Scotch on the Rocks

Chapter 6: Teamwork

Scotland. Sunday, May 27, 2007.

Neal twisted the extra button at the bottom of his shirt placket.  Time to call for reinforcements. He'd only gotten a brief look at the painting in the small sitting room, but he was sure it was the Renoir. And even if it wasn't, he had no desire to star with Sara in a modern version of Kidnapped.

John trusted Neal's instincts. Ever since they arrived at the site, Neal had reported in at regular intervals. John would be on one of the helicopters once Neal gave the word.

As expected, Woodman had confiscated their cell phones, but Travis had equipped him and Sara with electronic devices concealed in shirt buttons to send out a fractal signal. After a couple of twists of the button, the cavalry would be on its way. The recordings on Neal and Sara's watches would provide more than enough evidence of Woodman's intentions.

Now it was simply a waiting game. Neal should soon hear the choppers. He plopped on the twin bed and forced himself to relax.

Sara would have to wait for her initiation into being a cat burglar. The guards in the hallway and grills on the windows prevented them from casing out the mansion as they'd hoped. It was a gamble now as to how much John and his team would find. But Neal was feeling lucky.

* * * * *

And his hunch paid off. When Hobhouse swarmed in with Scottish agents, Woodman didn't put up a struggle. Neal was forced to imagine the look of surprise on the mobster's face when Hobhouse correctly identified the rooms Neal and Sara were confined in. Their fractal buttons led him straight to them.

The results from the search exceeded Neal's expectations. In addition to the Renoir, John's team discovered a Van Gogh original of sunflowers and a still life by Cezanne on the walls. The sunflowers painting had been stolen from a museum in Munich. The Cezanne came from a museum in Brussels. Both of the paintings in the museums were later confirmed to be forgeries. They'd been marked with the identical pinprick design and invisible ink message.

Woodman also had in his possession the McNally Solitaire. It was in the same safe containing the escudos. As expected, Woodman claimed he didn't realize the paintings and ring were originals. But he couldn't wiggle out of the unlawful imprisonment and attempted extortion charges. Win-Win's bonus fee for the recovery of the paintings and ring would be substantial.

Neal and Sara reported back to work after the Memorial Day weekend. The ring was a topic of conversation when he met with Henry and Peter in Henry's office.

"I'm convinced Phoenix was behind the theft," Neal said. "But I doubt Woodman will ever reveal how he obtained it."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Peter countered. "We may have more leverage than you realize. We discovered that Buzek's bank accounts are being drawn down like those of the Austrian who'd hoped to cash in on the Mona Lisa. The Bureau's trying to use the discovery as leverage to get Buzek to crack. Woodman could have the same issue."

"By itself, the Austrian case didn't prove a larger conspiracy," Henry said. "But now we can claim a pattern. Someone is using mobsters as their piggy bank."

Neal was fascinated by the implications. "The funds to purchase the paintings were probably wired to Phoenix and then somehow he used the routing information to access their accounts."

Peter nodded. "That's what we believe, meaning that Phoenix is connected to a sophisticated hacker group. I've alerted John. He'll have Woodman's financial records forwarded to Jones. He and Anna are working with Aidan's company on the analysis."

"Peter and I discussed the McNally Solitaire," Henry said. "It's likely the canary in a coal mine of a much larger issue. You spotted the forgery because you'd previously studied the piece. How many other jewels in museums have also been replaced? The similarity to art masterpieces can't be ignored."