Corrected entry: It helps move the plot along so Ian can find Ben, Riley and Abigail but it makes no sense for Riley to go to where the Silence Dogood letters were kept, they simply could have googled them and got the answers they needed.
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Correction: Because the Ottendorf cypher requires original documents or scans to work, Ben, Riley, and Abigail could not have made a Google search for the Silence Dogood letters unless Ben's father or the Franklin Institute posted scans online. However, Riley could have simply taken photos of the display rather than hire a child to repeatedly go in and out of the building.
If he went in to take the picture, he would have been seen on a security camera taking the picture. He was at that point probably a wanted man with Ben. Hiring the kid let him get the answers without being detected.