Everything Old is new Again

By Ldynwaiting

Chapter Seven

A Suit by any other name

Albert shook his head in wonder as he regarded Neal's Degas painting. "It's beautiful, Neal. Father would have been so proud of you." He handed Neal two sheets of paper. One was an email, the other was a printed photo of the Degas painting. As Neal read the email, Albert babbled like a child. "I sent this to all our old and hopefully new clients to announce that we're back in business." He pointed to the last line, "I got that one from you."

Neal angrily looked at Albert, "Le Maitre Peintre?"

"Yes, I had to give you a new name that would have a connection to father. To appeal to our old clientele. You are now, The Master Painter. I've already received some wonderful bites." Albert was practically jumping for joy. He spun his cane in front of him. "I even received our very first order this morning. He's from Los Angeles, he said he saw a Renoir in the Chicago art museum. It has two…"

"Sisters," Neal finished for him. He knew the painting well. "It's an oil on canvas. Renoir painted it in 1881. It was later given the name, Two sisters on terrace."

Albert half grinned, "Yes, I guess you know it then. Anyway, he's an old client of my father. He say's if it's the same quality that he's received before, he's given us an offer of $250,000. The old man just loves spending his money, and I'm very happy to take it." Neal saw Albert's greedy eyes light up as he realized his first painting could give them a quarter of a million dollars.

Neal struggled to keep his anger inside. They would be selling his paintings and keeping the money for themselves. For now, he needed a way to tone down that anger. The only way that he found to do that, was to paint. He held out his hand to Nolano. "I assume you have photos of the painting." In all his time here, it was Nolano's job to help Peintre research his paintings. File cabinets filled with photos of hundreds of paintings sat in the back of the room.

Nolano pointed to a folder on a small table next to the easel. "You'll have all you need inside, Mr. Caffery. I also found some pigments that Peintre used when painting Renoir."

"Thank you, Nolano," Neal said. He walked towards the easel. Stopping in front of Albert he said, "Can I start right now, or do you need to wait for your sister's approval?"

Albert's brows angrily scowled. "I don't need her permission." He tapped his cane on the floor. "I want you to start right now." He couldn't wait to see their first finished product. This time it wasn't up to their father. This time he controlled what was being painted. The most important this time was that the money they received from the painting would be all theirs.

Neal would continue playing the 'who's-in-charge' game. He may be a captive here, but there was one thing that they would not be able to control, his mind. Picking up the folder, Neal began studying the photos. Nolano was thorough. He had one large photo of the painting, and several close ups. Neal was even able to see the brush strokes on the painting.

"It's going to take me two full days to do this painting," Neal said. Turning he asked Albert, "Anything else?"

"Uh, no," Albert said. Dismissively waving his hand he said, "That will be all. You can, um, start painting, and be quick about it. But remember your promise."

"I will, I'll create a perfect copy," Neil said. "Just remember yours, nothing happens to my friends. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with two sisters."

"Yes, go right to work then." Albert wore a prideful grin. He fixed it! After Sullivan's fiasco he was the one that suggested that they should get Neal. Only he would be able to create paintings of the same caliber as their father. He was the one that put them back on track. "Keep an eye on him, Nolano."

"As you say, sir. I'll stay with him."

Neal watched Albert leave the room. Little by little he would plant things in Albert's and Lilith's mind that he hoped would grow to the point that there would be an all-out war between the siblings. For now, he needed to keep up appearances. He had to create a perfect forgery.

Once Albert was gone, Nolano saw Neal studying the photos. It was as if he was looking at Peintre. He saw the same concentration, determination. They were so much alike. He hated what Albert and Lilith did, but in a way, he was happy that Neal was back. It was as if his old master had returned. Sitting on a chair, he waited to anticipate what Neal needed. The black hole in his heart was finally gone. He happily watched another true artist at work.

Peter quickly led Diana and Jones to the local coffee shop. It was located at the end of the block. At ten minutes until noon the lunch crowd wasn't out yet. Entering the shop, they could see it was half full.

