“Hmmm?”
“About the elephant in the room…I know you’re digging around, trying to find proof that either Leo, Wallace, Ben, or Phil were accomplices in the break-in.” Her voice was starting to slur. “And you know I’m trying to prove otherwise.” Slowly, her eyelids began to droop. “I don’t want to…but I need to…be sure. Will you tell me…what you find?”
If Sloane had been alert, she would have instantly picked up on how long Derek hesitated, and she would have pressured him about it.
But she wasn’t. She was halfway toward a drug-induced sleep.
Derek was relieved. She’d been through enough for one day. And given what his street contacts had started reporting late today, he had a bad feeling about the supposedly squeaky-clean members of this art partnership. If he was right, Sloane would take it hard. And it would put her in a lousy position with her father. She didn’t need this dumped on her, not now, and certainly not until all the facts were in and verified, including whatever Rich found out.
When he finally did answer, Derek’s reply was quiet, and, as he suspected, unheard. “When I have to, I’ll tell you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It was midmorning when Rich strode down one of C-6’s few uncluttered aisles and poked his head into Derek’s cubicle. “Good, you’re in. Do you have a few minutes?”
Derek swiveled his chair around and waved his friend in. “Funny you should ask. I was about to drop by your neck of the woods. I h
ave some interesting info to pass along.”
“Same here. And a favor to ask.”
“Okay, you first.” Derek gestured for him to pull up a chair. “What do you need?”
Rich sat down, his brow furrowed in concentration. “I’ve run through every detail of the Armonk burglary and homicide, and the Hampton’s art gallery heist. I’ve interviewed all the witnesses of both crimes. It was a no-brainer that the two crimes were committed by the same team. What I needed to be sure of was that that team was the Black Eagle gang. They’re the Albanian organized-crime group who hit those European museums.”
“And?”
“And I’m sure. In both cases, the witnesses said the accents they heard sounded Slavic. Richtner, the owner of the art gallery, was born in Germany. There’s a large Albanian population there. He confirmed that at least two of the gunmen were conversing in Albanian.”
“Then why rule out Albanian-American organized-crime groups? Why assume it’s the Black Eagles?”
“Because the Albanian-American gangs make most of their money off drug trafficking. They also deal in counterfeiting and gunrunning. The crimes we’re talking about here are very specific and very high profile. They also require a level of sophistication that’s not everyday. The technique, the weaponry, the precision—in my opinion, that all adds up to the Black Eagles. That doesn’t mean they haven’t linked up to Albanian organized crime here in the U.S. The Eagles are probably hiding out, if not working, with them.”
Rich paused, then gave a firm nod, as if by speaking his theory aloud, he’d intensified his conviction. “The way the crimes were carried out—the patterns are identical to the European museum heists. In all cases, there were four gunmen, all masked, all armed with subguns. They gained entry, took control, and immobilized the victims with Flex-Cufs. They opened fire and killed almost everyone who saw them, or anyone who got in their way, without the slightest hesitation. And they knew ahead of time exactly which paintings they were going after. Most of those were masterpieces worth a fortune. A few were less well known, probably the ones they could sell on the streets. The well-known masterpieces they probably shipped off to whoever hired them.”
Derek had listened to every word, processing all of it. “It all fits,” he replied. “Do you think it’s the same ‘whoever’ who hired them to do the European heists?”
“My gut reaction? Yes. But I plan to find out.”
“What about the weapons? They wouldn’t take the risk of transporting their own. So they obviously bought them on the streets in the U.S.”
“Right. That’s the clincher.” Rich leaned forward. “I showed a series of pictures of different types of subguns to the Campbells and their staff, and to Richtner and his assistant. At least five of them had gotten a good look at the weapons used. And they all identified them as MP5Ks—the same guns that were used in the European museum heists.”
Derek whistled. “That screams paramilitary training. Also, an enterprising source to obtain the guns, and big money to pay for them, since MP5Ks are off-limits to everyone but law enforcement. These are definitely not run-of-the-mill thugs, and what you’ve got here is no coincidence. You’ve got yourself a match.”
“Not just a match, but a dangerous, escalating situation. These pros didn’t fly over here to just hit private collections and suburban art galleries. They’re warming up. I don’t know how many more practice hits they have in mind. But after that? They’re going for the big-time.”
“Museums.”
“You bet. And between their trial runs and their grand finale, who knows how many more homicides they’d commit, and how many more multimillion-dollar masterpieces they’d make off with.”
“How can I help?” Derek asked.
“I’ve met with C-7,” Rich replied, referring to the Balkan Criminal Enterprise Squad. “And they’re on board. But I’d like C-6, and you in particular, to work with them. You’ve got great informants for what I need. I just learned that four MP5Ks were stolen from a small-town police department in upstate New York. One of the cops caught a glimpse of the thieves as they took off. They were Asian. Their car had stolen plates, and it was dumped in a junk-yard in Queens.”
“Which means the subguns were probably sold here in the Big Apple,” Derek deduced. “It makes sense. Like I said, whoever bought these paid major bucks for them. We’re talking twenty-five hundred apiece, which is five times the cost of most guns sold on the street. You want me to put out feelers and find out who brokered them?”
A taut nod. “And whoever’s hands the subguns passed through to find their way to the Albanians. I’ve already spoken to Tony. He’s fine with your working this part of the case. He said to come by his office and go over the details.”