White Collar: An unofficial novel - part 8

Eyes on the quarter

Peter knocked on the door. It did not take long before Sara opened.

"Peter? Nice to see you, come in." She let him inside. "What brings you here?"

Peter felt uncomfortable and he was pretty sure Sara noticed. He knew it was his duty as a federal agent and Neal's handler. But as Neal's friend, he was not as sure.

"The package," he began.

"Oh, that Caffrey stole?"

"The one you accused him of stealing, yes. May I ask what it contained?"

"Sure," she nodded, "it was a tape. With this Kate talking to someone, asking if your presence chanced the plans."

Peter frowned.

"May I listen to it?"

"You'll have to ask Caffrey then. I gave it to him." He stared at her. He did not see that coming. Sara shrugged. "What? He made a lot of trouble getting it, and I figured, he loved Kate, and, well, I had no use of the tape and did not want to get another burglar visit."

"You didn't consider handing it over to me?"

Sara smiled.

"No. I didn't."

"Do you know who she was talking to?"

"No, only her side of the conversation was on the tape."

Neal had not said a word about having the tape. He must have listened to it by now.

"You're sure she said something about me and change of plans?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Something like 'Peter Burke is here. Does this change the plan?' But Peter, you don't think Caffrey stole it from me?"

"I think I know who did."

"Why? Because Caffrey told you he didn't."

"I know this may sound crazy, but I trust him not to lie to me."

"Yeah, that's crazy. That man is a con-man. And he didn't tell you that I gave him the tape, obviously. Do you still trust him?"

"I do. I've never caught him lying to me, Sara. That doesn't mean that he always tells me everything. And I am fully aware of that, too."

Sara nodded to that.

"What's it like?" she asked. "Working with a criminal? What's Caffrey like?"

"He's smart, competent, reliable when it comes to the work. He's a valuable member of the team."

"So, he'll be sticking around for a while?"

"For three years," Peter grinned. "If the kid doesn't do something stupid."

They said their goodbyes and Peter was on his way. So Neal had not told him about the tape. Should he confront the kid? He knew Neal probably did not mean to keep him out of it but did not trust the Bureau as such enough. Not since Fowler, at least. And telling Peter probably meant telling the Bureau. They had had this conversation before, and Neal had promised to... what had the kid promised? Neal did not make promises lightly.

It was the case with Judge Clark. The kid had promised to do his best to keep it in mind, and that included cases they worked on. This was not a case, it was not the job.

Peter did not want a desperate con-man on his hands. That would probably mean that the kid ended up in prison. But could he just allow Neal to continue as he did? He was a prison inmate for crying out loud.

Peter was talking, a lot, about a case he had solved a few years ago. It all sounded very trivial to Neal. It was even more annoying that his handler started the whole story when Neal had asked him if there had been any more challenging case than capturing him.