Quick & Dirty

56

Arthur Steele was sitting at his desk, going over the final draft of the Steele Group’s annual report, which was to go to press in an hour. The phone rang.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Steele, there’s a man on line two who is demanding to speak to you.”

“What does he want?”

“He wants to know if you want your picture back.”

Steele was about to ask what picture when he stopped himself. “I’ll take the call. What’s his name?”

“Sol Fineman.”

The name was vaguely familiar, and he picked up the phone. “This is Arthur Steele.”

“Mr. Steele, this is Sol Fineman. I used to work for a man named Sam Spain, now deceased.”

“That name is familiar to me.”

“First of all, I should save you some time by telling you that you can’t trace this call or my location.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to give you back the van Gogh you insured.”

“Oh, really? How do I know you’ve got it?”

“I’ll have it delivered to you, and you will have three minutes to inspect it, and if you find it to be genuine, then you’ll give the man who delivered it five million dollars in hundred-dollar bills.”

“Oh, I will?”

“Mr. Steele, you’ve already fucked this up once. This is your last chance to save tens of millions of dollars.”

Steele didn’t speak for a moment.

“I was there when you told Sam Spain to go fuck himself,” Fineman said. “You can tell me that, if you like, and neither you nor your client will ever see the picture again. I’ll have to destroy it — it’s too hot.”

“How do you want to do this?” Arthur asked.

“There’s a luggage shop near your office, at Park Avenue and Fifty-sixth Street.”

“I know the place.”

“When you hang up, go there and buy a large black aluminum suitcase, made by Zero Halliburton. Buy the largest one available on wheels. It’s about five hundred dollars.”

“Then what?”

“Take it back to your office and put the five million, in bundles of ten thousand each, into the suitcase. That’s how it comes from the bank. Follow the directions that come with the luggage and set the two combination locks to eight-six-nine. Got it?”

“Yes. I have the cash in my vault as we speak. When do you want to do this?”

“In two hours.”

“I guess I can do that.”

“A FedEx delivery man will call at your office and tell your people that he has a delivery that must be signed for by you, personally. You will allow him into your office alone. He will give you a package containing the picture and wait three minutes for you and you alone to examine it, so if you need any inspection equipment you’d better get it now.”

“I see.”

“While you’re examining the picture, he will open the suitcase using the code eight-six-nine and count the money. When the three minutes is up, he will depart your office with the money.”

“What if I need more time?”

“Mr. Steele, you have an eight-by-ten transparency of the painting. You can compare it to that, and you will know that the picture is the one you previously had authenticated. If you feel it’s not the same picture, return it to the deliveryman. He will leave with it, and our business will be done, once and for all. Neither you nor your client will ever see the van Gogh again.”

“I understand, and I accept your conditions.”

“I haven’t told you all of my conditions yet.”

“Go ahead.”

“Now comes the unpleasant part: The deliveryman will carry a small explosive device. If you involve the police, your corporate security people, or anyone else who attempts to disrupt this process, the picture will be destroyed by the deliveryman, who will also take a few seconds to end your life. If you stick to my conditions and allow the man to leave with the money, unhindered and not followed, he will disarm the device remotely, fifteen minutes after he leaves your office. You will get a phone call telling you that it is safe. Do you understand these terms?”

“I do.”

“Do you agree to them?”

“I agree.”

“Good. If you keep your word, you will be able to report to your board of directors that the picture has been recovered and returned to the policyholder. They will be very pleased with the terms under which you resolved the problem. The alternative will, I assure you, be unbearable to all concerned.” Fineman hung up.

Arthur Steele immediately used his cell phone to call Stone Barrington.

“Hello, Arthur.”

“Stone, there have been developments with regard to the van Gogh.”

“Oh?”

“I just got a phone call from someone named Sol Fineman. Do you know that name?”

“I do. He’s the man who put me in the hospital a few days ago.”

“Let me tell you what he proposed.” He related the phone conversation to Stone. “What is your advice?”

“Arthur, do you still intend to pay me the twelve-million-dollar recovery fee?”

“Stone, if I get it back this way, then you won’t have recovered it.”

“Think it through, Arthur. This recovery will not have taken place, except for my participation.”

“I don’t see it that way, Stone.”

“In that case, I have no advice to offer you.” Stone hung up.

Arthur panicked and called Stone again.

“Yes, Arthur?”

“All right, I agree to pay you the twelve-million-dollar fee if I recover the picture today.”

“In that case, here is my advice. Follow Sol Fineman’s instructions to the letter. Do not attempt to apprehend him or deny him the five-million-dollar payment or inhibit him in any way. Do not report this to the police or your corporate security, and do not have him followed. Do you understand my advice?”

“Stone, you want me just to hand over millions of dollars to this guy?”

“I thought I had made myself perfectly clear. You are in a very dangerous position, Arthur. If you attempt to obstruct this exchange, the whole thing will blow up in your face, perhaps literally, and you will have to face the board and tell them exactly how you blew the opportunity to recover the picture for less than ten percent of its value, and how you are, as a result, going to have to pay your client sixty million for her loss. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Stone,” Steele said resignedly.

“Then I compliment you on your perspicacity, and I wish you every success in recovering a precious artwork.” Stone hung up.

Arthur Steele sat there sweating for a moment, then he got up and headed for the luggage shop.