Chapter 17
Neal spent the next couple of days locked in his art studio. He suggested that Peter should take his wife and son on a tour to visit Paris. The agent was not easily convinced. He wanted to help achieve the plan, but he could not make the con man change his mind.
"You can't be part of this." Neal told him for the thousandth time on Thursday night. "You said it yourself, if it goes wrong, I might end up in jail. There is no need to put you in danger. Elisabeth and your son need you."
"Neal, you can go through with your plan alone, it wouldn't work."
"I never asserted I would do it on my own." Neal smiled. "And you don't even know what I'm about to do. Take care of your family and let me plan the theft of the Century."
Peter sighed. He knew he was wasting his time arguing, but he was worried for his friend's safety. He was afraid to lose him again. Someone rang the bell. Neal opened the door and let Diana and her son Theo in. She came to babysit little Neal so that his parents and godfather could go out to a nice restaurant. She could tell from the moment she came through the door that the discussion had been heated.
"Everything's all right?" She asked.
"Everything's fine, except for the fact that Peter is still totally unable to trust me. It won't prevent us from spending a lovely evening."
The evening was lovely indeed. The three friends spoke about the good old days while sharing a delicious dinner. They could leave behind all their worries about the immediate future for the night.
Friday promised to be a beautiful day. Neal came to the breakfast table with an envelope he gave Elisabeth. She opened it with a side glance to her husband. It contained a reservation for the next three nights of the Sleeping Beauty Suite at the hotel within Eurodisney.
"I have two years' worth of gifts to catch up." Neal explained. "I decided to spoil you three a little."
"It rather looks like you're trying to get rid of us." Peter replied.
"Of course not. You'll be back on Sunday night, right on time for some action."
The con man smile looked sincere, but Peter did not believe a word he said. Elisabeth chose to take matters into her own hands.
"Honey, Neal is going to love Eurodisney. He is Donald's greatest fan. And we won't be very far anyway. You can be back here in no time if you need to. It's not as if Neal sent us on the other side of the earth."
The agent looked at his wife. He could feel she wanted for the three of them to be safe, even if it meant leaving his partner alone. He then turned his gaze to Neal, who gently nodded.
"Please, Peter."
"Fine, but you'd better not do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"Never, you know me."
The Burkes just walked out the front door when Mozzie came in thought the one in the back.
"Everything's ready on your end?" He asked.
"If you're referring to the copy, yes, it's ready. How about your end?"
"I found a way to connect to the security system at the Louvre. I will be able to control the cameras and the motion sensors, but not for very long. The codes are renewed after very short periods of time. You'll have to be very fast."
Neal ignored his friend warning.
"Tonight is the night."
WC*WC*WC
On Fridays, the Louvre stays open later. Visitors can roam around until 9:45 pm. Fifteen minutes before the doors close, they are asked to walk towards the exit. At 10 pm sharp, the museum closes its doors, and security turns to night mode, with cameras and motion sensors.
Neal did not enter the museum all day. He did not want to appear on the CCTV. He hid on the roof, as close as possible from his target to buy some time. Wearing black from head to foot, nothing except his feline gait could give his identity away. He carried a narrow tube on his back. Just when he checked his watch, he heard Mozzie's voice in his earbud.
"Showtime! The cameras in the Sully wing are disabled, and the motion sensors would not feel an elephant walking in."
Neal did not reply. He set off, moving fast towards his target, as focused as possible. He could not afford to linger. Every second counted. In less than two minutes, he was in front of Corot's painting. He took a moment to admire the master's work, before taking the tube off his back. It only took him an instant to swap the original with the copy he completed the previous day. He was putting the frame back on the wall when Mozzie spoke again.
"The cameras are back online. I still control the motion sensors, but it won't last."
Neal did not need being said twice. He fled using the same way he came in earlier and was soon back on the roof. He just hid when the alarm went off.
"Mission accomplished." He hissed.
"It was close." The little man replied. "We meet at your place."
WC*WC*WC
The news did not make it to the front page the next day, but it was still quite visible in the French newspapers. An alarm went off at the Louvre. The police intervened with full force, but did not find anything. In fact, it looked like a false alarm. The new system was triggered by an animal, the museum chief of security explained to the press. The masterpieces were safe.
Neal had a satisfied smile. The whole world thought that nothing happened at the Louvre the previous night, but the thief would know someone tried to double cross her, and that is what he was counting on. Mozzie put even more pressure by launching a 5 million Euro bid on the piece. A price much higher than the market. They just had to wait and see.
