The Flinck Connection (Book 4) (Genevieve Lenard) by Estelle Ryan Page B

at that hour of the day.”
    I was fast becoming impatient. “Do we have a video or not?”
    “We do.” Francine gave her tablet to Colin. “You can do the honours. You know what you are looking for.”
    “What are you looking for, Frey?”
    “Wait and watch.” Colin’s lips twitched when Manny called him a very unflattering name. He tapped twice on the tablet screen and the large screen against the wall came to life.
    “Let me get the lights.” Phillip got up and turned off the lights.
    “Just a bit of extra info,” Francine said in an almost whisper. “The museum uses really cool cameras that record with night vision at night and HD colour during the day.”
    I decided to not ask her why she was whispering and focussed on the screen. It was divided into six different screens, presumably from different cameras throughout the Museum. Colin fast-forwarded the video until the screen went dark.
    “Here is when the building lost power. Give it another second and the batteries will kick in.” Colin was wrong. It took two seconds before the six images filled the screen again. On the second screen in the top row, I spotted movement.
    “Stop the video,” Manny demanded. “Now, Frey. Stop this video.”
    Colin tapped on the tablet screen and all movement stopped.
    “Enlarge the second camera.”
    “What about the magic word, Millard?”
    “Now, Frey,” Manny said again. Colin smiled, tapped on the tablet and the second image filled the screen. “Holy hell! It’s a woman.”
    The silhouette was undeniably female. She was of average height, with a more than average curvaceous figure. She was wearing yoga pants, soft-soled shoes, a tight-fitting jacket with a hoodie, and a balaclava, all in black. Her body language communicated confidence and stealth simultaneously. She wasn’t crouching, arms tightly tucked against her sides as could be observed with most thieves. Her limbs were loose and relaxed, her movements sure. She knew where she was going and knew she was safe.
    “A friend of yours, Frey?”
    “I can’t be sure, but I suspect it is Sue.” Colin exhaled loudly when he saw Manny’s disbelieving expression. “Can you see her face? Well, neither can I. She’s wearing a mask and a hoodie, so how the hell am I supposed to be one hundred percent sure it’s Sue?”
    “Have you seen the whole video?” I asked.
    “No, just the first few minutes.”
    “Maybe she reveals her identity later on. Let’s continue watching.” I seldom made direct eye contact with people. It was an excruciating discomfort for me, but I understood the impact it had. For this reason, I looked at Manny until he lifted an eyebrow at me. “Please don’t interrupt again. I find it much more efficient to watch the whole video to get an initial impression before studying it frame by frame.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Vinnie and Francine’s snorts indicated Manny was being sarcastic, which meant that he was angry. I didn’t care. The video was more important than his good humour.
    I turned to the screen and watched Sue walk deeper into the museum. She had the sure-footedness of specially trained operational officers. Despite her poise, there was an underlying tension in her muscles, similar to those of soldiers always prepared for action, always on alert.
    She moved off screen and Colin changed to the next security camera to follow her journey through the museum. Not once did she stop anywhere to look at the valuable pieces of art she was passing, but walked directly to the room facing the street. Again Colin changed cameras to give us the view into the room.
    She walked straight to the Klimt, looked at it for a second before carefully feeling around the back of the frame. The trapezius muscle in her back tensed and lifted her shoulders slightly when her fingers made contact with whatever she had been looking for.
    “She’s disabling the magnetic contact alarm,” Colin said. “It is usually set up as a completely separate alarm