Chapter 37

The first thing Teddy did when he woke up Thursday morning was check the recording from the audio tap on Simon's hotel room.

The device was voice activated and had only gone off once, at 12:13 a.m., when Simon received a phone call. Teddy could hear only his side of the conversation, but it was more than enough to confirm Simon was dirty.

"You got the painting," Simon had said on the recording. "That's what matters."

Simon wasn't tangentially connected to the thefts. He was directly involved. He also revealed that the painting was to be delivered to him at his gallery in just a few hours.

That sounded like an event Teddy should attend, too.

By 8:15, he was parked a few blocks from the gallery. Dressed as an elderly retiree, he shuffled to a spot where he had a view of the gallery's parking lot.

Twenty minutes later, a dark gray BMW 530i pulled into the lot, carrying two passengers. The engine shut off, but the men didn't get out.

Whether they were the art thieves or not, Teddy had a strong feeling they had an interest in the upcoming delivery.

He snapped several pictures.

At the same time Teddy was disguising himself for his stakeout, Simon woke to find a voice message awaiting him from Nico Savage.

"Hi, Simon. Mr. Petry has learned that you'll be receiving the third painting this morning. We want to be there when that happens, so expect us at the gallery at nine."

Simon stared at his phone.

Only five people knew about last night's job: himself, Phillip, Benji, Devin, and Sticks. And of that group, only Simon and his brother knew about the delivery time.

Wait, he thought.

Sticks had been in the car with Benji, so he would have heard everything. He had to be the one who'd told Petry.

The son-of-a-bitch pyro needed to be dealt with, but after Simon took care of the more immediate problem of Petry.

Simon had promised him the paintings tomorrow, not today, so the other two were with Rudy Morgan. Simon had planned on personally taking the third one to the forger this morning.

While he could swing by and pick up the originals on his way to the gallery, he was loath to turn them over to Petry.

Screw it, he decided. He'd give Petry the one Benji was bringing this morning but would make up some excuse as to why the other two wouldn't be available until tomorrow, when he could stick Petry with the forgeries. Saving two out of the three originals was better than saving none.

Knowing it would be easier to deliver this news with Phillip behind him, Simon rang his bodyguard, but was immediately sent to voicemail. That was odd. Phillip always took his calls.

After the beep, Simon left a message for him to be at the gallery by eight-forty-five.

When Simon pulled into the gallery's lot, he was annoyed to find no sign of Phillip, and worse, Nico and Petry were already there. As Simon exited his sedan, Petry and Nico climbed out of their vehicle.

Simon forced on a smile. "Good morning. I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"Morning," Nico said.

Petry only nodded, and neither said anything else.

Simon unlocked the back door and led them inside.

"Would either of you like a coffee?"

"Please," Nico said.

Since Petry was still playing the silent game, Simon took Nico's answer to apply to both. He started up the Keurig and went to his office to send his brother and Phillip identical texts.

Get your ass here now!!

Teddy watched Simon escort the two men from the BMW into the gallery. Neither of Simon's visitors carried anything, reinforcing Teddy's sense that the men weren't the thieves. They might be the buyers, however.

At twenty past nine, a Ford Taurus pulled into the lot. Like the BMW, it had two passengers. Teddy shot pictures of both.

The driver hopped out and went into the gallery for less than a minute before stepping back out and returning to his car.

Instead of getting in, he said something to his buddy in the passenger seat, then circled back to the trunk and opened it. As his friend climbed out, the driver removed a rectangular package from the back.

Now,that could be a painting, Teddy thought.

The driver carried the package to the back door, his buddy trailing behind. After they disappeared inside, Teddy waited a few moments to make sure they didn't come straight back out, then walked into the parking lot and attached tracking bugs to all three vehicles.

Simon motioned to the package in Benji's hands. "Mr. Petry, I'm honored to present you with your final painting, a day ahead of schedule. Would you like me to unwrap it?"

Petry shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Benji put the Stone on an easel, and Simon removed the paper and Bubble Wrap.

"As you can see, it's a spectacular piece."