Peter searched for a bald head. He was surprised to see something that Neal only told him about. He saw Mozzie wearing a fedora and a goatee.

Diana had to stifle a laugh, Jones didn't even try. As they sat in the booth with Mozz, Jones pointed to his chin. "Hey, Mozz. I think you got something there on your chin."

Mozzie angrily crossed his arms. "Ha, ha, very funny, junior Suit. Guess you failed incognito class."

"Mozz," Peter said. "Why the disguise and clandestine meeting?"

Mozzie leaned forward, looking around he softly said, "I heard Kramer was in town. I didn't want him picking me up and try to make me snitch on where Neal is."

"Do you know where he is?" Peter anxiously asked.

"No," Mozzie angrily snapped as he sat back. "But Kramer's a prehistoric Suit, he won't take no for an answer."

"Don't worry, Mozz. Right now, he's focused on looking for Neal outside New York. You're safe, for now. What do you have? How can you be so sure Neal did not run?"

Glancing around, Mozzie pulled an envelope from his pocket. "After you called me last night, I sent out feelers to everyone I know. I received a suspicious email this morning. At first, I wasn't going to open it, it had an anonymous email address."

"Who was it from?" Diana asked.

"Anonymous."

"Very scary," Jones said.

"It could have had a virus," Mozzie countered. "But they don't scare me. I have the best anti-virus software in the business. I created it of course."

Diana and Jones rolled their eyes as they said, "Of course."

"Anyway, nothing happened when I opened it. Once I read it, I printed it out and headed to the coffee shop."

"What did it say?" Diana asked.

"You'll find out, Lady Suit." Mozzie handed Peter the envelope. "Go ahead, read it, Suit."

Peter opened the envelope. He saw two papers inside. The first one was an email message. The second one made him react in a way that made Diana and Jones ask, "What is it?"

Peter showed them what was printed on the paper. They were surprised to see a photo of a painting with two ladies dressed in dancing gowns.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jones said.

"That's Neal's painting. The one stolen from Washington," Mozzie said.

"How did you know it was stolen?" Peter asked Mozzie.

Mozzie tapped his forehead. "My special con man sixth sense."

"Mozzie, why did you get a photo of the painting in an email?" Diana asked.

"This is the part where Neal is exonerated," Mozzie said. "Read the letter, Suit,".

Peter began reading the email. "It seems to be a form letter. It's announcing that Le Peintre has resumed business. Requests for paintings are recommencing as of the sending of this email. It states that they are now going by a new name, Le Maitre Peintre."

"That's French for the Master painter," Mozzie said.

"The photo of the painting enclosed, I can't believe it." Peter said. "It says the photo is an example of the quality and perfection of the new painter. Bids will be taken for Degas' Entrance of the masked dancers. They guarantee the painting they receive to be so close to the genuine painting that even the original artist will not be able to tell the difference."

Peter fisted the letter. "You know what this means?"

"I told you, Suit," Mozzie said. "Neal didn't run, now we know what happened to him."

"But Peintre stopped painting years ago," Diana said.

"Apparently they're back in business," Mozzie said. "Someone who's associated with Peintre must have taken Neal and is using him to sell paintings. Neal would never have done this willingly, they have to be forcing him to make the paintings for them."

"But who, Mozz?" Peter asked. His mind was going a mile a minute. He had no idea how he was going to find Neal now. "Whoever grabbed him took a big risk in the middle of an FBI sting."

"Every con man knows how to use a crowd to make a get away," Mozz said.

"I think we need to ask another question," Diana said. "How is Sullivan connected to what happened to Neal?"

"Sullivan?" Mozzie asked. "Is that the Neanderthal Suit that's retiring?"

"Okay, Mozz," Peter said. "How the hell do you know that, as well as the painting being stolen?"

"I told you, Suit. My special con man sixth sense," Mozzie said. When he saw Peter was ready to strangle him, he quickly said, "Okay, Neal told me on the way to the con."

"Sting," Peter corrected him.

