Dear
friends,
In
response to your mails. My father is forty-two years old. He may have some
enemies because a lot of people wanted to get his job and the director has
chosen him since he’s known my father for years. My father is proud of his
job. That’s why he likes talking about it
and
the works of art he is in charge of. My parents are divorced. My mother was
downcast because my father had been given the custody. My father has already
picked up a quarrel with the cleaning lady. He always has the key of the museum
with him. He used to be a history teacher in Orléans.
The
bell is about 400 years old. It was offered to our town by Admiral Rigault De
Genouilly in 1860. It’s made of bronze and there are some Chinese inscriptions
on it. It is 93 cm high and 51 cm in diameter. Its mass is about 100 kg. It’s
famous in MONTARGIS. It was stolen at night, on the 3rd of October,
2003.
Its estimated value is 100,000 euros. It doesn’t have any foreign connection.
I don’t know if any other museum has tried to purchase it. It was insured for
75,000 euros. The gallery has a cctv but the cameras which protected the bell
had been
unpluged,
so we may suppose that the thief knew the place. The door of the archive room
had been broken and so had the glass protecting the bell. But only my father’s
fingerprints were noticed on it. We know nothing about how the bell was possibly
transported but the police think the burglar(s) had a stretcher or something of
the kind.
Thank
you for your help.
AGATHE.