The Artisan and the Beast
The main conference room of Lance Security was a massive beast of tech comfort and advancement. There were screens on most of the walls, the tables were of a dense marble composite that looked like marble but had the texture and feel of soft wood. The chairs were plush ergonomic things that seemed to conform to the specific person using them and the carpeting and tiled floors were heated and padded.
Miller, Vane, and Albert were already seated at the most central table, waiting patiently, when Samuel and Virginia walked in together. Their faces were both serious and their posture was tense. The other three immediately sat up and prepared themselves for the information.
Virginia placed a photo on the table, the projector lit up and the photo was projected on to one of the main screens before them. "He used a saw used by jewelers." She placed a second photo beside the first and the screen split and showed the two photos side by side. "On the right is the Prague victim and on the left is the Iceland victim. The cut marks are the same."
Miller leaned in and looked at the screen, then he turned in his seat and waved a hand over the table. A holographic image of the two projection appeared before him. He caused it to double in size and the images on the screen doubled for the others as well. He sucked in a breath and placed a photo on the table. It was of the emerald brooch sent to Amber. Miller blew it up and then allowed it to move to the other two pictures. "Look at the work on the leaves and the filigree for the gold filaments that worked as the transmitter. The same instrument that took these toes made the brooch sent to Mrs. Lance-Trace."
Virginia leaned in and looked at the photos carefully, then she began typing on her phone. "This is helpful. How many artisans could there be capable of this type of work."
She began speaking on the phone. "This is Smokescreen. I need a list of jewelry artisans connected to world travel compiled. Only artisans at the top of their craft. I don't just want a jeweler," Virginia barked into her phone. "I want someone familiar with Lost-Wax Casting and Micro-Pavé setting. This person isn't just a hobbyist; they're working at a Haute Joaillerie level. Cross-reference luxury tool sales—specifically high-end German or Swiss saw blades—with private jet manifests in the Baltic and Caribbean regions."
Albert nodded as he leaned back in his seat. "I would say focus on the materials as well. The gold in that brooch was high quality. Maybe the labs can actually tell us where it was sourced. High-karat gold like that has a refining signature. If it's 'conflict-free' or recycled from old estate jewelry, the trace amounts of silver or copper act like a chemical GPS. We need a spectroscopic analysis of the alloy."
"Very good point." Samuel tapped the table before him and the surface slid open revealing a flat monitor, and a keyboard that rose to table height. "Miller's team has already found three other possible victims. We need to figure out the significance of them all. Are they related in anyway."
Miller spoke next. "The first thing that screams at me is that there are none in the States or Western European countries."
Albert frowned and looked to the screen before the table. "Five victims and none of them in the States? I mean it's possible but why is he here now?"
Vane took out his secure laptop. "And how did he ever see her in the first place. It's time to go over her social media appearances and look at the commenters and viewers of her videos and lives. Is he finding targets through the internet or does he just track them with it?"
There was silence, then Albert spoke. "Then we need to know what online presence the other victims had."
Samuel nodded. "Agreed."
It was time to finally get ahead of the target.
Sebastian sat in his lab. Three unfinished projects sat around the room – one in marble, one in metal. And a platinum tiara of intricate filigree. They were commissioned works that he had chosen to take on to calm himself, but now that sat quietly forgotten.
He was deep diving into Trace Communications and it was harder than he had expected. "Amber seems to have taught you well Dan. But you can not have her. You are still unworthy and she will never truly love a man like you."
His fingers danced across the keyboard, his eyes focused on the screen. Then he frowned as a red-light began blinking above an internal file. It was a security alert, a failsafe to tell him if certain searches were made.
He narrowed his eyes as he opened the program and saw the search. Murders in Iceland, Prague, Istanbul, Rio, and Mexico City. His eyebrows raised when he saw they were looking for the jewelry saw his mother always used.
His hand slammed down on the table and he rose to his feet and began pacing around the room like a caged animal. "All of them! All of them want to keep us a part! They don't understand love, or the depth of our feelings."
He stopped and looked to the search ping, his eyes determined. He would not allow them to take her. He would not allow them to destroy what was his this time. This time he would be happy. He would make his mother happy.