"Semantics," Mozzie said. "A sting by any other name is still a con. Ask Robert Redford."

"We'll have the DNA results on Neal's hat tomorrow morning, that will help us make a connection to Sullivan," Jones offered. As soon as he mentioned Neal's hat, he saw Peter throw him a look that he swore he saw daggers come out of his eyes.

"There's DNA on Neal's hat?" Mozzie asked. "You never mentioned that. Do you think it's from this Sullivan guy?"

"It WAS strictly a need to know, Mozzie." Peter said.

Now Mozzie was mad. "Look, Suit! Neal's been kidnapped and taken God knows where. I'm helping you find him because he's my best friend. You really think I didn't need to know?"

"Mozzie," Peter tiredly sighed. From the fear and concern he could hear in his voice, he could tell that Mozzie was taking this hard. "This could end up being extremely dangerous for you. Sullivan works for Kramer. We have to be careful, we need to walk on glass sitting on eggshells."

"I walked on glass one time," Mozzie proudly declared. "Actually, it was more of a run."

"I don't doubt that," Peter said. "Look, you can't do much for Neal if Kramer knows you're helping us. I kept you out of the loop for your own safety."

Mozzie stood up. "I have loops of my own you know. Ones I could keep you out of."

"Please, Mozzie," Peter pleaded with him. He gently touched his arm. "We need you, Neal needs you. We can't do this without your help. I promise, no more secrets. Doing this together will be the only way we can find him." He looked up at him. He knew he could not find Neal without Mozzie's help. "He's my friend too."

Silently nodding his head, Mozzie sat down. "Okay, everything on the table then."

Peter nodded his head, "On the table." He showed the message to Mozzie. "First, we have to find out where this email came from. Please, I need your expertise. Neal said you're the best at what you do." Peter's voice went down as he said, "Still not sure exactly what that is, but whatever it is, apparently you're the best."

Mozzie wagged his finger at Peter, "I'm like an old mystery novel, Suit. You never know what I'm up to until the end of the book. And that's something that hasn't been written yet."

"Fine," Peter said. "You're a mystery in a mystery. Now can you tell us what you know about Le Peintre? Neal only recently mentioned him. I didn't even know he knew him."

Mozzie had to think. "He doesn't really talk about him that much. He told me that he was the man that showed him how to paint like the old masters. He stayed with him for nearly two years. I have no idea where he lived. I do remember Neal saying that he experienced Déjà vu when Peintre told him where he lived."

"Déjà vu," Diana said. "That means he's been there before."

"He told me he grew up in WITSEC with Ellen," Peter said. "He would have been moved around while under their protection."

"When we get back," Jones said. "I'll get in touch with WITSEC and see if they can give me a list of places he lived while in their program."

"Even if you do find it," Mozzie said. "Neal told me that Peintre kept the location of his home a closely guarded secret. The last time Neal talked about Peintre was about a year ago. He told me that Peintre died. He took it pretty hard, he said he was like a father to him. He never talked about him after that."

Mozzie stared at the email. "I may be able to find out where the email was sent, but it could be piggy backed from a dozen locations. I'm not promising anything." Looking determined, Mozz said, "But it's not going to stop me from trying."

"Don't, Mozz, I promise neither will we," Peter said. "You keep it up on your end. Try every contact you have, there has to be someone out there that knows something more about Peintre. We'll keep working on our end."

Mozz stood up, he pulled the brim on his hat down. "I'll try my best, Suit. Whoever has him better be treating him good. Or they'll have me to answer to." Mozzie grimly smiled, "Don't worry, Suit. With me on the case, we'll find him." They saw a flash of sadness in his eyes, then it was gone. "I'll keep in touch, Gondorff."

"Thanks, Hooker," Peter said, with a grin.

Getting a confused look from Jones, Mozzie said, "The Sting. Rent a movie sometime that doesn't have heavy breathing in it, junior Suit," Mozz grumbled as he walked out of the coffee shop. He hurried back home, he had to find out who sent him that email. Neal's life may depend on it.