A World Without Secrets (12 page)

Kovacs used even more care in replacing the rolled painting into the container as the police captain used his radio and issued orders to move in. I assumed that cars had been waiting for dispatch orders to pick up the thieves if the paintings had been found.

* * *

Back at the police station, the wives of the three museum guards were put into a holding cage. One was crying uncontrollably as the others steadfastly stared at the floor, but I had already verified their identities from using the gizmo.

As we stood alone in the corridor outside Captain Stinburn's office, DeRosa asked, "Mr. James, what put you on the track?"

I had prepared myself for that question as well. "The picture frames were removed from the wall. Time is critical in an operation like that one. Professional thieves would have simply cut the pictures from the frames using razor knives on telescoping wands. Taking them down first just didn't make sense. I decided that the main reason had to be because the thieves didn't have access to the proper equipment. That ruled out professionals. Having telescoping wand knives custom made without criminal contacts could have pointed a finger at one of the women. They could have tried to make something themselves from materials available through an office supply store, and if they had succeeded, I might have continued to assume it was the work of pros. But they either didn't try or didn't succeed. Tall males might possibly have been able to cut two of the pictures out with regular box cutters, so if the shorter frames had been left on the wall, I would not have tumbled to the thieves so quickly. Based on the height you mounted the paintings in the museum, I believed the thieves had to either be female or very short men.

"Then there was the issue of entry and exit. I believe your guards are totally innocent of the theft. I would guess they never knew, giving them the ability to pass polygraph tests 'with flying colors.' But their families have access to their keys while they're sleeping after arriving home at eight in the morning. It would be a simple matter to run out and have duplicate keys made and return the original before the guard woke up."

"But how could they have gotten the alarm codes?"

"I was in the computer field for many years. Almost everybody writes down their passwords someplace in case they forget them. I recall one instance where a person had written hers on the underside of her keyboard. At least one of your guards had to have written down his codes in case he forgot them. He probably kept them in his wallet instead of leaving them at work."

"How did they get past the cameras?"

"While I was at your museum last week, I was seen checking out the corners of the rooms. One of your guards asked me if I had lost something. What I'd been doing was checking out camera viewing angles. It's possible to get to the exhibit area by hugging the walls and waiting until the camera pans away. I would double the number of cameras and stop the ones that pan automatically."

"So they sneaked in using copies of our keys, hugged the wall to avoid the cameras, deactivated the alarms using the stolen codes, took down the paintings and cut them out of the frames, then retraced their steps to get out. But there was still the chance of getting spotted by one of their husbands."

"They knew the schedule for rounds, so the risk was minimal. You use a varying time schedule, but it's the same schedule every night for one full week. I suspect one of the wives managed to get that information from her husband. They had a lot of time to plan this and get it right. It was the score of a lifetime. I suspect the paintings would not have been sold until their retirement years. They were almost good enough to be considered professionals."

"How did you figure out where the paintings were hidden?"

"Once I thought I knew who had committed the crime, I only had to figure out where they felt would be a good hiding place. They couldn't keep them in their homes because they knew their husbands would be suspects and the police might find the artwork in a search, yet they needed a secure place where they could control the temperature and humidity. That left out most rental storage units since power isn't generally available. I did a property ownership search and discovered that the deceased aunt of one of the women had left her house to her niece, but a new deed had never been recorded, so it's still listed in the aunt's name on the property rolls. If an investigator had searched the rolls using the women's married names and maiden names, it wouldn't have flagged.

"I found that an electrical inspection had been made following new work in the basement a few years ago. The report mentioned work behind a false wall, erected ostensibly to hide plumbing lines.

"When I discovered the house was vacant, I contacted the rental agent named on the sign in the front window and told her I was interested in renting the house. During a tour of the house, she informed me that tenants would not be given access to the basement. That was logical because they couldn't risk having someone find the hidden artwork."

"Amazing. It all seems so simple and logical now that you explain it. They came close to getting away with it."

"They might have been caught when they tried to fence the paintings. There might even have been a falling out before then. What if one decided that she didn't want to wait for her husband to retire? There are a lot of ifs."

"I can't believe you solved it in just a week."

"Things just fell into place. I guess I was lucky."

"No, you're good. If fact, I'd have to rank you up there with the best. I'm amazed I've never heard of you before."

Just then Kovacs came out of the Police Captain's office. "Mr. James, it's time to go to the press conference."

"Press conference? I don't do press conferences."

"You have to. You solved this all by yourself. The press is going to want to see you."

"I don't want anything except the recovery fee. If I go to a press conference, they'll take my picture, and if people start to recognize my face, my effectiveness will be compromised. I can always use a phony name during my investigations, but I don't want to have to wear disguises."

"Okay, I see your point. No pictures. Wait here, we'll be back in less than an hour and then we can head for New York."

An hour later, we were on our way to the airport behind a four- motorcycle escort the police had provided for the protection of the artwork. Captain Stinburn had thanked me for the recovery and told me that his door was always open if I came back to Philadelphia. I was surprised since I was expecting the police captain to be upset that I had solved a crime where his detectives hadn't been able to make a single inroad.

Kovacs rented a private jet for the trip to Newark Airport to maintain security. Although the paintings were technically evidence, it was important that they be turned over to restoration experts before any further damage could be incurred and for authentication, so they were released to the insurance company.

As we waited for the plane to take off, I said, "So now you'll be vindicated with the Von Waggermanns. There's no way they can blame your security measures when it was an inside job, and you've recovered the paintings for them. Will you have trouble getting your money back?"

