I can see no special security in place Mr Scant replied after a thoughtful look about the gallery Of course one could not simply lift it off the wall with so many patrons watching Best I would think to come on a day when the museum is closed to the public and pose as an employee Those smocks they wear would be useful for concealing a small paint ing and with so many staff members I cannot imagine anyone would question an unfamiliar face So it would be a matter of procuring the smock and choosing a suitable day I smiled Maybe we should stop talking about this You might give someone an idea Even though we were in Paris it was obvious some in the crowd understood our English I met the eye of a swarthy man with a pointed mustache who had been listening with great interest I tried not to laugh as he pulled his hat down over his face and shuffled away embarrassed We made our way to the nearby Café Mollien one of the Louvre’s grand cafeterias where Mr Scant’s staunch ally Dr Mikolaitis was waiting for us with a small cup of coffee looking quite at home in the fashionable style of dress he had adopted for the trip For the past four months or so Dr Mikolaitis 6
had been employed as my tutor and he was in his element here in France He wore a gray jacket and a shirt with no necktie and I felt sure that passersby who noticed his scarred face and well-tailored clothes assumed he was one of those eccentric modern artists that went on dangerous adventures and were always in the newspapers for doing something outrageous He stood to greet us Did you see La Gioconda’s famous smile he asked the Mona Lisa’s original Italian name sounding strangely impressive in his Lithuanian accent Yes I replied Mr Scant says he could steal it Dr Mikolaitis smiled Perhaps the scandal that followed would give her the fame she deserves You know she hung in the bedroom of Napoleon himself No wonder she looks like she’s seen something funny I said Mr Scant had quietly ordered some refreshments for us as he pushed my chair in behind me Now he sat down with a sense of urgency What of the target he asked He took the bait said Dr Mikolaitis grinning like a tiger He’s frightened and alone Since the Lice scattered he hasn’t heard from a single one of them 7
He almost wept with happiness when he saw me He believes I’m still one of them of course Lice was Dr Mikolaitis’s sobriquet for the mem bers of the Woodhouselee Society the shadowy cabal he had been forced to join only to work with Mr Scant to undermine them Mr Scant did not look amused And the prob ability that it’s all a trap and he’s not as idiotic as he seems I would say low But he could be the greatest actor of his age Who can say The waiter arrived with our tea and Mr Scant watched him pour it critically When the tea was served and the waiter had withdrawn Mr Scant added cream and sugar to mine just the way I liked it Even here he wore his white valet’s gloves oddly mismatched with his simple gray jacket Did you find out where he keeps his hoard asked Mr Scant Where else Under the bed Fafnir with his treasure only this time less a fearsome dragon than a fat bald little man We should recover it with all haste Mr Scant said Do you think he will know anything of young Miss Gaunt 8
Probably not But it doesn’t hurt to ask hmm In the months since we rescued Mr Scant’s brother from the Woodhouselee Society we had devoted all the time we could to finding Mr Scant’s niece Elspeth Gaunt She had appeared to help us in our battle against the Society but then disappeared as quickly as she came and there had been no word from her since Tracking her down was proving more difficult than expected I hope we find her soon I said I begin to think this girl does not want to be found said Dr Mikolaitis Reggie’s debt complicates things said Mr Scant Nobody has come for the money so perhaps Elspeth herself is working to repay it And where is the esteemed Mr Gaunt asked Dr Mikolaitis I thought he was joining us He slept in as usual said Mr Scant I told him to meet us here If he doesn’t appear we won’t wait He’ll catch up with us when we meet the Scot land Yard contact Dr Mikolaitis sat back crossing his arms without putting down his tiny coffee cup You know nobody has explained all this to me properly This niece of yours is the girl we met at the Cobham Mausoleum 9
