Artnapping

by Hazel Edwards

  ‘So if you were carrying a rare coin, where would you hide it?’

  ‘With other money, in your wallet or purse...or bum bag.’

  Amy wasn’t convinced. That seemed too simple. Then she remembered how

  Tess had flipped a coin before she told the story. It would be easy to pass off a rare coin as an ordinary one, especially in a bum-bag.

  ‘What about the Ming vase? Where would you hide that?’ asked Christopher.

  ‘Wrapped up in your hand luggage?’ suggested Amy. But most of Tess’s luggage had fallen out, in the plane. Even her red knickers.

  And there was no reason to think that the coin or the Ming vase would be on this plane. It could be hidden anywhere by the thief. Perhaps the twins were suffering from ‘mysteritus’ again and imagining mysteries where they didn’t exist.

  ‘Let’s have a chat to Red Cloak and see if we can look at the photo of the vase again. There might be a clue in the background of the photo.’ said Christopher.

  ‘And there’s the security guards. They might know something,’ suggested Amy. Anything was better than sitting around waiting for a plane.

  Chapter 7

  Missing Ming Vase

  ‘D’you still have the Ming vase photo?’ asked Christopher.

  ‘And have you ever heard of Mr Ng?’ Amy asked politely.

  Surrounded by his group’s bags, Red Cloak looked up, ‘What? Clear off kids. I’m busy playing. ‘ Accidentally, on purpose, Christopher tripped over one of the bags. He bent down and touched something jewelled and heavy ,sticking out of one bag.

  ‘Get lost kids!’ yelled Red Cloak. ‘And if I were talking to you, which I’m not,the name’s Red.’

  Disappointed the twins moved to the transit lounge entrance where the security guards stood. Christopher thought about what was in the bag. Why was Red carrying an old sword to Tokyo?

  ‘Have you ever heard of Mr Ng?’ Amy asked one of the security guards.

  ‘Who hasn’t?’ He smoothed his tight shirt over his well muscled body.

  ‘Me. Why else would I be asking you?’ said Amy and stopped because Mum would say that sounded rude. Amy felt better when the second guard explained.

  Apparently Mr Ng was a private collector. Very rich,he travelled a lot. Originally he made his money from noodle factories. Now he owned property all over the world. He didn’t like having his photo taken. His hobby was collecting art works. But unfortunately, someone stole one of his favourites. That was the reason for the ad in the newspaper.

  ‘Why didn’t he call the police?’ asked Christopher as the guard re-read the newspaper ad. Amy held out to him. ‘He couldn’t complain to the police when it was stolen from his private collection because he wasn’t supposed to have it either.That Ming vase was originally stolen from an Amsterdam gallery. If it’s the same one. Somehow, Mr Ng got hold of it.’

  Amsterdam! Wasn’t that where Tess said she had been? And hadn’t Brut been in Amsterdam too? Was there a link? ‘Have you been a guard long?’ asked Amy. If you are a part-time mystery solver, then you need to collect answers as well as clues. And you look for mysteries everywhere.

  ‘A couple of years,’ said the first guard flipping through a glossy art catalogue. It had pictures of Asian art.

  ‘Do you always watch paintings?’ asked Amy.

  The first guard nudged the second and laughed.’I watch T.V., but when I’m on the job, I watch people. I’m a professional people watcher. I’m pretty good at telling what people are like, just by the way they walk or talk or what they do.’

  ‘Ace,’ said Christopher when the guard looked at him. ‘What can you tell us about us,... and about him?’ Christopher pointed towards Red Cloak.

  The guard looked closely at the two children. ’How much do you want to know?’

  ‘Everything,’ said Christopher. The guard smiled. ‘Don’t know if I can manage that but I’ll give it a try. Okay.’He looked sideways at their carry-on bags with all the stickers.

  ‘You’re brother and sister, because you’ve both got LEE as a family name on your bags. Am I right?’

  ‘Partly. We’re twins.’ explained Amy.

  ‘Okay. You’d be about ten or eleven and you travel a lot.’

