Art Theft 101

Chapter 1-4

“I like the ambiance but the décor leaves something to be desired,” I heard Ian say to Rob as we walked into the room. This was a room that only the most exploratory person would come upon. When you opened the door from the hall, all you saw was a storage closet, unless you ventured further in. Beyond the shelves to one side was a second door, although you wouldn’t know it was more than a blank wall if you didn’t see the slender notch three feet up, between it and the rest of the closet wall. Pull there and the door opens into the hidden room. Rob says it was used as a hideaway by Lafitte and his men when necessary. I have no reason to disbelieve him.

“We’ll have to do something about that,” I said, pulling a chair away from the roughhewn wooden wall, spinning it around and sitting with my arms crossed over the back.

Liddy, being female, took possession of another chair and sat with her legs crossed at the ankles. Ian eyed her momentarily. “Definitely not business dress,” he said.

She laughed. “I could have worn my short shorts but I didn’t want to make Duff jealous.”

Duff just snorted, pulling a chair up beside her. He didn’t sit however. Just put his on foot on the seat—doing his macho male bit. Which, given that he was an alpha shifter, wasn’t too surprising.

With only one chair still vacant, Rob gestured to Ian to take in before leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Shall we get down to why we’re here?” I asked once Ian was seated. “You said, if I remember correctly, that Bryce told you something about us which interested you.”

Ian nodded, leaning back as he surveyed us. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but the four of you are retrieval experts.”

I smiled. “That’s one way to put it.”

“I’d like you to retrieve something for me. Not your usual type of…” He paused, taking something from his pocket. I immediately recognized it as a bug detector. “Do you mind?” he asked. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I believe in better safe than sorry.”

“Be our guest,” I replied. “Will it locate any listening or recording devices you might have on you as well?”

That gave Ian pause, then he smiled. “I suspect it would. It beeps when it finds anything at all.” He moved around the room, stopping by each of us in the process. At least he wasn’t brazen enough to ask us to stand so he could sweep it over our bodies. Finally he said, “I’m satisfied,” pocketed the detector, and retook his seat.

“That was…interesting,” Duff said sourly. “Any reason why you felt it was necessary? After all, I think we should be the ones who’d be worried. Not you.”

Ian tapped his lip. Apparently it was something he did while thinking about what to say next, as he’d done it while we were talking at the gallery. “I know you are able to steal paintings from art galleries. Not an easy task, as well secured as they are. Before you deny it, that’s why Bryce told me about you. You’ve done it for him a time or two and he and I share the same…shall we say ‘hobby’?”

“We’re not denying it. Neither,” I smiled, “will we confirm it.”

“Look. I’m not trying to entrap you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Ian replied. “I do need your services. Just not for that reason.”

“What makes you think we’d be interested?” Duff asked gruffly.

“The challenge? The objective? The reason I want you to retrieve the object in question?”

“You’re dancing around the issue.”

“Sorry. I am. All right. One of my employees, Karen Ogden, just went through a messy divorce. Her now ex-husband is a total bastard. When she won legal custody of their son, he grabbed the boy from the day-care center and vanished with him.”

“I take it she doesn’t know where they went,” Duff said.

“She has a good idea, and I agree with her. Steve, her ex, owns a hunting lodge in the Rockies. Not too far from Moose Mountain.”

“Never heard of it,” I said.

“It’s about a five hour drive out of Denver and you have to hike the last few miles to get to the lodge itself.”

“He did that with a child?”

“Yes, if we’re right about where he went. It’s the most logical place, in my estimation. Virtually unapproachable without his knowing and very well secured since he only goes there during hunting season. Nicky is only three so Steve could have used a…there’s a name for them that escapes me at the moment.”

“Child carrier backpack,” Liddy told him. “My brother-in-law has one for their daughter.”

“Thanks. Anyway, with one of those he’d have had no problem getting Nicky to the lodge. Steve is an experienced outdoors man.”

