Chapter 11

Peter remained petrified. Neal was used to police raids. He knew that it was useless to resist or to pretend that the house was empty. He opened the door after stating out loud they were unarmed. That did not prevent the cops from entering with their guns drown. Half of them were pointed towards Neal, who backed off a few steps, and the other half was aimed at Peter. Captain Lescaut came in after her men and saw the cork board on the wall.

"I see we catch you red handed, Mister Caffrey."

"It's not what you think." Neal replied.

"You're telling me you were not planning a heist at the Louvre?"

"OK, it's exactly what you think, but not for the reasons you believe."

Julie ignored him, she waved her team to grab both men. Neal and Peter were cuffed and put in the back of a police car, before being lead to the precinct. In the meantime, the cops started searching the mansion. Installed in a different interrogation room, the two of them could do nothing but wait.

For linguistic reasons, Detective Motta was the one to interrogate Peter. He took Lieutenant David Kaplan with him, since he was also fluent in English.

"Who are you really? No FBI agent would be part of such an operation."

"My name is Peter Burke. I'm head of the White Collar division of the West Coast of the United States. I work at the DC office. My ID is in my jacket in Mister Caffrey's house. If you had asked earlier, it would have saved us some time and trouble."

Peter hid his nervousness behind a very professional aggressiveness. After all, he wasn't used to being on this side of the interrogation. He knew that the cops kept them separated so that one of them would turn on his supposed accomplice. That technique was called the prisoner's dilemma. The agent told himself that Neal would be more capable of putting across the situation and their plan. He needed to buy him enough time to work his charms.

In front of him, both cops shared a knowing look.

"We found your ID, and we called your office. Your boss told us you took a couple of days off to help an old friend."

Peter thanked God for having gone with a lie not too far from the truth.

"Yes, exactly. Agent Berrigan called me to help her with the case. I came as fast as I could."

"To help Interpol or to help Caffrey?"

Peter swore silently. He chose to keep his mouth shut. After all, he needed to buy some time. If Neal could not get them out of that situation, Diana perhaps would.

In the meantime, Neal was facing Captain Lescaut and her colleague Detective Zora Zaouida. The young woman kept silent, letting her boss ask the questions, and trying to read the con man's expressions. A very hard thing to do when he decided to hide his feelings.

"We already know you stole pieces of art in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Zurich. It would be reasonable to simply confess."

"I did not steal anything. At least nothing that is not covered by the status of limitation." Neal replied without losing countenance.

"With your prior, your mere presence at the crime scene will be enough to indict you."

"Once a con, always a con, is that it? If I had stolen those pieces, I would not be here. We would never have crossed path."

"How so?"

"Because I'm that good. Way too good for you."

Neal was not even bragging. He was telling a simple truth. Someone knocked on the door and a police officer handed a file over to Julie, who took a look before restarting the interrogation.

"We found forgeries at your place. This is a crime."

"Those are not forgeries, they're copies. It is not quite the same."

"You're playing with words." Zora intervened, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm stating a fact. A forgery is presented as being the real thing. A copy is just that: a reproduction of a masterpiece. I signed each painting with my own name. The signature is the first part an expert would verify. You did not call an expert, I guess?"

The cutting remark hit home. Julie was upset that her suspect underlined a breach in her investigation.

"Not yet, indeed." She replied. "Anyway, we caught you in the act of planning a heist at the Louvre. That's one thing you can't deny."

"You caught us in the act of wondering how the thief you're trying to arrest would attack the Louvre. It is not exactly the same."

"You like to play on the shades of meaning, Mister Caffrey."

Neal decided to play fair. After all, they would need the logistical support of the French police in order to catch the real culprit. And as he told Julie, all the crimes he may or may not have committed in France were covered by the status of limitation, he did not risk anything. That was one of the reasons why he chose France after his alleged death.

"Your thief committed crimes I could commit. He chose pieces of art that touch me and that I probably would choose. He made sure to direct suspicions towards me and to burn my alias. I think that this is personal. He wanted all that to happen. He wanted me to sit here in front of you. Peter and I assumed that the best way to find whoever did that was to wonder what I would do if I were guilty."

The confession surprised the Captain. She did not expect a criminal with such wide experience at being interrogated to admit to anything so fast. But in truth, the declaration did not really hold the confession of any crime. He only acknowledged to planning a heist that had not taken place yet.

"Fine. Let's imagine that I would believe you. You chose a Museum and a piece. That does not tell us when the theft will occur."

"I think that our man will keep the same rhythm, which means a heist every 5 to 6 weeks. I imagine the timing is a little short until October 2d. I'd lean more towards November 6th. But on the other hand, October is the first free admittance day in six months, so there will be a lot of people."

The Captain and the Detective shared a look. They were impressed by the demonstration. It meant they had a little over a month at best, but maybe only a couple of days to catch the thief, if Neal Caffrey was right.

"And what do you suggest?" Julie asked.

"Whatever date he chose, our thief won't be able to strike without doing some recon first. The best thing we can do is keep an eye on the Museum and try to spot the man."

"And you'd like to take part of the surveillance, I suppose?"

A nostalgic smile appeared on Neal's face upon hearing the question. All those nights spent in the van with Diana and Jones, when he was turning them nuts playing with cuffs or a rubber ball.

"I think that we are your best chance."

Both women shared a look and left the room without a word.

The four cops met in the Captain's office. The conversation that followed was rough. Should they trust the two American or not?