The Clean Getaway

The gallery was a fortress. Thermal sensors, pressure plates, and 24-hour guards. Yet, the morning after the gala, the centerpiece—a $50 million Vermeer—was gone. Reviewing the tapes, the police confirmed that the only person to cross the threshold was Arthur, the night janitor, pushing his squeaky yellow cart. They intercepted him at the exit. They didn't just search him; they dismantled him. They stripped him naked, poured out every bottle of bleach, cut open the trash bags, and checked the tires of the cart. There was absolutely no trace of the canvas. Defeated, the police let him go. Arthur reassembled his cart and walked out into the sunrise, carrying the painting right under their noses.