On Sunday morning, Neal was clean shaved and fully dressed when the museum opened its doors at 9 am. He wanted to be ready even if his opponent chose to strike when the first visitors entered the Louvre. The day was warm for the season. He took his Italian coffee maker and made a great dose of espresso. He needed to be patient.
The French police was keyed up. A lot of cops mingled with the crowd. They did not actually try to prevent the thief from taking action. They had to catch her red-handed, or they could only arrest her for attempted theft, which was not enough to please Captain Lescaut. Julie was very clear on the subject.
It was nearly 2 pm when a guard sounded the alarm. A piece just disappeared on the second floor of the Sully wing. The museum doors closed at once. About ten thousand visitors were locked inside. The cops were certain to find the culprit among them. They were wrong. The methodical search did not lead anywhere. Julie was in shock. The painting was gone. It meant that either Neal's plan did not work, or the con man used her to achieve his goal. She called her team to brief them.
"We have to go to Caffrey's place. He owes me an explanation." She said.
WC*WC*WC
Diana did not wait for the visitors to be searched. The painting's disappearance, and Neal's attitude over the last couple of days started her thinking. As soon as the theft was uncovered, she jumped in her car and drove to the con man's mansion. She also took care to call Peter, even so he was enjoying Eurodisney with his wife and kid. The agent promised to be there as soon as possible.
Diana did not wait for long. A half-hour after her arrival, a young lady came to Neal's place. She shot suspicious glances all around before entering the house, a tube in her hand.
"Neal, what did you do?" Diana breathed. She waited for a couple of minutes before exiting her car and moving closer to the house. She looked through the window and what she saw made her blood run cold. The young woman held Neal at gunpoint. With no second thoughts, the agent rushed inside.
WC*WC*WC
"Where is the original, Caffrey?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Miss…?"
"Don't treat me like an idiot. It was not a false alarm. You stole the painting on Friday and replaced it with a fake. Where is the original?"
The young woman coked her gun just when Diana entered the living room. Neal did not even look at her, his eyes were fixed on the weapon pointed at him. A weapon that moved from Neal to Diana and back.
"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot. I repeat my question, where is the painting?"
Diana knew that any sudden movement could cause a slaughter. She took a step back and put her gun on the floor.
"Miss Snell, we should talk calmly."
The woman gave the newcomer a surprised glance.
"How do you know my name? Who are you?"
"My name's Diana, I am a friend of Neal's."
"A friend? How can someone befriend a killer? He killed the man I loved."
Neal could not keep from responding.
"I've done a lot of things that I regret, but I never killed anyone."
"You lie! You used Matthew in order to disappear, and you killed him. You'll pay for that." She yelled and sobbed at the same time. "We were about to start a new life, but you ruined everything."
That was the moment Peter chose to come in.
"Ashley, listen to me"
"Peter, you shouldn't be here."
The agent ignored his friend.
"Neal told you the truth, he did not kill Keller. I'm the one who pulled the trigger."
Ashley directed her gun towards Peter. He knew that his only chance not to get shot was to keep talking. He'd been through enough similar situations to handle this one.
"Matthew took a hostage. A lady as young and beautiful as you. He threatened her with his weapon. He would probably have killed her if I had done nothing."
"You lie. Matthew was not a murderer. A thief, but not a killer. I can prove it. The heists I performed, they were his ideas. Plans that allowed to steal multiple million dollar pieces of art with no one getting hurt."
"Those were not his plans, but mine."
"I know you worked on this together, he told me so. But he did not want to work with you anymore. He said we'd do it together, that he would teach me. But you killed him."
Ashley was now bawling her eye out. She seemed on the verge of shooting. The sound of police sirens filled the house.
"Ashley, Keller was a murderer, a very dangerous man. He would have ended up hurting you, like he did to anyone close to him." Peter reasoned.
Julie's team invaded the ground floor, guns drawn. The FBI agent kept talking.
"You're not a killer. You can stop that before it's too late."
Ashley looked at the guns pointed at her with the eyes of a doe caught in the headlights of a fast running car. Neal knew that look. He'd been there.
"Ashley, you should lower your weapon." He said softly. "No one will hurt you and we will be able to talk quietly. OK?"
The con man moved slowly towards her. When he was only inches away, he put out his hand and took the gun from the young woman. He then gave it to Peter. The French cops apprehended the thief and took her to the precinct.