“Perhaps you could slow down enough on your morning run to let me know if you’ve cracked it.”
“I was rather hoping to tell you over dinner tonight,” said Jack.
“I can’t. I’m sorry, Jack, much as I’d love to, I’m having dinner with Tina.”
“Are you?” said Jack. “Well, just be careful.”
“Six o’clock tomorrow morning suit you?” asked Anna, ignoring the comment.
“That means I’ll have to set my alarm for six thirty if we’re going to meet up about halfway around.”
“I’ll be out of my shower by then.”
“I’ll be sorry to miss that.”
“By the way,” said Anna, “can you do me a favor?”
Leapman strode into the chairman’s office without knocking.
“Have you seen this?” he asked, placing a copy of The New York Times on the desk and jabbing a finger at an article from the international section.
Fenston studied the headline: ROMANIAN POLICE ARREST ASSASSIN. He read the short article twice before speaking.
“Find out how much the chief of police wants.”
“It may not prove to be that easy,” suggested Leapman.
“It’s always that easy,” said Fenston, looking up. “Only agreeing on a price will prove difficult.”
Leapman frowned. “And there’s another matter you should consider.”
“And what’s that?” asked Fenston.
“The Van Gogh. You ought to have the painting insured, after what happened to the Monet.”
“I never insure my paintings. I don’t need the IRS to find out how much my collection is worth, and in any case it’s never going to happen twice.”
“It already has,” said Leapman.
Fenston scowled and didn’t reply for some time.
“All right, but only the Van Gogh,” he eventually said. “Make it Lloyd’s of London, and be sure you keep the book value below twenty million.”
“Why such a low figure?” queried Leapman.
“Because the last thing I need is to have the Van Gogh with an asset value of a hundred million while I’m still hoping to get my hands on the rest of the Wentworth collection.”
Leapman nodded and turned to leave.
“By the way,” said Fenston, looking back down at the article. “Do you still have the second key?”
“Yes I do,” said Leapman. “Why?”
“Because when she escapes, you’ll need to make a further deposit.”
Leapman smiled. A rarity, which even Fenston noticed.
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