  ‘You saw the old luggage labels and stickers on our bags,’ said Christopher looking in the same direction. That was easy. ‘You’ve been to Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Bali and to Cairns.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘You’re going to Tokyo?’ said the guard.

  ‘So is or was everybody on this plane. That’s not much of a secret.’

  The guard accepted the challenge. ‘You.’ he pointed to Amy. ‘Collect coins and swap cards. I saw you flipping through them earlier.’

  ‘ Retro phone cards,’ corrected Amy.

  ‘Same thing.’

  Amy didn’t agree. Used phone cards were special to collectors. Other people didn’t understand the thrill of getting a set. ‘USED phone cards,’ she added.

  The guard shrugged. ‘A waste. What’s the use of collecting used phone cards? You can’t even use them for a call.’

  ‘YOU wouldn’t need to.’ Christopher had noticed the gun-shaped two-way mobile strapped to the guard’s belt.

  ‘But others might,’ argued the guard.

  Amy knew that some kids had pasted stickytape over the holes of used cards. But she wasn’t interested in that kind of re-cycling.

  ‘Most times, reading clues is just a matter of common sense.’ said the guard.

  ‘Now, what could you tell us about him?’ Christopher pointed towards Red who was still earnestly playing a game with his friends.

  The guard shrugged. ‘R.P.G. game player. Got the wrong photos back at the airport FAST-FOTO shop.He works there part-time. Probably going toTokyo for the Confest. Brilliant games creator. Was slow getting off the plane because he was reading his rule-book. Those R.P.G.s live in another world.’

  He explained that a Confest was an international game convention. New games were tried out and the best ones sold. ‘Why would he need those photos?’ asked Christopher. ‘And where would the others like the photo of the Ming vase come from?’

  ‘Dunno. Clues for his game perhaps. Props for dress-ups. R.P.G. s are mad about playing. In this job, you pick up a bit about trends. And there’s a big market for new R.P.G.games now. And for sports cards. The other mixed up photos could have belonged to passengers on this flight. The shop would have tried to get them ready for the plane’s departure time.They do special frames.’ Amy remembered Samuel saying his reprints weren’t ready in time.

  ‘Would he use a sword in a game?’ Christopher wondered about the weapon he had felt in Red’s saggy bag.

  ‘Might. Wouldn’t be a real one though. Just a fake,’ said the guard. ‘Or he wouldn’t have passed through security. They look after all weapons until the end of the flight. Then they give them back.’

  That sword had felt real enough, thought Christopher.

  Amy wondered if being a guard might be boring. After all, the paintings couldn’t talk to you. Guarding people might be more fun.

  ‘Does much happen when you’re on guard?’

  The guard smiled. ‘Need to make sure cargoes aren’t switched and fakes put in for real ones. Experts plan those switches. Then sometimes cargoes are ratted. That’s why we have to watch.’

  ‘What’s ‘ratted’ mean?’ Christopher imagined giant rats opening giant mouths so they could yawn and at the same time swallow cargo.

  ‘Thieves open cartons, hoping to find something valuable they can sell quickly. They like to ‘rat’ expensive watches like Rolex because these are easy to sell. Although those watches do have individual numbers.’

  That Brut had a Rolex, but so did lots of the passengers. Now Christopher imagine rats with Rolex watches like dog collars. Often, inside hi
s head was like a cartoon program. He thought in moving pictures.Christopher loved funny cartoons. He watched them on TV in any country. The language didn’t matter. He laughed anyway. Some cartoons had sub-titles but he could usually work out what was happening from the pictures. On the wall above them a TV screen was on. A cartoon was ending, so Christopher glanced across, his neck stretched back.

  The guard said,’Sometimes blackmailers threaten to destroy one-off artwork that can’t be replaced and the authorities have to strike a deal.’ The guard fiddled with his mobile. ’That’s our worry with the Rembrandt. A one-off and priceless. Not an easy job for us.’

  Meanwhile, Amy had been thinking about artnapping. ‘What if someone took a valuable vase or coin and threatened to wreck it unless the owner paid some money?’

  ‘Or a sword?’ suggested Christopher quickly. Amy looked across at him, but just then Tess re-appeared.

