staring at her intently, waiting for her response. She could see that he’d put so much effort into this already. He’d invested so much. He was possibly fifty or a hundred grand into this scheme and they hadn’t even started the forgery yet.
“What’s the plan?” she said.
“For collecting the reward?”
“For getting the money and not going to jail.”
Gabe looked around the room as if making doubly sure no one else was in there. She’d seen the amount of locked doors they’d had to pass through to get in there. She knew they were completely alone.
“I’ve purchased a building on the outskirts of Amsterdam. It was destroyed in a fire in 1991. It’s an apartment building.”
“It wasn’t rebuilt?”
“No. Too many structural issues. The area hasn’t been that hot of a real estate market. It’s just been sitting vacant.”
“How much did you pay for it?”
“Enough,” Gabe said.
“Gabe,” Ariel said. “How much money have you poured into this scheme so far?”
“That’s not important,” Gabe said. “When we collect the five million I’ll be well into the black.”
She raised her eyebrows questioningly. One thing about Gabe, he’d always been a gambler at heart.
“Tell me about the building.”
“It turns out that the previous owners were involved in organized crime, one of the biggest drug rings in Holland. The four men who died in the fire were wanted drug dealers at the time.”
“I see,” Ariel said.
“They imported massive quantities of cocaine. They also imported a variety of other things for the black market. And that’s not all.”
“What else?”
“The insurance reports from the fire detailed a massive safe that was discovered in the wreckage.”
“What happened to the safe?”
“Nothing. It’s still in the wreckage. The door melted to the body of the safe. They couldn’t open it.”
“They didn’t try?”
“It appears they didn’t. They just left it. The insurance company wouldn’t have been entitled to the contents even if they got it open. The owners never came to claim it. It’s all documented in the public reports.”
“Wasn’t anyone curious to see inside the safe?”
“I guess not. They probably didn’t think there was anything valuable in it.”
“So you’re going to open it?”
“I’m going to get plans drawn up to develop the building, turn it into condos. I’m going to get a team to remove the safe and bring it to a welding facility to dismantle it. And I’m going to say I found the canvas inside, completely by chance.”
“They’re going to be all over it,” she said.
“Yes they are.”
“They’re going to have every art expert in the world examine it.”
“And what they’re going to find is a four-hundred year old Dutch canvas, with four-hundred year old Dutch paint, perfectly matching Rembrandt’s painting right down to the marks on the back of the canvas and behind the frame.”
Ariel shook her head. It was a crazy plan. She had no idea if it would succeed or not.
“You’re just going to call up the museum and tell them you have their painting?”
“I’m going to call a reporter. Pretend I have no idea what I just found.”
“You’re insane, Gabe.”
“So what do you say?” he said. “Are you going to be crazy with me?”
Ariel couldn’t believe she was allowing herself to get sucked into this scheme. She knew it was crazy to even hope they would get away with it. But she found herself nodding her head. “Let’s do it,” she said.
X
B ECKY WAS CERTAIN SOMETHING WAS going on between Kyle and Trudy. On her way home from a movie with her dad she noticed him on the street. She’d thought he was on the way to her house but before the car caught up to him he turned the corner to go down Trudy’s driveway. It was after ten at night. What the hell was he doing at Trudy Luxton’s after ten at night? There was only one thing she could think of.
Trudy Luxton was trying to steal her boyfriend.
“What’s the plan?” she said.
“For collecting the reward?”
“For getting the money and not going to jail.”
Gabe looked around the room as if making doubly sure no one else was in there. She’d seen the amount of locked doors they’d had to pass through to get in there. She knew they were completely alone.
“I’ve purchased a building on the outskirts of Amsterdam. It was destroyed in a fire in 1991. It’s an apartment building.”
“It wasn’t rebuilt?”
“No. Too many structural issues. The area hasn’t been that hot of a real estate market. It’s just been sitting vacant.”
“How much did you pay for it?”
“Enough,” Gabe said.
“Gabe,” Ariel said. “How much money have you poured into this scheme so far?”
“That’s not important,” Gabe said. “When we collect the five million I’ll be well into the black.”
She raised her eyebrows questioningly. One thing about Gabe, he’d always been a gambler at heart.
“Tell me about the building.”
“It turns out that the previous owners were involved in organized crime, one of the biggest drug rings in Holland. The four men who died in the fire were wanted drug dealers at the time.”
“I see,” Ariel said.
“They imported massive quantities of cocaine. They also imported a variety of other things for the black market. And that’s not all.”
“What else?”
“The insurance reports from the fire detailed a massive safe that was discovered in the wreckage.”
“What happened to the safe?”
“Nothing. It’s still in the wreckage. The door melted to the body of the safe. They couldn’t open it.”
“They didn’t try?”
“It appears they didn’t. They just left it. The insurance company wouldn’t have been entitled to the contents even if they got it open. The owners never came to claim it. It’s all documented in the public reports.”
“Wasn’t anyone curious to see inside the safe?”
“I guess not. They probably didn’t think there was anything valuable in it.”
“So you’re going to open it?”
“I’m going to get plans drawn up to develop the building, turn it into condos. I’m going to get a team to remove the safe and bring it to a welding facility to dismantle it. And I’m going to say I found the canvas inside, completely by chance.”
“They’re going to be all over it,” she said.
“Yes they are.”
“They’re going to have every art expert in the world examine it.”
“And what they’re going to find is a four-hundred year old Dutch canvas, with four-hundred year old Dutch paint, perfectly matching Rembrandt’s painting right down to the marks on the back of the canvas and behind the frame.”
Ariel shook her head. It was a crazy plan. She had no idea if it would succeed or not.
“You’re just going to call up the museum and tell them you have their painting?”
“I’m going to call a reporter. Pretend I have no idea what I just found.”
“You’re insane, Gabe.”
“So what do you say?” he said. “Are you going to be crazy with me?”
Ariel couldn’t believe she was allowing herself to get sucked into this scheme. She knew it was crazy to even hope they would get away with it. But she found herself nodding her head. “Let’s do it,” she said.
X
B ECKY WAS CERTAIN SOMETHING WAS going on between Kyle and Trudy. On her way home from a movie with her dad she noticed him on the street. She’d thought he was on the way to her house but before the car caught up to him he turned the corner to go down Trudy’s driveway. It was after ten at night. What the hell was he doing at Trudy Luxton’s after ten at night? There was only one thing she could think of.
Trudy Luxton was trying to steal her boyfriend.
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