“I’m listening.”
“Barrington’s mother was Matilda Stone.”
“Was? As in she’s dead?”
“She is, but—”
“How does a dead woman help me break that son of a bitch?”
“Hear me out. She’s a well-known artist, and even has a few paintings in prominent museums.”
“Good for her. But again, how does this help?”
“Barrington reveres her work so much that he has several in his house and is apparently keen on getting his hands on as many others as possible. He’s notified several galleries to be on the lookout for them. There was one article that called him the steward of her legacy.”
Petry’s patience began to slip again. “So the dead woman’s a big shot. And? I mean, if there’s a plan here, I’m not getting it.”
“The paintings,” Nico said, trying hard not to make it sound as obvious as it should have been. “All we need to do is have some people break into his house and destroy as many of them as they can. Each painting will be a piece of his mother he can never get back. Think of it as sticking multiple knives into his heart.”
There was a brief moment when Nico thought his boss was going to read him the riot act for presenting such a stupid idea, but then a grin spread across Petry’s face. “Look at you, Mr. Thinking-Outside-the-Box. You are one devious bastard. I don’t know how you came up with that, but... I love it.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“It’s a great first step.”
“First step?”
“I’m not going to be happy until he’s lying in a box, buried in the ground. But that can wait until things around me cool off. This idea of yours is good because no one will ever think I had anything to do with it.”
“Thanks.”
“One tweak. Wouldn’t it be better if Barrington witnessed the destruction?”
Nico suppressed a frown. Ideally, the break-in would occur when the lawyer was away, as having him home could complicate things. “He might put up a fight.”
Petry shrugged. “If he does, then rough him up a little. All I care about is that he’s in good enough condition to watch his precious paintings get ripped apart.”
Nico thought about pushing back, but he could tell his boss was in one of his don’t-argue-with-me moods, which meant there was only one thing Nico could say. “I’ll take care of it.”
Nico got to work right away, hiring a guy he knew named Toby Hill to check out the security at Barrington’s house.
That afternoon, Toby called back on one of Nico’s throwaway phones.
“How did it go?” Nico asked.
“Not surprising, but the place definitely has an alarm system. I couldn’t tell what kind it is from the street, or who Barrington’s monitoring company is. I made a few calls, but none of my contacts know, either.”
“Then how do we find out?”
“You said he works out of his house?”
“Yeah.”
“Then my guess is that it’s a commercial-grade system. Which means you should have at least thirty seconds after you enter to shut it off. That should be more than enough time for an alarm expert. However, you have a bigger problem. The locks.”
“The locks? What’s so special about them?”
“They’re Israeli. Top of the line. Unless you have someone who knows what they’re doing, it’d be easier to smash a window and climb in, because you’ll never get them unlocked.”
“Then we get someone who knows what he’s doing.”
“Do you know how many people in the city fit that description?”
“How many?”
“Two, and one is a retired cop who wouldn’t touch this job.”
“Who’s the other?”
“There, you’re in luck. It’s me. But I ain’t cheap.”
“Name your price.”
“Let’s see. I assume you’ll want me to deal with the alarm, too?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Five grand should do it.”
“Five? How about two?”
“What’s my cut of the take?”
“No take. It’s not a burglary. It’s a trash job. We’re sending a message.”
“Then I’d say good luck finding someone else.”
Sensing Toby was about to hang up, Nico said, “Okay, five grand. But I’m putting you in charge of the team.”
Toby was silent for a few seconds. “Fine, as long as I can pick my own people. And that’ll be an extra five to cover them.”
Nico had budgeted twenty grand, so he’d be getting this for far cheaper than planned. Still, he hesitated a moment before answering so that Toby didn’t think he was a pushover. “If that’s the way it’s got to be, then okay. You have a deal.”
“Great. What’s the job?”
Nico told him.
“Huh, that’s different.”
“Can you handle it?”
“Are you kidding me? Piece of cake.”
“How long to set it up?”
“Seeing as it’s Thursday, give me the weekend. We should be ready to go Monday night. If that works for you.”
“That works just fine.”
Chapter 5
On Monday, Stone sat in his office, feeling restless. Though it had been less than a week since Carly left, it felt closer to a month. He had come to count on her perspective and her keen legal mind.
It’s just temporary, he told himself. She’ll be back.
Probably.
“Are you still moping?” Joan said from his office doorway.
“I’m not moping.”
“You are, and it’s upsetting Tracy.” Tracy West was Stone’s new associate.
“I’m sure she’s not upset.”
“Let’s ask.” Before Stone could stop her, Joan called out, “Tracy, can you come here for a moment.”
“Leave her alone,” Stone said.
Still looking down the hall, Joan said, “Ah, there you are. Come, come.”
A moment later, Tracy appeared beside her, holding a legal pad. She was a slip of a girl, with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and wide round eyes that, at the moment, appeared nervous.
“Yes?” she said, her voice just above a whisper.
“Stone has a question for you.”
Tracy looked into the office. “Yes, Mr. Barrington?”
“Don’t pay attention to her, Tracy,” Stone said. “You can go back to your office.”
“Just a moment,” Joan said. “Tracy, you know how Stone has been moping around all week?”
“Um, well, I guess.”
“You did ask me about it, didn’t you?”
Tracy looked mortified. “I... I... I didn’t mean...”
Joan glanced at Stone. “She asked me if this is the way you always are.”
Tracy covered her face with the pad. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. I, um...”
“It’s okay, dear,” Joan said. “You have excellent observation skills. And you are right to be upset. He has been moping.”
Tracy stared at Joan, appalled. “You told him I was upset?”
“It’s fine. He needs to hear those kinds of things now and then.” To Stone, Joan said, “What you need is to get out of town. You have the Centurion Pictures board meeting coming up soon, you should head out now. Take in some sun.”
“I can get plenty of sun here, thank you very much.”
“Says the man who hasn’t left the house since last Wednesday.”
He smiled at Tracy. “I appreciate your concern. Thank you. You can return to your office.” His gaze moved to Joan. “As for you, I’m sure there’s something you can busy yourself with.”
The phone began to ring.
“Like that,” he said.