Detective Braveheart Takes Charge

Old Bert got up bright and early, enthusiastically anticipating the coming day. He showered, got dressed and had a good breakfast, all in preparation for his time at the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery, followed by an evening with Daisy, perhaps going to a movie. He washed his dishes and left everything neat and tidy, then went off to work.

Miss Merriweather was at the gallery when he arrived. He was pleased to see her; they had become great friends as well as colleagues. As he entered the shop Miss Merriweather called “Old Bert, come and see this, something strange is going on!” Old Bert went over to where Miss Merriweather was standing with a puzzled expression on her face. There at the back of the gallery were a few paintings by Tissot.

Old Bert said “Maybe Mr. Stoneyheart has decided to branch out and start telling Tissots as well as Pre-Raphaelites. But it is very odd since there is already the Tissot Gallery not too far from here.”

While Old Bert was speaking Miss Merriweather read the notecards that had arrived while she was offline. Included was one from the SL Police that had been sent to gallery owners and managers following the robbery. Miss Merriweather read it aloud, scarcely believing what she was saying.

“Old Bert listen to this!”

“Yesterday a burglary took place at the Tissot Gallery in Victoriana Harbour. Artworks by James Tissot were taken from the gallery. A list of the works in question has been attached to this note. We are warning all gallery owners to immediately report any avatars who approach them with any of these works. In addition, a witness has described someone whom we consider an avatar of interest. This avatar is elderly, shorter than average and known as “Old Bert”. If you should see this avatar or know of anything related to this burglary please IM Detective Braveheart.”

Miss Merriweather and Old Bert stared at each other in shock.

“Miss Merriweather, I don’t understand” Old Bert stammered. “I have visited the Tissot Gallery, but I would never steal those paintings! How can anyone say it was me!”

Miss Merriweather replied “Of course I know that, Old Bert. But how did these paintings end up here? This makes no sense.”

Just at that moment Dectective Braveheart entered the gallery, joining Old Bert and Miss Merriweather. He spotted the artworks and turned towards Old Bert saying “How do you explain this?”

“I don’t know, I have no idea” cried Old Bert.

“Where were you last evening?”

“I was working here in the gallery until 9 pm. Then I returned home.”

“Did anyone see you here?”

“No, it was a quiet night; no one came into the gallery.”

“What about at home, did anyone see you there?”

“No, I live alone, no one else was about.”

The detective then asked Miss Merriweather what she had been doing.

“Last night I went out with some friends, we went to see Ballet Pixelle and then on to a club.”

“You’ll have to give me the names of your friends Miss Merriweather.”

“So Old Bert, were you in this alone?” Detective Braveheart demanded.

“I haven’t done anything, I don’t know where those paintings came from!”

“We have a witness who says you were in the Tissot Gallery moving paintings around.”

“There must be some mistake. I have been to the Tissot Gallery, but not for a while and I have never moved any paintings around there.”

“Well, Old Bert, you’ll have to come with me.”

Old Bert was frantic.

“Miss Merriweather, help me, please help me!”

Miss Merriweather addressed the detective saying “I’m sure there is some dreadful mistake here. Old Bert is very reliable and honest. Someone else must have done this.”

But Detective Braveheart was unmoved. “I’m sorry, but I have to take Old Bert with me while we investigate further.” And with that he took Old Bert off to the police station.

Miss Merriweather was stunned by this turn of events. She reported what had happened to Mr. Stoneyheart, and then remembering how much Old Bert had talked about Daisy, she decided to contact her to let her know what had happened.

While all this was taking place Daisy was doing some shopping, thinking about the evening ahead. When she received the IM from Miss Merriweather and learned what had happened she was overcome and burst into tears. She soon rallied, realizing that Old Bert needed her. She immediately tp’d over to the police station, where she was allowed to see Old Bert.

What a sight met her eyes! Poor Old Bert was in a cell, collapsed on a bench in the corner. When he heard the sound of footsteps he looked up and upon seeing Daisy, leapt to his feet and ran over to the bars, trying in vain to hug her.

“Oh, Bert” whispered Daisy over and over. Old Bert just looked at her, unable to speak.
“What happened?”

“I just don’t know” he replied. “I don’t understand any of it.”

They stood together a little while longer. Finally Daisy said “I’ll find out. I know this is a terrible mistake. Miss Merriweather feels the same. We’ll get to the bottom of this, don’t you worry. Try and remain strong, remember we are working for you.”

With that Daisy was told she had to leave. Poor Old Bert was left all alone in his cell. After watching Daisy leave, he threw up his arms in despair, crying “How can this be? What will happen to me?”

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Old Bert at the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery

Old Bert enjoyed working at the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery. After the initial training period he was soon comfortable enough to work alone in the gallery, answering questions, chatting with visitors and even re-arranging the artworks on occasion. He also became more familiar with Victoriana Square and its residents, so all in all Old Bert was very happy.

