Chapter 12

Even if it did not last very long, Neal felt like he waited forever. He was honest, something that was never his first impulse. By telling the truth, he hoped the two policewomen would trust him. Of course, his file did not speak for him. It contained an impressive list of lies and deceptions, and many alleged theft that would make anyone see him as guilty. When the door finally opened, the con man's heart twinged. He was relieved to see Peter, surrounded by two cops in uniform. They came in and uncuffed him before leaving. Peter and Neal were left alone.

Both kept silent for a while, observing each other.

"What did you say?" Peter asked.

"The truth."

"Telling the police the truth, that's never been your first impulse."

"It seems that you have a terrible influence on me."

They knew they were being watched, but did talk about it.

"Do you think we'll catch him?"

"I mainly think we don't have much of a choice. If we don't bust him, I'm going to end up in jail. He made me the perfect culprit."

Peter digested his friend's words. He did not try to contradict him, because deep down, he knew that he was right.

"He's good, but together, we're better." He simply said.

The door opened. The four cops came in. Kaplan and Zora did not smile. They did not trust the two men, but their boss, with Motta's support, decided otherwise.

"OK. What is your plan to catch that mysterious thief?"

"Patience and observation. He is going to come during opening hour to stake the place. He probably already did."

At that exact time, Diana bust into the precinct. The young woman had tried to reach her two friends since the morning, without success. She went back to Neal's to find that the place had been searched to the bottom. She came to help her team as fast as she could. She stopped dead on the doorstep, not knowing how to grasp what she saw. Neal got her his most innocent smile.

"Something's wrong, Diana?"

"I… What's going on here?"

"Oh! Nothing serious. The French police agreed to help guard the Louvre and catch our thief."

"Actually, you're going to help us catch OUR thief." Captain Lescaut replied.

"I'm not the only one who likes to play with the shades of meaning." Neal smiled.

Diana nearly asked how they got there, but decided against it. Instead, she jumped right on the news that worried her since the morning.

"Neal, your name appeared on Interpol's radar. I don't know how, but if the Pink Panthers find out about it, you and a lot of other people are in great danger."

"Elisabeth!"

"And Jones. And Mozzie. And June. We need to warn them at least."

Neal shivered. That was exactly what he had dreaded. Diana was so stressed that she spoke in English. Only two cops understood what was going on. They translated for their colleagues. Julie realized that Motta's researches had not gone unnoticed.

"How can we help?" She asked.

"We need to call them as soon as possible."

He looked at Peter. "How do you think El will take the news?"

"She's gonna be happy at first, and then she'll want to kill us both for lying to her."

"Diana, can you call Jones? Peter will call his wife and I'll take care of June."

"Does she…"

"… Know that I'm alive? I didn't tell her, but she might have her doubts." Neal turned to the Captain. "We need our phones so we can warn them, that would be nice."

"I'm sorry that we put you in danger." Julie was contrite.

"You were just doing your job."

The phone calls did not take long. June suspected that her former tenant was alive. The care with which he said goodbye awoke her suspicion. She was glad to have the confirmation that he was well. The old lady swore to be careful. She would hire a new butler with special skills.

Jones was more surprised by the news. In charge of the New York White collar division, he took Peter's job when his former boss decided to go to Washington. He missed Neal even if he would never admit it to anyone. At the end of the conversation, he could not help but ask if there were any hope that the con man would become a CI again. Diana doubted that a tracking anklet would sound nice to Neal.

"We could hire him as a free man, he is so good at what he does." Clinton dreamed out loud.

Diana hung up laughing. She promised she would convey the proposition to the young man.

Elisabeth was the only call left to make. When Peter had her on the line, he did not know how to begin. The silence on the line made his wife imagine a disaster.

"Honey, you're OK?"

"I have something to tell you, I just don't know how."

"Are you hurt? Did something happen to you? Are Diana and Theo alright?"

She shot questions one after the other. Panic started to sound in her voice. Neal, who was done talking to June, decided he was the one who should tell her his secret. He softly took the phone from Peter's hand.

"Hi, El."

She gasped.

"Neal, is that you? Is that really you?"

"The one and only."

"Oh my God. I can't believe it. You're alive, it's great. And you're a monster. How could you? Peter was devastated. I thought he would never overcome your death. And Mozzie. You know he disappeared months ago?"

"I know and I'm sorry. Peter will tell you everything when he comes home. What you need to know is that the Pink Panthers might find out that I'm alive. If it is the case, you are in danger. Is there a place you can go?"

"Well, I…"

Peter reclaimed his phone.

"You've always dreamed of visiting Paris. Why don't you and Neal come here? So you can see him for yourself."

"I… OK. I'll get ready."

Neal signaled his friend that he would get the journey organized.

"My godson deserves first class tickets." He muttered.

"You realized that first class or not, she's going to strangle you when she gets here."

"Just like she's going to strangle you when she understands that I left you enough clues to figure out I was alive and in Paris."

Captain Lescaut chose that time to interrupt.

"It is more than time to organize the Louvre's stakeout, don't you think?"