A Brilliant Plan

Chapter 22

                  

RON CALLED ME at the store around five.

"Found your murderer yet?" I asked him.

"No, but we got a possible lead on the wizard who opened the safe," he said.

"The FBI was of use then?"

He gave a soft laugh. "Not exactly. It was your idea with the San Diego home connection. The list of specialists shrank to two names and then after rechecks down to one. A Norwegian guy named Hans Polter... "

"Sounds like the Scandinavian version of Harry Potter."

"Actually, he was naturalized a few years ago, came to the US with his parents when he was ten years old. He's 28 now, used to live in L.A. and the Silicon Valley area. Worked for various software companies."

"Let me guess, his parents live in San Diego."

"Well, close enough. Parents got divorced five years ago, his mother lives in Carlsbad, about 45 minutes drive from San Diego. According to her, Hans had a night out with friends on the night of the break-in."

"You are on to him?"

"Problem is, he seems to have vanished. His mother hasn't seen him since last weekend, his apartment in Pacific Palisades is empty, and he hasn't shown up for work."

"Pacific Palisades? Posh crib for a hacker," I remarked.

"He works for a movie special effects company in the Valley, makes decent money."

I stretched myself behind my workbench and pushed some gold specks into a little expensive heap with my little finger. "What about Altward and Faulkner? Do they know our hacker?"

"I haven't decided whether to ask them yet or not. If they are involved, they would deny it anyhow. I don't want to stir up things before I have the chance to talk to that guy or crosscheck phone records."

I chewed on my lip, tapping my fingernails on the receiver. "Don't you think it strange that Harry Potter... "

"Polter, Harry, silly, Hans Polter... " Ron tried to correct me.

"Hans Polter uses his spare time to break into a jewelry store when he has such a nice well paying job."

"That is one of the things that make my cases so interesting. Nothing is ever what it seems. People have strange hobbies."

Was that a stab at me? And the thought stopped me from telling him about the Maximilian Set right away.

Mundy visited me at the store after work. He always made a small circle around Mrs. Otis who scared him and he came walking backwards into the workshop.

Finally turning to me, he asked. "I am here. What is so important?"

I closed the door to the showroom, put the Benito papers down in front of him, and started my tale. "I bet you a night in Paris that this is what the burglary is all about."

"Should this be my lucky day?" Mundy started reading, his jaw working some imaginary chewing gum. "The Maximilian Set. Unknown artist or artists, presumably Native Americans, educated in Europe or by Europeans. Presented to Maximilian as a gift at his Mexican coronation as Emperor. Ten pieces. Particular design."

"Benito's word was 'spectacular,'" I added.

Mundy held up his hand, continued to skim the papers while I picked up my work, my mind not really into it.

"I must say, this looks convincing to my investigative eye." Mundy carefully stacked the papers and put them back on my desk.

"This is what Thomas Cornelius is looking for!"