Earlier
Raoul kept his distance from the three of them following each movement of the three. He wished he could listen in on to what they were talking about, but he knew that he could not take the risk of being discovered.
The three of them walked to the parking area and got into a steel-grey Honda Accord (Raoul made a mental note that he had to send Lyana's Accord for servicing too) and moved away. Raoul quickly rushed to where his car had been parked. By the time he was able to join the traffic moving out of the Bujong Valley Museum, he had lost on precious time (he thought to himself, should have parked near the exit... that way could have caught up with them) and the Accord was moving away from him at a rapid pace. He muttered under his breath... 'God! I did not get the registration number on that!! He cursed himself on missing out on taking down such simple a detail but gave solace to himself with the fact that the three would have to come again to the museum the next day if they actually planned on making an attempt to heist the 'Standing Buddha'.
He decided to go to the local library to try and find more about the statue. Looking at the statue, Raoul had not been able to understand the importance of it. It was a very simple statue of Buddha cast in bronze standing in the 'tribhanga' pose and was attributed to Mrs. Dorothy Wales for its 'found' status. She had probably been a lonely wife whose husband was posted in military service. She had continued with the excavations at the site in Bujang Valley when Mr. Wales (archaeologist H G Quaritch Wales) had been posted even though they had reached the shores of Malaysia as a couple and had endeavored to work as a team. Raoul was wondering how it must have been for both of them, separated in an alien land with the threat of loosing the partner weighing heavy in mind. He found out that 'his' Buddha had been discovered in 1941 and had been deposited in the Raffles Library Museum.
The thing that weighed heavy on his mind was the reason for the sudden interest being shown by the motley group of three. He just could not resist labeling them as 'Three Musketeers'. It appeared to him as a quixotic behavior, trying to steal 'his' Buddha from the museum. He thought he would get back to the Omar and try to find out some more facts about the statue of Buddha.
His train of thoughts was interrupted by the phone which buzzed in his pocket. He took it out absent-minded but was on full alert when he saw that it was Lyana calling. She hardly called him during the day except when it was a case of dire emergency. Ready for the worst, but hoping his fears would be allayed, he took the call. Relief spread upon his features when he heard Lyana saying that she had to meet up with a few friends and would appreciate if he could pick up the kids from the school and drop them home. He assured her that he would not forget like the last time and would definitely get the kids. Lyana told him that she would be calling again in an hour to remind him.
Raoul could not help himself from smiling at the conversation he had with his wife. He realized that he would have to postpone his meeting with Omar, that meant that he would not be able to meet the affable man til the next day. Hoping that it might not be too late, he moved out of the library, to update his boss Akim about the day's happening. He also had to return the camera after getting the pictures developed (who knows he just might be able to notice something which he had missed out).
.....to be continued...Raoul - 5
Raoul kept his distance from the three of them following each movement of the three. He wished he could listen in on to what they were talking about, but he knew that he could not take the risk of being discovered.
The three of them walked to the parking area and got into a steel-grey Honda Accord (Raoul made a mental note that he had to send Lyana's Accord for servicing too) and moved away. Raoul quickly rushed to where his car had been parked. By the time he was able to join the traffic moving out of the Bujong Valley Museum, he had lost on precious time (he thought to himself, should have parked near the exit... that way could have caught up with them) and the Accord was moving away from him at a rapid pace. He muttered under his breath... 'God! I did not get the registration number on that!! He cursed himself on missing out on taking down such simple a detail but gave solace to himself with the fact that the three would have to come again to the museum the next day if they actually planned on making an attempt to heist the 'Standing Buddha'.
The thing that weighed heavy on his mind was the reason for the sudden interest being shown by the motley group of three. He just could not resist labeling them as 'Three Musketeers'. It appeared to him as a quixotic behavior, trying to steal 'his' Buddha from the museum. He thought he would get back to the Omar and try to find out some more facts about the statue of Buddha.
His train of thoughts was interrupted by the phone which buzzed in his pocket. He took it out absent-minded but was on full alert when he saw that it was Lyana calling. She hardly called him during the day except when it was a case of dire emergency. Ready for the worst, but hoping his fears would be allayed, he took the call. Relief spread upon his features when he heard Lyana saying that she had to meet up with a few friends and would appreciate if he could pick up the kids from the school and drop them home. He assured her that he would not forget like the last time and would definitely get the kids. Lyana told him that she would be calling again in an hour to remind him.
Raoul could not help himself from smiling at the conversation he had with his wife. He realized that he would have to postpone his meeting with Omar, that meant that he would not be able to meet the affable man til the next day. Hoping that it might not be too late, he moved out of the library, to update his boss Akim about the day's happening. He also had to return the camera after getting the pictures developed (who knows he just might be able to notice something which he had missed out).
.....to be continued...Raoul - 5
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