After having worked in the Square for a little while Old Bert decided that he should get to know the rest of the sims in the Nation of Victoriana, so one day instead of tp’ing directly into the gallery he decided to take a boat into Victoriana Harbour, a sim adjacent to Victoriana Square, and work his way up to the gallery from there. Old Bert arrived at the harbour and descended from the boat onto the quay. He walked up to some of the fine shops bordering the harbour area, discovering that there was an art gallery in this sim, too. The Tissot Gallery was smaller than the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery and devoted to the work of one artist only, James Tissot, a French artist who spent much of his career in London, around the same time as some of the Pre-Raphaelite artists whose work was on display in Old Bert’s gallery. Old Bert had a quick look around and determined to come back another day when the owner was present.

From there he walked along the promenade, passing more shops until finally reaching the Victoriana Library. Old Bert was pleased to find a library and chose a couple of books to take home with him.

As time was getting on, Old Bert made his way to the Victoriana Harbour Train Station and took the train to Victoriana Square.

He crossed the square to the gallery and began to get ready for the workday, washing the floor and otherwise ensuring that the gallery was sparkling clean and welcoming to visitors.

Old Bert truly enjoyed being surrounded by such beauty and did all he could to make sure that others felt the same pleasure he did.

Later on that day a visitor entered the gallery. She had never been to the Victoriana sims before but like Old Bert was an art lover and had discovered the gallery while doing a tour of the art galleries of Second Life.
Old Bert and the lady began to talk, stopping in front of a beautiful and very romantic painting, “The Black Brunswicker”, in which a young lady is saying good-bye to her handsome beau before he goes off to war. It was an affecting piece, capturing the emotion of the moment, and both the visitor, whose name was Daisy, and Old Bert, were quite taken with it.

Old Bert escorted Daisy around the rest of the gallery, and on reaching the top floor he invited her to have a cup of tea with him. They sat together for quite a while, engrossed in conversation. Finally Daisy rose from her seat, thanking Old Bert for the tea. Old Bert very much hoped that he would see her again and said so as he nervously offered her friendship. Daisy happily accepted.

With thanks to Boye Jervil for photographs of Old Bert

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Old Bert's Day Off

Old Bert quickly settled into his new routine, going off to work, playing trivia and continuing to explore the metaverse. At the end of one workday (and a very jolly workday it had been since it involved testing beer!) Old Bert decided to take a peek at the Nation of Victoriana, a sim he had found while checking profiles. He enjoyed thematic sims, so he was very much looking forward to this little outing.

The Nation of Victoriana is a collection of sims created in the style of the Victorian period. It is a beautifully built place, done with great attention to detail by the owner and mayor, LittleBlackDuck Lindsay. Old Bert tp’d to Victoriana Square, the heart of the sims, arriving at the train station.

Facing the station and right in the center of the square was a large community hall. Surrounding the square were shops, galleries and a pub. After everything had rezzed Old Bert began to stroll around. As he got to the far side of the square he came across the start of a fox hunt, one of the monthly events held in the sim. It was a colourful scene; Old Bert made sure to stand off to the side so as not to be trampled as the hunt began. He happened to be next to an art gallery and since he was something of an aficionado he entered and had a look around, admiring the many fine artworks on display. Finding himself to be rather tired after his full day at work (!) Old Bert decided to return home and explore Victoriana more thoroughly another time.

On his next day off, Old Bert returned to Victoriana. Being a person drawn to the sea, he started off at Victoriana Harbour.

Next he went to Victoriana Carnivale, a great funfair. There were lots of games and rides for him to try – he played the coconut shy, tried the SLeeBall at which he scored 220, not bad for a first try, took a turn on the Big Wheel and went for a ride on the carrousel. He felt a bit dizzy after that and decided it was time to continue on, so he walked through Victoriana Forest and came to the entrance of the big maze at Victoriana Hedgemaze.

Old Bert spent quite a bit of time trying to find his way around and at the end felt a bit tired and hungry. As he emerged from the maze he noticed a pretty young woman tending the flowers next to a building, which fortuitously turned out to be a tea room.

Old Bert asked her if the tea room was open and was happy to hear that it was. He went inside and chose from the delectable array of food on display which the young woman brought to him along with a reviving cup of tea. Much fortified, Old Bert then continued on to Victoriana Square and the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery which he had visited the day he had seen the hunt.

As Old Bert approached the gallery he noticed a sign in the window saying “Help Wanted”. This gave Old Bert pause. He had enjoyed his time in the gallery and was quite familiar with the art on display. While he liked the work he was currently doing he found it to be physically tiring. Walking into the gallery Old Bert began to wonder “What if I applied for this job?”

With thanks to Boye Jervil for the pictures of Old Bert.

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