Page 59 of Gentleman Sadist
Robert flipped back a couple of pages to the one in question. “This one?”
He nodded. “He worked for Da Vinci Couriers.”
Robert was a smart man. He wouldn’t be an agent if he wasn’t. It took him less than a second to connect the dots. It was fascinating watching his face as it happened. Robert’s body tensed, going on alert before he grunted, “Okay.”
“When I came home from work the day the painting was stolen from my museum, Tristan had disappeared. In the process of clearing out my house, he took things of value from me, while leaving me a nice gift of credit card debt.”
It was clear Robert was in work mode. “Did you file a police report?”
"Unfortunately, I did not. I took it as yet another life lesson." Will waited for the censure in Robert's eyes, when none appeared, he shook his head. Not only had he been stupid when it had come to Tristan, but he'd also been blind. "I didn't put two and two together. Why would I? To me, these incidents had nothing to do with each other than a shitty day." He sighed. "I thought the debt was the lesson I needed to learn."
Robert’s face remained void of emotion, and Will couldn’t get a read on him and his stomach twisted. He felt sick.
His lover sighed. “I gotta ask, Will. Did you ever share your passcodes, give your work badge or share computer logins with him?”
“No. Never.” He shook his head. “Work was work, and although I’d discuss new exhibits coming in and old ones leaving, I’d never divulged any of the important information about the museum. When there were events, Tristan went with me, as my significant other.”
Robert stared at him intently. “Are you sure, Will?”
He nodded. “One hundred percent. I have nothing to hide, Robert.”
“In the entire time you were with Tristan, did you ever misplace or lose your identification badge?”
“No.” There was no hesitation in his answer. He might be a fuck up in relationships, but his work was his life. Will knew the difference between business and pleasure, and those lines never crossed. “I wore it home every night. When I stepped in the house at night, I placed it, along with my phone and keys, in the bowl on the table in the hallway. As a matter of fact, it’s the same one in the shelving unit near the television.” He pointed to the crystal bowl on the shelf. “On the way out to work, I would snag my keys and badge before I left for the day. Most times I already had my phone on me.”
Robert stood before making his way to the shelf Will had pointed out. “Did he also use the bowl to store anything?”
“No. He kept his car keys in his pocket until bed. He’d then put them on his dresser when he got undressed for bed.”
Robert went to the kitchen island where Will left everything now, unable to look at the bowl any longer after the incident with Will. He held up the lanyard attached to the white card with Will’s credentials and picture on it. “Is this the same badge from the day in question?”
“No. After the robbery, the curator contacted the security company we used. They recommended issuing all of us new badges and codes.”
Robert looked at Will. “We got a run report on badges used to go in and out of the building the night before and morning of the heist. Your badge, nor your codes were used.”
Will released the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “That makes no sense. If he was the one, he had access to my badge and could easily copy it, right?”
“Right.” Robert leaned forward, rubbing at his chin. “It’s too obvious though. Doing so would’ve led us right to you, and therefore him. He’s trying to be sneaky, not get caught. He’d want to get as much distance between him and us as possible. Do you know what time he left your home the morning of the incident?”
Will shook his head. “He was gone a few days beforehand. Said he had a delivery to make but he’d be home when I got off work Friday. Granted, I ended up staying later than I normally did because of all the extra work required because of the stolen painting.”
“Did you notify him?”
"Yes. Although not right away. Obviously, the morning had been hectic, as you can imagine. I finally sent him a text around three. He never responded and before you ask, no I didn't think it odd, since he often didn't reply until he was done with work."
Robert’s features remained passive. “I’m going to need everything you know about him. Last name, date of birth, high school. Everything.”
Will nodded. “If any of it’s the truth.”
“Criminals, when they interact with marks, often tend to stick as close to the truth as possible when talking about their personal life. Saves them from coming up with new lies and then remembering who they told what to.” Robert tapped at the album. “Do you have a better close up photo of him?”
Great, he was a mark. He wondered not for the first time, obviously, if Tristan had any feelings for him or if Will had been a job to Tristan. His confidence had taken a beating and his life was shattered when he came home and found all of Tristan’s belongings gone, and at the moment, he felt like it was the gift that kept giving.
Nevertheless, he pushed aside the self-loathing and focused. He needed to help Robert as much as he could. If it meant finding all the paintings taken from the museums, he’d do whatever he could to solve the case.
“If there are none in the album you can work with, chances are I’ve some saved to the cloud. I can text them to your phone.”
Robert stood. “Give me a minute.”