Janet and Jane: The Case of the Museum at Midnight - Part Three

      Now why would anybody steal blunt weapons? They're heavy and just a pain to lug around. Sharp weapons had many more uses outside of the Battledome -- cutting rope and string, chopping foliage, slicing vegetables, just to name a few. Jane and I honestly preferred sharp stuff -- they help us out a lot on our jobs (please, don't ask). What can blunt weapons be used for? Vandalism? Wait... That was a possibility.

      Maybe money was a motive. All of the weapons were worth a good sum of Neopoints. Like I said, most of the weapons were from Smuggler's Cove and the Hidden Tower, which have really expensive stuff.

      Natia, Jane, and I were armed with our own Hidden Tower items just in case we got into a serious pinch. We got them from a job that Queen Fyora gave us. I had my Fan of Swords, which I was getting good at using. Jane had a Kelpbeards Trident. Natia had the Sword of Ari. See? All sharp weapons.

      "Janet," Jane said, breaking my train of thought.

      "Huh? Yes? What?" I asked, somewhat confused.

      "You almost went in the closed wing." The Korbat pointed at the velvet amethyst curtain that I was just a few steps from walking into. "The one that isn't finished yet."

      "Oh. Whoops." I continued to walk, but away from the closed wing. "Sorry."

      "You were pretty deep in thought. I had to say your name six times before you even heard me."

      "Really?" I asked. I didn't believe her. Yes, I was (very) deep in thought, but even then, I could hear Jane trying to get my attention.

      "Yeah," was the Korbat's reply. "What were you thinking of?"

      "Nothing."

      "You always say that when you have something on your mind. Just tell me."

      I shook my head and closed my eyes. Jane knew this meant "no". Instead of bugging me like she usually did, she just walked ahead of me and dropped the conversation. I was glad she did, too -- I was not in the mood for talking.

      I did want to check out the exhibit, though. It sounded cool. And since nobody else was allowed in there, and since nobody else is here, I could easily sneak a peek before anyone could. That sounded... nah. I had something that had to have my full attention. Besides, Saturday was in two days. Jonah could sneak us some more tickets and then I could check it out.

      "Janet, you locked the doors to the Historic Weapons, right?" Jonah asked.

      "I did. Why?" I asked back.

      "They're unlocked."

      "What?" I shouted as I ran to the doors. The ghost was right. Since I was nervous about anything else being taken, I opened the door. Thankfully, nothing was taken and nobody was inside. How in Neopia could anyone open those locks? They were our locks and only we had the keys. They didn't appear broken and they didn't give that easily, so what on Neopia happened?

      "At least nothing else was taken," I sighed as I closed the door on the wreckage.

      "That's a relief. The last thing we need is more things to 'disappear'," Jane replied with airquotes around the last word.

      "Especially something with that much evidence." I scurried back up to her. Supra fidgeted in my arms. She didn't like it when I run fast with her in my grip. "Not to mention the--"

      "Guys, someone's coming!" Natia whisper shouted.

      She ran into a cave that was part of the wing (we were in the Tyrannian history area). You know, that wasn't a bad idea. Jonah vanished in front of us while Jane and I hid in the same cave Natia was in (we were thankful that it was big enough for the three of us).

      "Wait! Wait up!"

      A purple Shoyru was flying away from somebody. A green Acara then passed. He appeared to be going after him. Wait, a green Acara? He sounded familiar. He looked familiar. No. It couldn't be, could it? Was it really him? There were thousands of Acaras in the area. Besides...

      Why would Barry be here?

      "We need to discuss what we're going to do with..," Barry called before we could no longer hear him.

      Discuss what? The new exhibit? I sure hoped it was the new exhibit. I didn't hear any other workers here talk or even mention the new wing during the day (and I eavesdropped on quite a few conversations (don't tell Jane -- she didn't like it when I listened in on conversations without her)). Wouldn't we even hear someone mention it? Something told me that we needed to keep a close eye on Barry next time we saw him.

      I had a map of the museum with me so we wouldn't get lost after hours, but now I would look at it to get some information about this future exhibit. This was printed only a few days ago, but it didn't mention the exhibit once. It didn't have the area on it. Wouldn't it at least mention it? Especially if what Barry said was true about it opening soon.

      Something told me something fishy was going on.

      When he and the Shoyru were out of sight and we couldn't hear then anymore, Natia, Jane, and I got out of our hiding spots. Instead of risking us being spotted, the three of us just got out of that museum as fast as we possibly could. Who knew what would happen if that happened? I would rather not find out. That's something I could live without. I just hoped that Jonah could swing us some of those tickets again.

      "Are you sure you don't have them?" Natia asked.

      "I went through my bags. I don't have them," I replied.

      I got up and sat on the table of one of J²'s rooms. Now we can't go back to the museum. I didn't get the tickets, and neither did Jane and Natia. What were we to do? Now there was no way to get into the museum. What if the thieves struck again?

      "I guess Jonah couldn't get us some more tickets," Jane sighed.

      "I wouldn't say that."

      The temperature of the room dropped -- a tell-tale sign that the supernatural are around. A ghost Ixi appeared in front of us. Along with his dapper clothing, he has a satchel (that actually wasn't ghost). He had a smile on his face, like he was happy to see us.

      "Jonah, what happened with the tickets?" I asked. "I thought you would have them."

      "Oh, I have them," he replied. He reached into his satchel and pulled out three pieces of paper. "Before you go, I wanted to show you this."

      "Show us what?" Jane asked.

      Jonah pulled out a thick book and slammed it on the table. It made a loud thud, startling me and making me fall off of the table. "This."

      The three of us that were alive crowded around the tome. In big print, the words "Curses, Hexes, and Spells" were written in a thick, black font over the bugundy cover. There was a strap made out of leather that was the same burgundy color of the book. Some dust was on it, but most looked like it was wiped of (most likely by Jonah). The corners and the clasp of the strap were covered in either gold or brass.

      The ghost opened the book to a certain page and pointed at the header. "Look at this," he ordered. "True 'Masks of Dread'."

      I peered closer to the book. This was pretty interesting. I began to read the contents of the book. But not before... "Where'd you get this?"

      "It was in the museum. I sort of borrowed it," Jonah answered.

      "You little undead thief," I muttered. Now I began to read the words. "It says that these masks could change one's appearance completely if they wear it, not just the face."

      "Sweet!" Natia cheered.

      "Not sweet," Jonah replied. "Look here." He pointed a finger at a bundle of words. "And just what are these 'Masks of Dread' made of?"

      Jane leaned over the table and through the ghost to read. Once she took in the information, she gasped and said, "These are made of wood from weapons."

      "And just what are the blunt weapons that were stolen in the museum made of?"

      The Aisha, Korbat, and I shouted, "Wood!"

      "Oh, that's a definite possibility for a motive," I murmured. "Might not be it, and there is nothing much supporting it, but it's definitely something."

      "So what do we do now?" Natia asked.

      I looked at her and answered her, "We're going back to the scene of the crime."

      "What in Neopia happened here!" I shouted angrily and worriedly as I got a good look at the wing. Good thing those doors were soundproof.

      "We locked the doors. Nobody could have gotten in," Jane informed.

      "Oh yeah?" I turned to her. "Then how is all the wreckage missing?"

To be continued...