They jumped again when Amy’s cell phone vibrated. Amy pressed SPEAKER and Ian’s voice rang out.
“Simple to translate,” he said. “Easier than homework. Back in 1932, somebody at the auction house made a list of potential buyers for the de Virga. Those four names that have the little crosses and notations next to them? They were the clients that had to be treated with kid gloves. Hummel was a professor but he had family money. Jane Sperling was a socialite from Chicago. Maubert was an art dealer – there’s an address in Paris – and the last one – Tawnley – was an Englishman who had a private library.”
Amy looked at the names again. “Can you do more research on the names?”
“But why?” Dan asked. “We know they didn’t buy it. It disappeared before the auction.”
“It’s the only lead we have,” Amy said. She folded up the paper and slipped it into her pocket. “The auction house knew that these four people really wanted the de Virga. Maybe one of them stole it.”
“We’ll get back to you,” Ian said, and hung up.
Activity in the hallway outside had increased. They could hear footsteps and voices.
“Come on,” Amy said uneasily. “We’d better get out of here before somebody reads that fax.”
When they cautiously cracked open the door, the gray-carpeted hallway was empty. They swiftly made their way down it. When they turned the corner, a door to the right was open, and they saw Frau Gertler standing with her back to them. A man in a dark suit with an earpiece approached and handed her the fax.
Frau Gertler read the fax, then snapped it back to the security man. “Search the auction room,” she ordered. “Discreetly. There are two teenagers here that could possibly be them. Just keep a sharp eye out.” She hesitated. “My key card is missing. Better search the back rooms as well.”
If Frau Gertler moved an inch, she would catch them out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, they began to back up.
Amy jerked her head. Next to them was a keypad. Dan took out the key card and swiped it through. The door opened and they slid inside and closed it. They were in the luxurious office they’d glimpsed earlier, the one with the Rembrandt on the wall. They leaned against the door to catch their breath.
“We’ve got to ditch this place fast,” Amy said.
Dan hurried over and checked the windows. “They’re sealed. We could break one, but …”
“Alarms.” Amy said. Her gaze roamed over the office, and she found herself staring at the brown and amber painting on the wall. The Rembrandt.
Alarms, she thought again. Usually, they were trying not to trip them.
But this time … maybe an alarm could help.
Amy slipped the Rembrandt off the wall and turned it over. Just as she’d hoped, there was a small electronic device stuck to the back.
“It’s a sensor,” she said. “Remember when we came in? There was a security checkpoint there.”
“And we’re going to set off an alarm?” Dan asked. “Um, pretend I’m stupid, because I’m not getting this.”
Amy opened her new handbag, the one that had caused her to feel dizzy when she first heard the price. The only thing in it was a bag containing the rest of her lunch. She opened it up and placed the sensor inside the sandwich. “Someone else is.” Quickly, she outlined her plan.
“Lightfinger Larry is going to come in handy again,” Dan said after he heard it.
They peeked out through the glass walls. The corridor was empty for now. Quickly, they ran to the door leading to the lobby. Dan opened the door a crack. “The auction is over,” he whispered. “People are starting to leave.”
“That’s good. We’ll get lost in the crowd.”
“Not for long. There’s at least four security goons at the door.”
“We’ve just got to give them a bigger problem to handle.”
Amy pressed her eye against the crack. People were still clustering outside the auction room. Frau Gertler stood by, greeting customers, a tight smile on her face. Amy noted how her gaze darted around the lobby.
She quickly scanned the lobby, focusing on the fashionably dressed women.
A sleek blond woman stood close to the doorway, checking her smartphone. She had a raincoat slung over one arm and a replica of Amy’s purse on the other.
“That one,” she told Dan. “Ready?”
They slipped through the door and came up behind the woman just as she switched her handbag to her other arm in order to put on her raincoat.
“Allow me,” Dan said, stepping up to assist her.
“Thank you, young man,” the woman said approvingly in a French accent. “And they say American young people have no manners!” She twisted as Dan helped her on with her coat. Dan twisted at the same time, and the woman was suddenly tangled in her coat.
“Sorry!” Dan smiled winningly, and turned again, now pinning the woman’s arm around her back as if by accident.
“Let me go, young man!”
“Sorry … just a minute. If I can just … get this around like … that …”
Amy moved up behind Dan. She was there to catch the handbag as it slipped down and quickly replaced it with her own. Without breaking stride she melted into the crowd.
“There you go!” Dan said, finally getting the woman untangled. “Have a great day!”
He caught up with Amy, but they slowed their steps, keeping their heads down and concealing themselves from the guards. The woman moved ahead of them. As she passed the security check, a piercing alarm sounded.
Frau Gertler’s head jerked toward the checkpoint. She began to push her way through the crowd. Amy and Dan wriggled closer.
“May I see your handbag, madam?” the security guard asked.
“Absolutely not! This is absurd!” the woman protested.
The security man held his hand out. “Madam.” It wasn’t a question.
“What’s going on?” a silver-haired man asked in English. Someone else asked something in French. Amy didn’t need a translator to realize that rich people don’t like to be prevented from doing what they wanted to do.
Frau Gertler checked the security screen. “It’s the Rembrandt,” she said in a low tone to the guard. “We have to search the bag.”
“Somebody stole a REMBRANDT?” Dan yelled. “What kind of security do you have here, anyway?”
“My Leonardo!” someone cried.
“Go ahead and search her, but I have an appointment!” Amy shrilled above the crowd’s murmur.
“I have a plane to catch!” someone shouted.
“My driver is waiting!” a stout man insisted.
“Let them all go and detain this woman,” Frau Gertler muttered.
Amy and Dan joined the crowd thronging toward the doors. As they passed through, they saw the security man hold up a sandwich.
“What is it?” Frau Gertler demanded.
“Ham and cheese, Frau Gertler,” the man said.
“Aha!” the woman trilled triumphantly. “You see? I’m innocent! I’m a vegetarian!”
When they hit the cool air, Amy tossed the purse into the bushes and jumped in the car after Dan.
“Just drive,” she told the chauffeur, and crashed back against the seat.
FROM: V-1
TO: V-6
Remind me of your mission again? Oh, yes. Surveillance of targets Amy and Dan Cahill. That was it. Now enlighten me as to the reason for your utter failure to complete mission. Care to check in? Or would you like to check out permanentemente, cara?
Vesper One slammed the phone down. Took a breath, then another. It was a shame he couldn’t do everything himself. He had to rely on the Wyomings for muscle and surveillance. They were a ruthless pair. But they needed … prodding.
Fear was such a great motivator. Look at Amy and Dan, scampering around like hamsters, just for him!
The de Virga map was the piece needed for the next step. The thought of it made his palms itch. He could feel it dropping into his hands. Amy and Dan could do it. Given the right incentive, they could do just about anything.
In an odd way, he believed in them. Certainly, he was rooting for them. They would collect the pieces and he would assemble them, and then …
Eyes closed, he envisioned it all. What he would gain. Nothing less than everything.