Chapter Two - The Mystery Chest

The next morning Kali was dressed casually in jeans with her black roll neck peeking out the top of her green wool coat. She had thrown some sunglasses on in an attempt to blend in and not be recognised. Indeed, on this very crisp and bright autumn morning she wasn’t the only one wearing sunglasses in the glare of the 10am sunshine. It was perfect.

She glanced up at the museum before heading through the revolving doors. Visitors were numerous and Kali didn’t find it hard to lose herself in the crowd and slip into a side door, avoiding the security guard. She didn’t need any staff seeing her and calling out her name. Any word would have gotten back to Professor Andy. He would be livid if someone had turned up on his set-up day when they weren’t supposed to. Kali often wondered how he got his sources. It wasn’t as if he was friends with anyone. Everyone Kali knew tried to avoid him at all costs. He was arrogant, full of self-importance, and was so boring that, in comparison to a conversation with the man, watching paint dry would be an exciting prospect.

She came to the security door and slashed her identity card through, praying that records of swiped cards weren’t being stored somewhere. Okay, maybe she was getting paranoid. Hell, it could be a stolen object in her office! She had every right to be paranoid! She walked briskly down the corridor and down the dimly lit staircase to her office on the lower ground floor. During the day it could be quite hectic, with staff coming in and out with various queries; Kathy coming along with her squeaky tea trolley twice a day; the post clerk running around with parcels, letters and suchlike. Now it was silent. No footsteps echoing along the corridors or voices resounding against the stone walls. Kali peeked into the other offices as she made her way into hers. There wasn’t anyone down here at all. Good.

She opened her office door and saw the chest, just as it was the previous morning. It was very dark brown and not very big. It seemed to be roughly the size the article said it would be. She tried to lift it. It was very heavy and at least its advertised ten stones. Kali ran a hand through her hair and studied it. She could see why Lesley would have wanted to have it restored. There was definitely some sort of texturing on it where it had probably been previously decorated.
Kali took her coat and gloves off and rolled her sleeves up. She snapped on a latex glove and ran a finger over the top of the chest, not wanting any incriminating fingerprints on it. Of course, she would have normally used a latex anyway as any acidity on her fingers may have damaged the material. Train tickets were the worst, she mulled, gently moving her finger along the back of the chest and over to the top again. That’s when she felt it. It was a small dent. She went around the other side of the desk to see it properly. There in the centre at the front top of the chest was a small indented circle. She ran her finger around the circle, wondering what it was. She studied the remainder of the chest to see if it was a replicating pattern. There was nothing. Instinctively she pushed the centre of the ring. Nothing. She pulled on another latex and tried to prise the chest open. She found the seam but nothing wanted to give way.

Frustrated, Kali fell into her chair and sighed. It was a brown unremarkable heavy chest with a ring symbol indented into the front. What the hell was it?! She mulled over it a while. She would have to go to Brighton and check this out for herself. Maybe something fell off on the beach. Or in Lesley’s office. Decision made, she opened up a cabinet drawer and hauled the chest into it. It made a horribly loud clang as the chest slammed onto the metal base. Kali froze and listened. The echoing stopped and there was just silence. She shoved the drawer shut, locked it, and pulled the latex off. She needed to go to Brighton today.

Kali pulled her coat and gloves back on and headed out of her office, remembering to lock the door behind her. She normally left it open for the cleaners but no-one would be here this weekend. Making her way up the stairs, she hoped that she could open the side door without anyone seeing her. She came out quickly and gently closed the door behind her, trying to look inconspicuous. She walked through the revolving doors and breathed a sigh of relief.

A tap on her shoulder made her jump. “And what are you doing here young lady?”
Kali spun round to see Professor Andy looking down at her, peering over his half-moon glasses.
“Am I not allowed to come to the museum in my own time?” Kali asked.
“You work here every day!” he said. “Why would you come here in your own time? I simply can’t have you wandering around while this exhibition is being set up.”
“Other visitors are wandering around. Why don’t you tell them where they can go?”
“You know what I mean, don’t twist my words,” Professor Andy said sternly, wagging his finger at her as a teacher would tell off a child.
“I am an adult, don’t talk to me like that!” The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. Professor Andy looked a bit shocked and then stern again.
“I shall have to report your conduct to the curator.”
“You can do what you like!” she retorted and with that, she spun around, flicking her hair in his chest, and stalked off.

Oh my god, what was that? She surprised herself sometimes. But he had it coming, telling people what he liked and just ordering them around. She couldn’t understand why she suddenly had a burning desire to tell him exactly what she thought of him. Maybe it was the adrenaline of having a potentially valuable but stolen find in her office, locked away in a grey filing cabinet. The thrill of value and yet the horror of it being stolen conflicted inside her, all the way on her train journey to Brighton.