Chapter 44 - Blacklight (1/2)
Olivia was left in the room and after a few minutes of deep thought, she stood and walked towards 'Sir James'. Her fingers ran through the intricate hand-carved wooden frame painted in gold.
Slowly, her eyes turned glassy at the thought of 'Ophelia' standing side by side with 'Sir James' in a few hours. It had been a year since she bought 'Ophelia' at a charity auction in Dubai where a colleague invited her.
She smiled as she remembered how it was love at first sight for Olivia when her eyes landed on the portrait of a cat dressed in royal clothing.
It was not the ridiculousness of a cat dressed in human clothing that hooked her, rather, it was the eyes of the feline that seemed to speak to her.
She searched far and wide for the artist who painted 'Ophelia', willing to pay a blank check for anything that would accompany her lonely portrait.
Unfortunately, Secretary Gail informed her that the artist was long dead and the rest of the artist's works were under a time capsule agreement where each piece was to be released at a specific date and time.
Olivia smiled triumphantly at the fruit of her patience as she hovered the painting, scrutinizing it at different angles and smiled at the revelation before her. Her moment was lost when she heard the click and clack of Emily's stilettos, waking her out of her trance.
She looked over her shoulder and saw Emily holding a handheld ultraviolet blacklight flashlight.
”If you don't miiind...I just need to make sure this is the original portrait. After all, you paid sixteen million dollars for this,” Emily dangled the blacklight in the air as she asked for Olivia's permission.
”Shouldn't you check the authenticity before it got up for auction and not after?” Olivia asked with a single brow raised in question.
”Another curator did. This is just standard operating procedure before we wrap this baby for transfer,” Emily answered whilst swiping the blacklight over the portrait. She stopped when she found what she was looking for and took out a pen and notepad from her handbag.
”Are those coordinates?” Olivia tilted her head and scrunched her brows.
Hidden on the painting were a set of latitude and longitude coordinates. As if on cue, her mind was stimulated with the mystery of the coordinates so she closed her eyes and her mind went into a black hole - dark and empty.
One by one, the coordinates from the portrait glowed green against the black backdrop and Olivia cracked her neck when a globe replica rotated in her mind.
Where could those coordinates lie? She pinched the bridge of her nose with her eyes still closed and rummaged her brain.
Gradually, the globe in her mind stopped as it zoomed in, showing her an estimate of where those coordinates would lie on the map. By that time, she was smiling foolishly at herself.
”Are you okaaaay?” Emily rubbed her hand on Olivia's shoulders. She was worried for a second upon seeing Olivia look like a madwoman, smiling like a Chesire cat with her eyes closed. This Olivia girl never ceased to surprise her with her antics.
”So that's the coordinates for Nisia. How could I have missed that?” Olivia's hands flew to her hip, holding it tight as she shook her head. ”I don't know exactly where on this island though but it falls right in the country. Is the artist from this country? I can't find data about that person,” Olivia casually asked.
”About thaaat. She's our old schoolmate,” Emily kept her answer short. She couldn't bring herself to tell Olivia the story behind 'Sir James' and it's not her story to tell too so she just faked a smile.