“Why haven’t the police been brought in on this?” I asked. “I mean, I’m presuming they haven’t been or you wouldn’t be talking to us.”

“Karen’s ex is a deputy superintendent with the NOPD.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s above the law,” Liddy protested. Ian c****d an eyebrow and she sighed. “Okay, I get the picture.”

“She should have filed kidnapping charges,” I said. “That would bring in the FBI, since if you’re right he’s taken the child across state lines.”

“To be honest, she’s terrified of what Steve might do to Nicky if she did. He never really seemed to care about his son, except as a way to use him to keep a tight rein on Karen.” Ian took a deep breath. “Would you be willing to find Nicky and bring him home?” Ian asked us. “I can afford to pay you whatever your fee would be.”

“If I may say something,” I replied, “this seems to be very personal for you. Is there a reason, other than that Karen’s an employee?”

“Yes, although not the way you’re probably thinking. She’s my niece. My sister is eighteen years older than me. I’m thirty-two, which,” Ian smiled dryly, “you probably know already. Karen was born when my sister was twenty-five.”

Rob chuckled. “A bit of nepotism, hiring Karen to work for you?”

“No,” Ian replied tartly. “A smart move. She’s very good at what she does. As are all the people on my staff.”

I glanced at my partners, seeing expressions varying from ‘we should help him’ to disbelief in Ian’s story. Interestingly enough, Rob was the naysayer. “Ian, why don’t you go down to the bar while we talk about this,” I suggested.

He nodded, seemed as if he was going to say something, and then with a shake of his head he left.

“So, boys and girls, what do you think?” I asked.

“If this Steve is as much of a bastard as Ian says, we should rescue Nicky before something bad does happen to him,” Liddy replied adamantly.

“That doesn’t stand to reason,” Rob protested. “The man is an officer of the law. He wouldn’t harm a child. Especially his own son, despite what Ian said. What if he took the boy to keep him safe from his mother? We only have Ian’s word that she’s the good person in all of this. Since she’s his niece, he has a very personal involvement, if you get what I’m saying.”

“You have a point, Rob,” Duff said. “However, we won’t know one way or the other until we’ve talked with Steve when we find him.”

“Who will lie through his teeth,” Liddy muttered.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“I…It’s just a feeling I guess. Since he is a cop, surely he’d know how to use the law to his advantage if he felt his wife, ex-wife, was a danger to Nicky.”

“You would think so,” I agreed. “Add to that the fact that the court awarded her custody of Nicky.”

“I vote we take a look at any court documents you can find on the divorce for starters, Philip,” Duff said. “That could tell us a lot.”

“All right. Until then, I’ll let Ian know we’re still considering his proposition.”

“One question,” Liddy said.

“Only one?” Duff asked, teasingly.

“Yes, smartass. Is this something we’re actually capable of doing?”

I nodded. “If we approach it the same way we do an art theft, with attention to every damned detail.”

“It will certainly be new and different,” Rob commented. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

I blew out a breath, looking at him. “Will you be able to come with us?”

He frowned, thinking. “If I could go as far as Galveston after I died, I don’t see why this would be all that different.”

“But that, at least according to what you’ve always told us, was because your dying words were, umm, ‘Ne serait-ce qu’il était possible de lutter à vos côtés toujours,’ if I remember correctly.”

“To follow Lafitte always.” Rob smiled sadly. “And I did until his death. Then I came to New Orleans because it’s where I died. I suppose now’s the time to find out if I’m finally old enough that I can go farther than Galveston or to the Barrier Islands, isn’t it?”

“We’ll have to plan on the contingency that you won’t be able to,” Duff said, sounding disheartened.

I looked at each one of them again. “It seems as if we want to do this.”

“Unless the divorce decree makes a liar out of Ian, we do,” Duff replied firmly. “There is a child involved.”

“We’re all in agreement?” Liddy and Rob both nodded. “Then let’s go home. I’ll take a minute to tell Ian we’ll let him know by morning what we’ve decided and then meet you there.”