White Collar - as an unofficial novel - part 5

Tracking data

Peter stared at the papers spread out on his dining-room table. He did not like what he saw.

El got home.

"Hey." She saw the paper bag and thermos. "You got a stakeout?"

She bounced down on the nearest chair by the table.

"Yep. Deviled ham."

"You're either gonna torture Neal with it, or you're going alone."

"We'll see," he mumbled. This would be no ordinary stakeout. El picked the mood at once.

"What's going on?"

"Look." He showed her the map that he had been sketching on to find a pattern.

"Neal's tracking data," she said. "What's he up to now?"

"Nothing. Yet." But the kid had moved in an odd way and that meant something. "He spent 45 minutes on the corner of Kenmare and Lafayette last night."

"But honey, He can walk freely for a two-mile radius. Right?"

"Yeah, but it's the way he was walking. Look. He stands at every corner around this parking garage for exactly two minutes. He walks each street leading away from this point and then back again."

Neal knew he was monitored. From the beginning, Peter had noticed that Neal did his best to not have a regular pattern. But after a time Peter had learned the pattern of someone trying to not have a pattern. Never, ever had he walked like this.

"What do you think he was doing?"

"I think he was casing the area. How many people are around, where are there cameras. Looking for an escape in case he needs one."

"What is he planning?"

"I think he's gonna steal the music box."

"On a street corner?" El asked, perplexed.

"Working theory." Peter had no idea where this music box was but it was not in any museum.

"Well, have fun on your stakeout," she said, grabbed her phone and gave him a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you."

She left him for the kitchen and Peter stared at the maps. Parking garage? Exactly two minutes? When he had summarized the situation to El, the picture became clearer. No, Neal was not casing the area. He was pinpointing an area, drawing a treasure map with his tracking data.

But for who? For him? To see if he was watching and paying attention? The kid knew he was. Then who was the target? Jones too had access and the Marshals. And Garrett Fowler. Why would Neal draw this pattern for Fowler?

And did it have something to do with the music box?

Fowler, the music box, and Kate. They were connected somehow, he could not just pinpoint how. Why would Fowler hold Kate? Peter was quite sure that Kate was not held by anyone. But they might still play the same game. And this music box, why would they want it? What tune did it play? What secrets did it hold?

And how could he keep Neal from stealing it?

Neal waited in the underground parking garage under the corner of Kenmare and Lafayette. It was a few minutes after midnight. He heard a car arrive and stop. Doors slammed shut. Too many doors Neal noted. He had brought company.

"Fowler," he greeted the man when he turned the corner. "Oh. You brought a friend."

He knew the goon. The man had been around the office last time. For a horrible second, Neal thought they would arrest him for something they made up, but the goon just gestured for him to raise his arms.