The Malvern gallery was next on my list, an old refurbished mansion dripping in class and character. As I walked its grand halls, I could feel the history seeping through the cool, air-conditioned rooms. The people here were tight-lipped, their precious works stolen and a thief on the loose. It was up to me to find the connections they were missing.
I paused for a moment, considering the patrons around me, taking in the cool and steady hum of the air conditioning. It was a symphony of mechanical order, a quiet hero maintaining the life of the building. But our thief had corrupted its purity, turned it into an accomplice for their crimes.
Backstage, past the plush red velvet curtains, I found myself face to face with the heart of the building – its air conditioning unit. Again, it was a victim of tampering, the thief leaving their mark, as brazen as a signature at the corner of a canvas. I took a look at their heating and cooling services near Malvern, and sure enough, the records showed that the system had been serviced just days before the heist.
A chill ran down my spine as the pattern became clear. This thief, this phantom of Melbourne’s art scene, was using the air conditioning units as a smuggling route. I was looking for an art thief who was also an air conditioning expert – a chilling thought.
Back in my office, I spread out the blueprints of the galleries on my desk, tracing the path of the thefts. My next move was to get ahead of the thief, and to do that, I needed to anticipate their next move.
I picked up the phone again, my next step clear. I needed to book an air conditioning service. Hawthorn was my best bet. The prestigious gallery there was a veritable buffet of expensive art, a tempting target for any thief.
If I was right, and my hunch was leading me down the right path, that would be the thief’s next hit. I booked the service, the air conditioning units in Hawthorn’s gallery becoming the next piece of the puzzle. Time to see if I could catch an art thief red-handed.