Detective Li had just walked into the office when Liam intercepted him.
"Another theft. Lombardi said it's up to us."
"A ritual dagger was stolen," the officer continued as he drove.
"Where was it kept?"
"At the Red Hall, for a temporary exhibition on ritual sacrifices."
"Who called it in?"
"The caretaker who opens the Hall in the morning. There's no surveillance at night."
The modern building had a reflecting pool on one side that mirrored its anthracite-gray and light-wood structure.
The caretaker welcomed them and led them to the room where the dagger had been displayed.
Zeyang detected no residual magic and asked for the surveillance footage to be taken.
With a catalog containing a photo of the stolen object in hand, they returned to headquarters.
"You review the footage, I'll look for information on the dagger," the detective told his colleague before heading to his office.
Once seated, he looked through the catalog and thought of Lu Shen. He hoped he was well. It had been a while since he'd heard from him.
Then, reluctantly, he began searching for information about the stolen object.
---
"Look at this." Liam showed him a segment of the Hall's security footage.
It was just an instant, only a slight flicker.
"Invisible!" Zeyang exclaimed. "They hacked the security system and someone got in without being seen. Do we see the moment of the theft?"
Liam shook his head. "No, the cameras shut off shortly after."
Zeyang straightened. "Let me know if you find anything else."
He returned to his office and laid out the photos and data he had on the three stolen magical objects, searching for common points: the Cube was the oldest, the dagger slightly later, the ring centuries more recent.
He couldn't find anything that linked them, but his instinct told him the thefts were connected.