Holly Barker and her husband, Jake, were third in line at the Louvre the morning of Oct. 19.
The couple from Indianapolis had a plan — head straight for the Mona Lisa, before the crowds, then shoot toward Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” and a famous painting of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David. Fourth stop was a place they had heard was a mini version of Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors: the Apollo Gallery, with its collection of royal jewels.
It was 9:32 when Holly Barker stepped inside the gilded hall and took a photo. As she stopped to admire a wedding gift that Napoleon had given his second wife — a necklace glittering with 32 emeralds and more than 1,100 diamonds — she heard the first of three loud bangs. It was 9:34, and masked thieves were about to barge through the window.
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