Page 46 - Unlikely Stories 1

Ladreque’s Last Case

“Hold it right there!” he commanded. “You have been very, very
clever, and you have succeeded in stealing a king’s ransom in art
treasures—but that was before Arsène Ladreque took on the case!”
The ersatz custodian froze in her tracks, still holding the wand.
“How did you discover our operation?” she asked, in a strangely
muffled and metallic voice. Ladreque could not make out her
features, so closely did the wig hide her face.
“The elements,” he replied triumphantly. “Most of them were
isotopically matched to the period, but not all: their half-lives were
anachronistic. The age testing put me on the track of all the
mysterious signs of tampering and false alarms you had to leave
behind as meaningless clues. The rest: my own deduction. The quality
of the pieces and their period led me to this exhibition; the
Schlagenkirch Altar had to be next on your list. I suspect an
unscrupulous oriental collector is behind your ring; perhaps you will
reveal his identity to save your own skin. That is a matter for the
Tahoe police and Interpol. Now, you’re under arrest. Put that thing
down and raise your hands.”
“Then you are alone,” croaked the thief. “That means nobody else
believes your unbelievable analysis. But it is correct; you deserve to
know that. We could not find a source of properly aged rare earths
for our simulator, an obstacle we thought unnecessary to overcome.”
She raised her free hand and swept off the wig. Ladreque gasped.
“Yes, you see: we are not of this world. We are field-collecting for a
museum far, far away, and we have been granted permission to
gather certain representative pieces—leaving a reasonable facsimile
behind. Our charter prohibits us from committing any acts which
would be criminal according to our own laws. Unfortunately for you,
that does not prevent us from exercising minimal self-defense.”
And the glowing rod made one pass in front of Ladreque, still
paralyzed with shock. He came to his senses a few moments later, a
deafening clatter in his ears. Another guard was shaking his shoulder
violently.
“Hey, man! Snap out of it! You set that thing off?”

45