Chapter 5 - The Bag Left Beside the Interview Table
On Friday morning, Nora placed the locket inside her blouse and the brass key beneath the insole of her shoe.
Claire wanted to call the police.
Adrian warned them not to trust anyone connected to the original investigation. Mateo suggested recording the entire interview using a miniature camera inside Nora’s school pin.
None of the choices felt safe.
In the end, they did all three.
Claire contacted a detective from a different district and sent copies of Evelyn’s notebook pages to a secure email address. Mateo installed the camera and configured it to upload footage continuously. Nora carried only her portfolio, a sketchbook, and the canvas bag Lydia had already seen at school.
Aurelia Gallery occupied the ground floor of the Vale Hotel.
Its entrance was framed by white stone columns and guarded by two men in charcoal uniforms. Inside, warm golden light reflected from glass cases arranged across the marble floor.
Adrian greeted Nora near the central display.
His expression remained professional, but he glanced toward the pin camera and gave the smallest nod.
“Nora Hale,” he said. “Welcome to Aurelia.”
Lydia entered from the rear corridor.
She wore the same red blazer she had worn at Nora’s school.
“You came,” she said.
“You threatened my aunt.”
Lydia smiled toward the nearby shoppers.
“Let’s not begin an important opportunity with melodrama.”
“Then explain the message.”
“I sent no message.”
Nora could not tell whether she was lying.
Lydia directed her toward an interview table beside the central display. The Celestine Diamond rested inside the case, glowing beneath focused lights.
Nora tried not to stare.
Up close, the blue center stone appeared almost alive. A faint shadow moved inside it whenever she changed her angle.
Adrian introduced the selection panel: Lydia, a retired designer named Camille North, and a foundation lawyer named Julian Voss.
Nora placed her portfolio on the table.
For twenty minutes, the interview proceeded normally.
She explained her designs, described how she combined traditional handwork with modern materials, and presented a silver bracelet inspired by Claire’s nursing watch.
Camille appeared genuinely impressed.
Julian asked intelligent questions.
Lydia said very little.
Then a sales associate approached.
“Miss Hale, Mr. Cole would like you to see the Crownfire exhibition before the panel makes its decision.”
Nora looked at Adrian.
He was speaking with a client across the showroom.
He had not called her.
The associate gestured toward a row of historic tools displayed near the front window.
Nora understood immediately.
Someone wanted her to leave the table.
She picked up her canvas bag.
Lydia placed one hand over it.
“You can leave that here.”
“I’d rather keep it with me.”
“The exhibition is less than twenty feet away.”
Nora looked toward Mateo, who was posing as a hotel delivery assistant outside the gallery window. He touched his earpiece, confirming that the pin camera was still transmitting.
Nora deliberately left the bag open beside her chair.
If Lydia intended to plant something, Mateo would capture it through the gallery’s glass wall.
Nora followed the sales associate.
The Crownfire exhibition contained old molds, hand-cutting tools, and photographs of the society’s members.
Evelyn’s name had been removed from every description.
In the largest photograph, Arthur Vale stood beside Lydia and Adrian. The fourth position had been cropped away.
Nora leaned toward the frame.
A faint reflection moved in the glass behind her.
Lydia was standing beside the interview table.
Her body blocked Nora’s view of the bag.
A second person approached from the rear corridor.
Dark green sleeve.
Silver cuff button.
The gloved hand slipped into Nora’s bag.
Nora turned.
The sales associate caught her arm.
“You cannot cross the security line.”
“Let go of me.”
The associate released her, but the second person had already disappeared.
Lydia returned to the panel table.
Nora hurried back and reached for her bag.
“Is something wrong?” Lydia asked.
Nora looked inside.
Nothing lay on top of her sketchbook.
She could not search deeper without revealing that she expected a setup.
The safest choice was to leave.
“I’ve changed my mind about the scholarship.”
Camille looked surprised.
“You haven’t heard the panel’s decision.”
“I don’t need to.”
Nora lifted the bag.
Lydia’s smile became colder.
“You should check that you have everything.”
“I do.”
“Are you certain?”
Nora walked toward the entrance.
She had nearly reached the doors when Lydia called across the gallery.
“Stop her.”
The security guards stepped into Nora’s path.
Lydia approached slowly.
“One of our inventory sensors activated.”
Adrian moved toward the central display.
“What sensor?”
“The Celestine’s proximity tag.”
“That system is disabled during business hours.”
“Apparently not.”
Lydia reached toward Nora’s bag.
Nora pulled it away.
“You need my permission.”
“This is private property.”
“And I’m a minor.”
Lydia looked toward the shoppers gathering around them.
Then she raised her voice.
“If you have nothing to hide, open the bag.”
Nora knew refusing would make her appear guilty.
She placed the bag on the nearest counter and opened it herself.
Her portfolio was inside.
Her sketchbook.
A pencil case.
A folded sweater.
Beneath the sweater lay a black velvet pouch.
Nora had never seen it before.
Lydia seized it.
May you like
She opened the drawstrings and lifted the diamond necklace into the warm gallery light.
“Thieving little brat,” she said. “Security!”
