New York City
May 14
“How does a guy waltz into an FBI field office and take possession of the most valuable piece of evidence they’ve ever handled?” Cam chuckled at the sheer stupidity. Nathan’s office was, once again, a flurry of activity.
“Pretty simple actually,” Twitch explained. “You see, the art wasn’t technically evidence. The statute of limitations expired on the theft years ago. While the art remains ‘stolen property,’ both people who could be charged with transporting or receiving stolen goods—the courier and Phipps Van Gent—are both dead. The Degas sketches are basically recovered property being returned to the owner. So when the Gardner Museum called the Feds and said they wanted their art, that was that.”
Ren took over. “The call from the Gardner Museum was legit. Dr. Risa Kamil spoke with special agent Turner Banks and made arrangements for the pickup. There was no press. They wanted to wait until the sketches were back in Boston to make the announcement. The only oddity in the entire exchange was that Dr. Kamil didn’t come herself. She rescheduled the pickup time and sent her associate, Dr. Maynard Peele, who arrived as expected from Reagan airport in a black suburban with a small security team. He had the proper paperwork, identification, and was familiar with the transfer procedure. The fucking D.C. Bureau Chief shook his hand.”
“Nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary?” Steady asked.
“Until the Suburban never made it back to Reagan,” Ren confirmed.
“So that’s it? They’re just gone again? Are they gonna spend the next thirty years sitting in some mobster’s vault?” Cam threw up his hands.
“Let’s hope not. It’s a different world now. Transfer DNA, CCTV cameras, electronic tracking. Those sketches will turn up.” Nathan mollified his team.
“And this asshole, Maynard Peele?” Steady leaned forward on the conference table.
“Facial recognition came up empty.” Twitch gave Nathan a pointed look.
“Peele? As in Key and Peele?” Ren cocked a brow.
“Tox, where’s your brother?” Nathan drummed a pen on his desk.
“He said he had a job to finish.”
No one pretended not to put the pieces together.
“Well, when he gets back I want to talk to him.”