan, the board slid up and Artemis buzzing with anticipation delicately removed a small velvet bag containing what felt like another small book from the secret compartment. Heart racing, She undid the clasp on the bag and removed a black leather bound book with an ornate golden cat emblazoned on the front of it. The book was locked shut with a golden chain that wrapped around the book twice, once from top to bottom and again across the cover. A small golden lock held the chain in place in the center of the cover. There was one line of text in a language Artemis didn’t recognize in gold script wrapping around the keyhole of the lock. Artemis was satisfied, she had found her prize... even though she couldn’t read it. If whoever had worked in here before had thought the book important enough to lock the book closed, and then hide it in a secret drawer, in a secret room, on top of a building that had been around for two hundred years, that was good enough of a treasure for her. She replaced the false bottom in the drawer and put everything back where she had found it. The thick layer of dust, just like fresh snow, made it apparent that someone had been in the room. But, because there was so much dust, Artemis didn’t think anybody else alive knew this room was even here. She left quietly and re-locked the door on her way out with her prize safely tucked away in her jumpsuit.

“Look at McClarenville! I found the best place to sit in the entire town and I am the only one that knows it’s there.” Artemis bragged to Biscuits as she showed him the picture she took from atop the art museum. “Maybe I’ll send this picture to mom.” Artemis made a mental note to send the picture to her mom in the morning.

“I found an abandoned office up there too, I don’t think anybody else knows about it. There isn’t much in it but a dusty bookshelf and a desk, at least that’s all I saw tonight.” Artemis pulled the small book from the inside pocket of her jumpsuit and examined it as she turned it over in her hands. “I found this in a hidden part of the desk.” She held the book in front of Biscuit’s nose. “This mean anything to you?” Biscuits sniffed the musty old book and sneezed. “Didn’t think so.”

What could possibly be so important that the book had to be chained closed? Artemis couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into this mystery and thought the intricate golden cat on the front that seemed to be made out of Arabaic text was a good place to start.

She ran her fingers over the line of markings surrounding the lock imagining what they could say. This book has been locked up and hidden for so long that everybody who knew it existed is dead and forgotten. Behind this lock could lie long forgotten wisdom from an ancient philosopher, ancient secrets that were forgotten hundreds of years ago, the key to finding a lost and forgotten city, or maybe it was just some old broads diary full of cheesy love letters about some man. Artemis really hoped it wasn’t the last one.

Rubbing her eyes, Artemis checked her watch, 4:42 AM. The mystery of the black book would have to wait until after she got some sleep, it had been a long and exciting night. She turned out the light and moved towards the bedroom with Biscuits hot on her heels. Bed time was his favorite time of the day. With a jolt Artemis realized it was now Christmas morning, with a new mystery to be worked out and forgotten knowledge to be discovered she would be having a very Merry Christmas indeed.