  ’Couldn’t get through to my friend.No-one’s answering the phone.’ She turned to the guard.’ If you’re here, is anyone guarding the painting now?’

  Both twins wondered why she needed to know.

  Chapter 8

  The Mysterious Mr Ng

  Music sounded for the start of the news on the TV screen high on the wall.

  Amy ripped out Mr Ng’s advertisement.

  Tess had been in Amsterdam. Was that a clue? But so had Brut.

  Where would you hide a Ming vase? Would it break easily? How big was it? If western buyers would pay big money for just the one vase from an ancient family shrine, it would be worthwhile for the thief. If Tess was carrying one in her luggage, did it belong to her? Was she an artist or was she just a thief? Mr Kei with the silver padlock looked so official and Tess’s luggage was such a mess. Could she be a courier too? Even one way Sydney to Tokyo was expensive. If she was an art student, where did her ticket money come from? Even if her uncle had left her an artefact, she hadn’t sold it yet, so she wouldn’t have the money. Tess was a mystery.

  ‘Is this your Mr Ng?’ Amy showed the torn newspaper. Tess read it quickly.She seemed a bit concerned, ‘Ming vase. Coin.’ she muttered.

  ‘Is that the same Mr Ng?’ repeated Amy.

  ‘Could be. It’s a common name. Look! We’re on the news!’ Tess pointed to the TV screen on a shelf up high on the wall.’That’s our plane.’

  The news reader stated, ‘A flight heading for Tokyo has been forced to make an emergency landing at Sydney after cabin crew reported an unusual fine mist-like condensation forming in the cabin. But after the Sydney- Tokyo passengers landed, the mist was thought to be harmless. The plane will leave soon. Earlier today, Federal Police reported arrests at the airport. Details will follow in our later news. ‘

  While one of the brides complained, ‘Oh, nice if they’d told us first!’, the twins realised that Tess had cleverly changed the subject from Mr Ng. And who had been arrested? Was it someone on their flight?’

  ‘Sorry madam, we just found out,’ the captain explained to the bride as he passed through the transit lounge. The twins weren’t sure whether he was talking about the plane delay or the arrests.

  ‘Who was arrested?’ Amy blurted out.

  The captain turned, ‘You’ll have to watch the later news. Security was involved. Our undercover people.’

  ‘Security.’ Amy turned to her brother. ‘D’you think Gloria is here, undercover?’

  Just then, Red stormed past and grabbed hold of the guard’s arm.Red was very uptight as he pulled at his shelf-like beard. ‘All my prints and the copies of our exhibitions game! I’m devastated. First our FAST-FOTO mixed them up. Now someone has taken my bag while we were playing in the lounge. Totally irreplaceable. I need them as proof of our original ideas. And that’s not all that’s missing!’ He started to mumble.’ My valuable...’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do sir,’ soothed William. ‘Come this way.’

  Next Amy decided to investigate the prints mix up. Unluckily,the FAST-FOTO airport shop was closed. But she did notice something else. ‘Look!’ Amy pointed. On the windows were photos of the faces of the staff who worked there. Their names were printed underneath. ‘Recognise him?’

  Christopher nodded. ‘That explains something. Perhaps the others are chasing all over Australia giving back the right prints.’

  Just then, they saw Gloria. And she was shadowing someone! A chunky man with a bag.

  The man looked behind him. He saw Gloria and started hurrying. Gloria took off too. Her feet tapped on the floor, faster and faster.

  ‘Mr Yap!’ she called. Then she tried to use her walkie- talkie to summon help. ‘Suspect heading for exit! Need help! Cover exits.’

  ‘Gloria!’ cried the twins. ‘We’ll help.’ Then Christopher recognised the man. The man scuttled around the lounge chairs and headed for the doorway.

  Suddenly Tess raced past. ‘Stop!’ The man looked over his shoulder, seemed to recognise Tess and took off!

  Tess was a fast runner. Her legs were so long, she could take great strides.

  And she was quick.

  But so was the suspect. He would pretended to change direction, then swerve and keep running flat out, while Gloria following couldn’t alter direction fast enough. She twisted on the slippery floor, went over on her ankle and fell to the floor! ‘Ow!’ Her walkie-talkie hit the ground too.