"That won't be a problem at all. Artwork normally appreciates in value each year, and these pieces were actually a bit underinsured at the time of the robbery. Since then, prices have risen substantially. If they don't want the art back, we'll sell it and recover enough to pay the claim
and
your fee, but I'm sure they'll want it. Money isn't a problem for them, and they love their collection.

"And yes, this recovery vindicates my approval of the alarm system at the museum. There's no way to protect against an inside job where all the alarms can be bypassed by people with keys and codes. Thanks again. You can pick up your check tomorrow once the artwork has been authenticated."

I chuckled. "I hope they stole originals because those are the paintings that were stolen."

"The paintings were authenticated when they were brought to the museum. We have the original frames in New York and we'll be able to match up the cut canvas if there's a question. Your mind works in a most peculiar way, if you don't mind my saying so."

I grinned. "I guess I've just become a lot more cynical during the past few years."

"Yes, working in criminal justice circles does that to you."

The plane was met in Newark by an armored truck. Kovacs wasn't taking any chances. I declined a ride in the back of the armored truck and grabbed a cab instead. It was amusing to think that a few weeks ago I would never have declined a free ride, no matter how uncomfortable. But now I was thinking of dinners out, theater tickets, and new cars. I would have to be careful not to fall into the trap of overspending.

The recovery of the paintings made the nightly news on all the network and cable channels. Kovacs had used my full name twice during the press conference, crediting me solely with the recovery. At least my picture didn't appear on the news and my address wasn't given out.

* * *

I stopped in to pick up my recovery fee the next day. I was anxious to hold it. How many people get to hold one point four million dollars of their own money in their hands?

The secretary smiled widely as I gave my name and she immediately buzzed Kovacs. "You may go right in, Mr. James," she said.

Kovacs was standing behind his desk, grinning from ear to ear also. "Come in, Colt. The paintings have been authenticated. I've already been in contact with the Von Waggermanns and they couldn't be happier. I hope you don't mind, but I gave them your home address. I think they want to send you a case of wine or something. They mentioned a small gratuity."

"I don't mind that, but I'd prefer you don't give it to anyone from the press."

"I understand completely. Normally, I wouldn't give it out to anyone at all, but this was a very special case. You should set up a way for people to contact you now though. I expect you may get some additional recovery business from all this."

"I'm retiring for a couple of years. I have enough money now to work on my novels full time for a while."

"You still want to be an author? With your talent for recovering stolen artwork? Even the best authors don't earn almost a million and half dollars for one week of work."

"This was a fluke. I ran into you by accident and learned about the case, so I inquired if there was a reward. The pay is better than skip tracing, but how many cases like this can there be?"

"Far more than you'd suspect unless you travel in the right circles. A lot of thefts don't make big headlines in the national news, but they occur on a regular basis. Some are even covered up by big corporations who don't want adverse publicity. I've already had two inquires about your services from other insurance companies. Here are the messages if you care to return their calls." Kovacs handed me the message slips. "And here's your check. I've rarely enjoyed handing out the company's money as much as I do this time."

I took the check and looked at the all the zeros following the one and the four. "Thank you, Mr. Kovacs. It's been a real pleasure doing business with you. If I can ever be of service again, give me a call."

"Even though you're retiring?"

"I might be persuaded to come out of retirement if the case is— interesting enough." I waved the check as I spoke the last two words.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll give you a call if anything
interesting
comes up."

"Goodbye, Mr. Kovacs."

"Until the next time, Colt. And call me Bill, please."

"Until then, Bill."

* * *

My first stop was my bank. I waited patiently until the new accounts person was free, and then I took a seat at her desk.

"Hi, I'm Colton James. I already have an account here, but I'd like to open two more accounts."

"Of course, sir," the young woman said. "What type of accounts do you wish?"

"Well, I need an account to hold money for income taxes. It should be some sort of an interest-bearing savings account, but I'll need to withdraw the funds when my taxes are due. I also want an interest-bearing savings account to hold the remainder of my funds."

"How much money are we talking about? Ten thousand or more?"

"A bit more," I said as I handed her the check. Her eyes grew a little wider and she looked up at me.

"Oh, you're
that
Colton James," she said with a look of admiration. "I heard about you on the news last night. I think it's wonderful that you were able to recover those paintings. I didn't know we had a world famous detective among our local depositors."

"I'm hardly world famous."

"If not yet, you will be. You're still young. You have lots of time to enhance your career reputation." The young woman entered some information into her computer. "I see that you already have a substantial balance in your checking account. Did you wish to add more from this check?"

"No, thank you."

"How did you wish to split the money between the two new accounts?"

"I think the government takes about half these days, so half and half."

"Okay. Please sign these signature cards and endorse the check."

The young woman then explained the various accounts that were available. I made my decision and she set up the two accounts as I waited.

* * *

I was sitting in Murphy's, nursing a beer when Billy Boyles came in.

"Hey bro, congratulations," he said as he sat on the chair opposite mine at the table. "I hear you found another new way to pick up a
little
extra spending money. This is so— intense. I knew you'd become famous someday, but I thought it would be for your writing. Hey, how much did you get for finding those paintings?"

"Well, I put half of it into a separate account for the taxes, but I'll probably get to keep about seven hundred."

"Seven hundred? Is that all? I thought those pictures were worth millions?"

"Seven hundred grand, not seven hundred dollars."

"SEVEN HUNDRED GRAND!" Billy shouted as he jumped up. Every conversation in the bar momentarily ceased as all heads turned to look at him.