The Flinck Connection (Book 4) (Genevieve Lenard) by Estelle Ryan Page A

Since you guys are the art theft experts, the president would like for you to take this case.”
    “What’s the president’s interest in this museum? Why would he want us to take the case?” I asked.
    “The president’s wife, Madame Godard, is one of the patrons of this museum, not that it really matters. You exist as a team at the president’s request. If the leader of this country asks you to look into a case, you should not question it. You should just do it.”
    His disparaging tone and the disgust on his face elicited immediate responses. Everyone shifted in their chairs to more alert positions. Everyone except Manny. He waved his hands in a dismissive gesture. “Fine, we’ll look into this heist. We don’t have any file open on Minister Savreux’s death yet, so there’s nothing to give to you. We were actually having a team meeting to brainstorm how to tackle this when you came in. Good thing too, else we would’ve wasted time on a dead politician. No offense, of course.”
    “None taken.” Purposefully, Henri looked around the table, making eye contact with everyone but me. I registered every micro-expression he exhibited when he looked at the team, especially when he looked at Nikki. He was schooling his expression, controlling it to reveal only contempt and disrespect. A few contradictory micro-expressions gave me pause. I needed to process what I was observing. Finally, his gaze fell on Manny. “I want to know that you will put your everything into finding not only the thieves, but especially the artwork stolen this morning. Can I count on you?”
    A lot of insincere mumbles rose from the table and I watched in amazement as Henri accepted this. When I had met him a year ago, I had thought of him as astute. Now I thought of him as cunning. He appeared mollified with the lies Manny had told him and the feigned assurances the team had given him. It was in the relaxed muscles in his face as he got up and wished us happy hunting. Very suspicious.
    Phillip got up with him and closed the door behind Henri when he left for the elevator. There was a moment of stunned silence before everyone started speaking at the same time.
    “Quiet!” Manny stood up, his shoulders straight. “Be quiet for a second.”
    Francine inhaled to say something, but stopped at Manny’s glare.
    “What is the latest we have on Dukwicz?” Manny asked.
    His sudden change of subjects confused not only me. Everyone was staring at him.
    “I spoke to a contact that told me he’s in town again,” Vinnie said. “Do you think he’s responsible for this morning’s— ”
    “—heist?” Manny interrupted. “It’s a possibility I’m considering given his track record of breaking and entering. That bastard has been able to get past extremely good security systems with worrying ease. I’m also wondering if supermodel has been diligent in checking our systems for bugs.”
    Manny’s voice dropped half a tone, the micro-expressions around his eyes and mouth revealing a hidden message behind his sentences. I wasn’t good at guessing, but it seemed like the others were. Both Colin and Vinnie’s body language went from confusion to alertness.
    Francine’s nonverbal cues told me she too understood Manny’s innuendo. She jumped up and dragged her chair back to her computer station. “I check the computers every morning, so I know there’s nothing here, but I haven’t checked the rooms for possible bugs. I’ll get to it right now. Vinnie will help me. Nikki can supervise. We can’t have Dukwicz know what we’re up to.”
    Finally I understood the nuances being communicated, but I was struggling to interpret all the pointed looks Francine was giving Manny and Vinnie. Turning to Colin, I lifted my shoulders and hands in an inquiring gesture. He mouthed the word ‘later’ and winked.
    “While supermodel is checking to make sure Dukwicz has not breached our security, we will go to the museum and check out this art theft. Come on,