10/9/2020

peach clouds and buried seeds

stars of gold 

and sunglow trees 

you ask me what's inside of this body

what flowers and forgotten weeds

i search for an answer in this garden

a bit of life

that does not bleed

Ch.17 A Million Dollars

Katie and Kevin searched through the crowd outside the Louvre for the police chief. Once they finally pushed their way to the front, the Chief ushered the two kids inside the museum. As the police handed Katie and Kevin a check for a million dollars, he declared, "At first I didn't believe you two, but now, I am delighted I did. I can't believe two kids cracked the largest case of the decade!"

Katie and Kevin walked outside trying to hold their excitement and avoid being mobbed by the crowd, still standing by the museum. The reporter walked to the twins and exclaimed, "Is really you? The two twins who cracked the case of the stolen Mona Lisa?" Katie and Kevin nodded. "Did you already get your reward of a million dollars?" questioned the reporter. The two kids nodded again. Finally, the reporter asked, "Well what are you going to get with your reward?"

Katie and Kevin looked at each other and fell silent. Both kids felt a little guilty keeping their money for themselves to just bye toys or other meaningless items. Finally, Kevin spoke up. "Well, we plan on donating half of the money to the museum for better security. Katie and I want to help the museum install security cameras near the famous art pieces. We hope something like this never happens again. We will also would like to give the other half of the money to the Humane Society."

"Humane Society? Are you two animal lovers?" the reporter inquired.

Katie and Kevin, thinking of Ellie, looked at each other and smiled.

Ch.16 The News

As Katie and Kevin walked downstairs, they heard the news on their parent's flatscreen T.V. The two twins settled down to eat breakfast. While eating, Katie and Kevin heard their parents calling their name. "KATIE! KEVIN!! Get over here RIGHT NOW!!!" yelled Katie and Kevin's parents.
Kevin whispered to Katie, "What's her problem?" The two kids did as they were told and ran to their parents, who were still watching the news in the living room.

The moment Katie and Kevin walked into the room, they were in awe. On the screen showed a reporter outside of the Louve. Behind him, the police were arresting Pablo Peruggia. Several police cars surrounded the museum, and at least a hundred spectators were watching the whole scene.

Katie and Kevin's mom replied sternly, "You have a lot of explaining to do. First of all, why did I hear both of your names on the news?"
Katie lied, "What do you mean?!"
"Well, on the news the reporter said you two, helped solve the case of the stolen Mona Lisa. When the reporter questioned the police chief, he stated that two twins, named Katie and Kevin, helped lead them to the thief. What did he mean by that?"

Kevin explained everything.
Their mom didn't answer for a while. But finally, a smile appeared on her face. Suddenly, the phone rang. Katie ran to the phone, knowing it may be the police chief.

"Hello? This is Katie! Who am I speaking to?"
"It's me, the police chief. Did you see the news? You were right! I think you and Kevin deserve the a million dollar reward for cracking the case. Please come to the Louve right now!"

Ch.15 The Police Station

The police station was painted white with a blue wooden roof. On the roof, the word POLICE was written in huge white block letters. Katie, Kevin, and the sam walked in. Ellie was still in Katie's pocket eager to hear what the police would say. As they entered the gigantic police station, a cold blast of air hit their faces, and the first thing they saw was the front desk. They were escorted to the back of the police station to meet a police man. He questioned, "How can I help you?" Katie and Kevin looked at each other unsure of what to say.

Finally, Kevin spoke up and retold the same story he had told to Sam. The police man remained silent. Soon, he got up and brought their case to the police chief. A few seconds later, the police chief came and questioned them further. The chief finally agreed to patrol the museum that night.

Relieved, Katie exclaimed, "Thank you so much for believing in us!"
"Your welcome, I'm not sure what I will find, but here's my phone number. You can call to check in tomorrow," answered the Police Chief. Katie and Kevin gave the chief their contact information as well.

Ellie, overhearing the good news, let out a quiet squeal of delight.

Ch. 14 Sam the Security Guard

"I want to go too!" squeaked Ellie. Katie picked up Ellie and put him in her pocket. Katie and Kevin searched for a security guard. Soon, Kevin spotted one right around the corner.

The security guard had black hair and green eyes. He wore a black long sleeve uniform with a golden badge on his chest. On the security guard's waist, hung a belt with a walkie talkie and a gun. A black cap with the word "Security" rested on his head.

The security guard asked, "My name is Sam. May I help you?"
"This might be hard to believe, but we might of cracked the Mona Lisa Case," said Kevin apprehensively. Sam chuckled.
"We're not joking. We actually have all the evidence right here," replied Katie holding out the red pen, the note, and the mug shot.
Sam answered trying not to be rude, "What does that prove?"

Katie and Kevin explained the whole story of how they found the note and the pen. They also explained that they had a forensic scientist match the finger prints to Pablo Peruggia. Though Katie and Kevin were careful to leave out the one detail that they had a mouse help them, of course.

Sam stood there dumbfounded trying to connect the dots. But, the security guard decided to entertain the two twins and take them to the police station.

Ch. 13 Ellie's Confirmation

"Actually, I saw a man carrying the same green messenger bag come to the museum earlier today. He was looking at one particular painting for an extraordinarily long time. I thought it was strange, but now that I think about it, he looks just like the guy in the mugshot!" Ellie informed Katie and Kevin. All of them looked at each other dumbstruck. They all wondered why Pablo Peruggia would come back to the museum when he already successfully stolen the Mona Lisa, and people were looking for him.

Katie blurted out, "Maybe he wants to steal another painting!"

Ellie answered, "I bet he's coming back tonight like he did with the Mona Lisa. 

"What do you mean?" asked Kevin.

Ellie explained that Peruggia had been staring at the Mona Lisa, and several hours later, that same ominous night, he stole the painting. Katie and Kevin finally understood that tonight was the night for Peruggia to get caught. Ellie and the two kids had several ideas on how to catch the thief. After fifteen minutes or so, they all finally agreed to an idea. 

Katie and Kevin decided that they would first talk to the security guard at the museum and convince him to take them to the police. At the police station, Katie and Kevin would show the police their evidence, and try to coax them to patrol the museum all night. 

Ch. 12 The Real Thief

The next morning, Katie and Kevin discussed their next steps in solving the case. Kevin finally came up with an idea and announced, "Katie, how about we go to the Louve again and show Ellie the mugshot. He can tell us if that's what the thief actually looked like." Katie nodded in agreement.

The two kids ran to their parents room and woke them up. Their parents woke up startled. "Mom,  can we go to the Louve?" asked Katie.

"Why do you want to go there? I thought you two were finished with your projects. Anyways, I already have some errands to do," replied Katie and Kevin's mom. 

Kevin answered, "While we were doing the project, we saw some other paintings, and Katie and I want to explore them more! Also, you can drop us off at the museum while you two do your errands." Their mom agreed. 

Two hours later, the twins were dropped off at their destination. They ran into the museum and walked over to the little hole Ellie lived in. Ellie, hearing their voices, popped right out. "Where have you two been?" squeaked Ellie. 

"We went to a forensic scientist yesterday. We now know the name that belongs to the finger prints on the pen. We also have his mugshot! This may be the thief," replied Katie holding up the picture. Ellie's eyes lit up in excitement, and he started jumping up and down squeaking.

"I know him!" exclaimed Ellie. 

"Is this the guy who stole the painting?" Kevin and Katie inquired at the same time. Ellie nodded.