Neal saw that their conference room was now Sara Ellis' domains. There was a cot in the corner but if she had slept in it was hard to tell. Sara herself sat by the end of the table and looked tired.
"Love what you've done with the place," he said as he walked in.
"What do you want, Caffrey?"
"Look, I feel bad about last night, so I bought you a housewarming gift." He turned the charm on. "I know how much you've been wanting this." He held a print of the painting that united them, directly from the stor.
"The Raphael you stole."
"No. But it's a nice print of a stolen Raphael. Says so right here." He pointed to the corner of the package.
"Homey."
Yeah, I mean, we're working closely on this case..." He placed the print, covering some of her notes on a big pad on a tripod. When he turned back he saw she placed the small dictaphone on the table. "Really?" She smiled and nodded. He picked it up "Are we gonna keep doing this?" using a voice he would have used it he tried to seduce someone.
"Really. Keep talking." He got the feeling she used that voice too, towards him.
"'Cause I can go on all day."
"Please."
"Hey, kids. Playing nice?" Peter entered the room.
"Neal brought me a gift."
"The Raphael," Peter noted. "Cute."
"He wants something," Sara told Peter.
"I can't get you a present?" That hurt, somehow.
"When someone like you gets someone like me a gift, there's a reason," Sara explained. Unfortunately, she was right. "Peter, what do you think Neal wants?"
"He's never given me a present."
"I sent you birthday cards."
"Wasn't a present," Peter objected. Neal wondered what he could possibly buy Peter without raising the same flags. Especially now. He had to save that to Christmas. "Do you want something from Ms. Ellis?"
"I want her to stop pointing guns at me." That was the honest truth.
"That can be arranged. Sit."
"Hey, kids. Playing nice?" Peter asked when he entered the conference room. He would be surprised if they did.
"Neal brought me a gift."
"The Raphael." His favorite art thief had a great sense of humor. "Cute."
"He wants something," Sara said.
"I can't get you a present?"
"When someone like you gets someone like me a gift, there's a reason," Sara explained and turned to him. "Peter, what do you think Neal wants?"
Interesting. Sara was hostile to Neal and Neal wanted to smooth the waves. But did he want something more?
"He's never given me a present." Because he did not need to probably.
"I sent you birthday cards."
"Wasn't a present." Because you never felt the need, Peter wondered. Then it was a good thing. "Do you want something from Ms. Ellis?"
"I want her to stop pointing guns at me." That was most certainly not a lie.
"That can be arranged." Time would probably tell if there was more to it. "Sit. Let's talk about Halbridge. Sara, why do you think he wants you out of the way?"
"I don't know."
"What do you have in your files that we don't have?"
"Well, I dug deep. Stocks, security, all his land holdings. Tenant lease agreements."
"We've already seen all that," Neal said.
"I believe so," Sara said. Nothing that the FBI did not have. So when…
"Mr. Black," he said. "When was the first e-mail sent to him?"
"Good," the kid said. "Figure out when he arranged the hit?"
"Yeah. Yeah," Peter agreed browsing. "All right. Here it is. Five weeks ago, what were you digging into?"
"Five weeks ago?" Sara asked, thinking. Then she grabbed a file from one of the boxes. "This. It's Ridgemont. Ridgemont is an apartment complex on West End Avenue. It was the first place that Halbridge lived in when he came to New York.
"He bought it for nostalgia?" Neal asked. Kind of a big place for that, Peter figured.
"It's a classic six. Maybe Halbridge is into pre-war architecture?"
"Maybe," Sara nodded, "but he's renovated all his other properties except for Ridgemont."
"There's something there he doesn't want to let go of," Peter smiled. He loved the way she observed things. If she worked for the FBI he would do all he could to get her to his team.
"Yeah, and you should ask him," she smiled in return.
"Doubt he'll discuss it with the FBI."
"Do you think he'd talk to Mr. Black?" Neal asked. It was an excellent idea and the kid knew it.
Mr. Halbridge sure knew how to show his wealth. Neal walked up the grand staircase. At the top he was met by the driver.
"If you have a weapon, I'll take it."
"I don't."
An assassin without a weapon, of course it was not a statement to trust.
"I'm gonna check." The driver tried to frisk him, but Neal pushed him away.
"Get your hands off me!" It felt so good that for once be able to say that.
"It's all right, Nico," a voice said behind him. Mr. Halbridge came down the stairs from the third floor. "What is so important that you need to see me in person?"
"You want to do this in front of him?" Neal nodded in Nico's direction.
"I'm more comfortable that he stays." Halbridge walked ahead into a huge room. "Did you enjoy your trip to New York?"
"It isn't over yet."
"It should be." Halbridge gestured for him to sit down in one of the visitor's chairs in front of his desk. "Your business, as I understand it, is complete."
"Not quite," Neal said with a sly smile and sat down. Halbridge did the same. "I'm here to talk about Ridgemont."
"That supposed to mean something?" Halbridge hid his surprise into a gesture of wonder.
"You hired me to kill a woman."
"This conversation is over." He made a gesture for Nico.
"I asked myself: 'Why kill her?'" Neal went on. "She must mean something to you. So before I took care of her, we had a little talk, and she had a lot to say about Ridgemont apartments."
The man across the desk was so relaxed that Neal was sure that they were on the right track.
"If you're insinuating that I had some woman killed, what makes you think that I won't have you killed right where you sit?" Halbridge nodded to Nico to do so, but when Nico went for his gun, the holster was empty.
Neal pulled Nico's gun out from within his own jacket.
"That crossed my mind," Neal nodded, pulling the clip out, disarming the gun. "Here's what happens now. You're going to transfer two million into my account. You got 48 hours, or the FBI gets a call telling them to look into any connection between you and Ridgemont apartments."
"Liquidating two million in assets will take some time." So Halbridge wanted him to keep his mouth shut.
"You're a wealthy and resourceful man. You'll think of something."
"If I don't?"
Neal placed a single bullet on the glass surface of the desk.
"You got a lot more to lose than I do."
Then he left, keeping Nico's gun. He did not want to be shot in the back.
Outside, the van was parked. Neal checked around and slid inside.
"We were right," he said as he pulled out Nico's gun from his pants and handed it to Peter. "Ridgemont was the way in."
"Good." Peter took care of the gun. "Jones, Diana, keep monitoring Halbridge's phones and assets."
"There are plenty of places to plant a bug in his house," he informed his handler but got a stern eye in return. "If you want to go that way."
"You're playing with guns," Peter said. "I'm not letting you back in there."
He knew Peter was just concerned about his safety, but it was frustrating.
"Just letting that simmer."
"What happens if he actually transfers the two mil to Mr. Black?" Jones asked.
"It'll be a good day for Mr. Black," Neal said, wishing that he somehow could see the real Mr. Black's face.
"I've got a team watching Ridgemont," Peter said. "If Halbridge makes a move, we'll figure out what's so important in there." The funny thing was that they still did not have a clue.