Petry shrugged. "Yeah, it's great."

Ignoring the man's indifference, Simon said, "Since delivery wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow, I had stored the other two at my secure off-site location. I'm not sure how quickly I—"

"We won't be taking any of them with us."

"I'm sorry?"

"Mr. Martin will be accepting delivery for us."

"Mr. Martin? I'm afraid I don't know who that is."

"That seems unlikely." Petry's gaze shifted to where Benji and Sticks were standing.

Simon turned his head to follow it.

Sticks grinned and said, "That's me."

Simon whipped his gaze back to Petry. "You want him to pick them up for you?"

"That's what I said."

"Sticks—I mean, Mr. Martin—works for me, not you."

"The fuck I do," Sticks said.

"It's my understanding that Mr. Martin is a freelancer who has just completed a job for you," Petry said matter-of-factly. "Now he'll be doing a job for me."

"What kind of job?"

"That's none of your concern."

Simon couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Do you…Do you realize…You know what he does, don't you?"

"I'm aware of Mr. Martin's special skills. Why do you think I hired him?"

It all clicked into place. "Y-y-you're going to burn the paintings?"

"Did I say that?"

"Why would you do that? They're irreplaceable. They're—"

"Don't you worry. I'm planning on getting my full money's worth out of them."

"By burning them?"

"By using them as a message."

Simon clasped his hands together to keep them from shaking. He had feared Petry's intentions, but having them confirmed was too much. He could not just stand there and do nothing. "I'm sorry, Mr. Petry, but our deal is off." He gestured to the exit. "Please leave."

Petry chuckled but didn't get up. "Nico?"

"Transfers complete."

"See, Simon. You've already been paid. The paintings are mine."

"What? No. I—I—I'll transfer it right back to you."

"Not going to happen."

The back door swung open. Simon whirled around, hoping Phillip had finally arrived, but it was only one of his employees.

"I'm sorry, Jessica, but I'm in the middle of a meeting. Could you come back in fifteen minutes?"

"Um…"

"Here." He hurried over and handed her twenty bucks. "Grab a coffee on me."

He ushered her out the door and scanned the lot for Phillip's car, but it wasn't there.

"Looking for your muscle?" Petry asked.

Simon closed the door. "My what?"

Petry looked at Sticks again. "Mr. Martin, what was his name?"

"Phillip," Sticks said.

"What about Phillip?" Simon asked.

"I'm not a man you want to cross," Petry said. "I figured with him around, you might try to do just that. All I did was remove a potential obstacle."

"What does that mean?"

"Beats me. I leave those details to others. The important thing for you to know is that our deal is done. All you have to do is to turn everything over to Mr. Martin tomorrow." He paused, then added, "Unless you'd like an up-close and personal look at those details I don't know about."

Simon blanched.

"So, we're cool?" Nico asked.

Simon had no choice but to nod.

"Mr. Martin, any requests?" Petry said.

"I want 'em boxed up all together. And none of that cardboard shit. Make it out of wood." He grinned at Petry. "Make things easier when the time comes."

"Sounds good to me. Good by you, Simon?"

Another reluctant nod.

"Great." Petry stood. "Nico, I feel like some pancakes."

"I know just the place."

As soon as the two men left, Simon leveled a glare at Sticks. "I don't want to see your face ever again."

"It's not like I enjoy looking at you, either, asshole," Sticks said. "But we still have business to finish. I'll pick them up tomorrow afternoon. Don't forget about the box."

"I have no intention of doing anything for—"

"Or I can call Mr. Petry right now. Doubt they've left the parking lot yet." He pulled out his phone.

"Wait." The delay would give Rudy enough time to finish all three forgeries, meaning Simon could hand them over instead of the originals. "What time in the afternoon?"

"Now, that's the right attitude. I'll call you later and let you know." Sticks glanced at Benji. "You comin'?"

"Uh, yeah. Right behind you."

Sticks flashed Simon a toothy grin. "Forgot to tell you. Benji works for me now."

They walked out the door, leaving Simon staring after them.