  ‘Oh no!’ cried the twins. So they took up the chase. If Gloria needed to stop this man, they’d help. Amy’s legs raced. Christopher put on speed.

  The suspect cradled the bag in his arms as he ran. That bag made it harder to keep his balance. His long hair streamed behind him. He ran past the gleaming windows of the Duty Free. His running reflection ran with him, like a moving mirror, flapping his baggy trousers.

  ‘Stop!’ cried Tess, closely followed by the twins catching up,with Christopher just a little in front of Amy.

  But the suspect kept running. Passengers pulling luggage on wheels paused to look, but didn’t stop him.Nobody grabbed at him. Like zombies, they just stared, as if he had run out of a virtual reality entertainment set.

  Some thought it was a rehearsal for an airport film. Thinking Tess must have been a famous actor, a passenger whipped out his camera, and shot her. ‘Thanks darling,’ he called as she ran past. ‘Don’t worry about an autograph.’

  The suspect was a clumsy runner despite his new NIKE running shoes. He wasn’t fit, so he panted heavily.

  ‘Stop him!’ cried the twins. But he kept going.

  Lights flashed enticingly. Music jangled. Games machines were lined up, like hungry robot waiting for a money-feed.Outside the Bureau du Change, was a patient line of people waiting to cash travellers cheques or exchange notes.

  The suspect ran full tilt into the line. Coins, notes and people went everywhere. One coin rolled on its side, made a ringing noise on the floor, curved and then fell flat.

  ‘Look where you’re going!’ ‘Watch it!’

  A visitor complained in another language which Tess didn’t speak, but she still got the message.

  ‘Sorry,’ she panted over her shoulder and kept running after the suspect who had run around three sides of the block of shops. He seemed to have lost his sense of direction. Or perhaps he was running too fast to read and follow the EXIT signs. Turning to check how close they were behind him, the suspect ran into a rubbish bin. It clattered noisily, rolling on the ground.

  He tripped and recovered quickly.

  ‘Ready?’ Tess called over her shoulder, as she approached the final lounge before the main exit. The twins were right behind her.

  Tess took a flying leap. She landed on the man’s back, grabbed the bag from him and threw it at Amy. Bending at the knees, Amy caught it.

  ‘Take it to Gloria!’ Tess struggled with the chunky man.

  ‘What is it?’ cried Amy, surprised that Tess knew Gloria’s name. Tightly, she
closed her fingers around the bag. It was a saggy bag with something heavy inside. ‘Stolen artwork! He took Red ‘s samurai sword too!’

  Brut was exhausted. He slumped against the wall, securely held by one of the guards. ‘I didn’t want the sword!’ he panted. ‘I wanted the print of the Ming vase. But they were all in the same bag.’

  It turned out that this time Tess got it wrong. She thought BRUT has taken Red Cloak’s bag to steal the samurai sword. But it turned out that he was interested in the Ming vase photos. Amy gulped more air into her lungs. She sounded wheezy and yet she didn’t get asthma. She was just excited. ’Were you trying to find clues to the real owner of the photo?’ asked Amy. ‘On the envelope?’

  Brut nodded sullenly.

  ‘D’you think the photo owner would have the real Ming vase?’ asked Christopher who was slowly putting the clues together. Christopher checked in the bag. The Ming vase photo was down the side pocket.It was in an envelope. There was a return address on the envelope. Wang was the name. He handed it to Gloria who seemed strangely pleased when she read the name. Amy was getting suspicious. Tess had used Gloria’s name. So she must know her. ‘Excuse me Tess...’

  Tess put up her hand.’ Don’t ask me ANYTHING until we get to Tokyo.’

  Tess had hurried away, leaving Gloria who raised her eyebrows at the twins. ‘You heard Tess.’ She turned to the guards. ‘Now take Mr Yap away. INTERPOL wish to interview him about his luggage and about his late night visit to a museum in Amsterdam. He’s now a media star, but only on a security camera.’ The guards pulled Brut upright.

  ‘Mr Yap?’ Christopher was puzzled .’But I drew him earlier. His name is Mr Brut.’