Drag Shergi Mystery 10 - Excerpt

How long had it been? I had to say I couldn’t entirely remember. When I was with the youth, the urgency had been such that it was hard to keep track of specific days. Once it was over, I hurried into the seasonal jobs to catch enough pay in order to live through the winter months. By now, I had to guess it had been at least nine and a half years. It wasn’t a holiday, so when I got the letter I was surprised. I had heard about the event at the museum, but I hadn’t expected to be invited to it.

Dear Drag,
It has been a long time since we’ve seen each other face to face. I’m going to be arriving in one of the neighboring towns, Frey, at the museum for the opening of the Royal Jewels exhibit. It would be grand if you could come. You didn’t get to speak to me much when we first met, but these correspondences have made it so I want to see you in person again. I can’t imagine how you’ve changed. I don’t really think I have, except maybe for getting stronger. Anyway, if you can make it, I’ve left tickets for you at the counter. Both Hit and I look forwards to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Princess Leoraia of Leldyna

I couldn’t help smiling as I read the script. It would be nice to do a bit of traveling. Frey was one of the biggest cities in the country. It was south-east from where I was. It wouldn’t take more than about three hours by bus to get to.  I could easily afford the fare. I knew when the exhibit was going to open, April 3, so I knew I could go, because I didn’t have any cases or anything pressing going on. Happily I made my preparations to go from my town near the city of Cheney to the city of Frey.

I hopped on the bus in the early morning so I could get there by the time the museum opened at nine a.m. While I rested in the seat, I munched on a bagel for breakfast. We were allowed to have food on the bus, but we weren’t allowed to have something that needed to be cooked. It was a little funny that not much had changed in that way since the olden times. There were a few stops on the way for breaks, but I didn’t do much on them besides stretch my legs.

When I finally arrived, I departed from the bus stop to walk down the street. Around me, there were many attractions. Frey was a city placed deep enough into the country of Everly that thieves couldn’t escape easily if they tried to rob people or places. With a protection by location, the museum, a national library, and other cultural collection agencies chose to settle in that city. As another precaution, the place had many steps that one had to climb to reach the opening. There was of course a ramp for those who couldn’t scale the flights, but it too had some distance to it.

The trail up the flights of granite led to columns that rose straight up in a structure higher than the actual frame within. There were five main floors with four half-floors set between the main levels. It was almost like a maze, though certainly it was kept on the simpler side for the visitors. Despite the seemingly ancient outside, the inside had been revamped many times to catch up with the technology. There were still drop-gates though at each section to help trap thieves. They couldn’t be seen unless what was supposed to be there was removed. Likewise the more expensive and precious objects had their own drop-gates over the glass that kept them from being touched.

While I walked, I glanced around. There was a desk just after the entryway. There were people behind it who worked in the museum. There were also security guards on either side that kept watch over the people who milled around. Since it was a government building, the security guards here were a division of the police force. I wasn’t familiar with them, though, since not only was I off the force, but I was also in a different city. For their uniform, it was a black suit jacket over a white dress shirt and medium blue slacks with black leather boots. As for those who worked more as volunteers, they didn’t have official uniforms: it was just the museum’s badge with their ID printed on it that kept them from being mistaken as just a nosy visitor. When I made it to the desk after remaining in line, I smiled at the lady behind the desk.

She looked at me then smiled as well. “Hello, the admission will be two-fifty for half a day. A full day is twice that.”

“Thank you, but what about the special exhibit?”

“That is a restricted area today.”

“I have a ticket left here for me, though,” I said while I pressed my hand into my pocket. From within I pulled out the coin for a full day’s pass and the ID card I had for my private detective job. I handed it over so that the woman could see.

She took it then adjusted her glasses over the bridge of her nose; I could tell that the woman was using them for more than just style. With a smile, she bobbed her head. She reached under the counter. From there, she took out a ticket. She placed it on the top of the ID then handed both to me.

“Ah yes, go ahead and take that with you. You’ll need it to get in and out of the museum.”

Then she lifted a full-day pass from the counter and handed it to me.
“Don’t forget this too.”

“Thank you ma’am,” I replied with a smile. I took the pieces from her then slid both into my pocket. Today I was dressed rather normally. Even though the air was warm enough I probably didn’t need my black trench coat, I still wore it; it had become rather like a second skin. Underneath I kept my white t-shirt and blue jeans. Over the years my fashion had only changed with the style I wore. I hadn’t grown an inch taller than my six foot three inch height when it settled when I made it to my twentieth year. I was now thirty-six with a birthday just three weeks away.

From the counter, I circled around the line into the front of the museum. It was technically the second floor that people entered onto. From bottom to top there were a burial exhibit, an entrance and resting area, special exhibits, art and textiles, and finally a private meeting room for special guests. There were more sub-sections, but I didn’t know what they were since I wasn’t all that interested in keeping track of much that happened outside of the city I worked and lived in. It was hard enough dealing with what occurred there.

While I checked the signs, I noticed that the closed exhibit could still be accessed, but only by those who had the pass. There were going to be visiting dignitaries as well; I hadn’t seen in the newspaper who they were going to be, but I did know one. Since she knew me, she could vouch for me. Both she and her guardian could. It would be best, since I didn’t fit into the usual description of a special person. I looked rather normal, tall, but normal.

There was plenty of time between now and eleven a.m., when the luncheon was to be served up on the highest floor. I could wander around for a while, or go ahead and look into the third floor at the special exhibit. I would rather meet with Princess Leoraia and Hit and catch up a bit before the day got crazy; little did I know how the day would go. The more people that came after the doors were opened in the morning, the busier the place became. There were no clocks except those that were set in the second floor at the doors, in the eatery, and in the bathrooms.