The Malhoa Connection Page 4

  “Yeah, that was the not-so-easy part.” The white cat left Daniel’s lap and walked over to Armando. It butted its head against Armando’s hand and started purring the moment Armando touched it. “It took a while for me to connect you to GIPN. Then it was easier.”

  “This means you’ve known my true identity for what? Five years?”

  “Give or take a few months.”

  “Why contact me now?”

  Armando swallowed. His blinking increased, his nostrils flaring. His fear was back. “We’ve run out of options.”

  “We.” Colin shook his head. “How on earth did you agree to work with the others? Last I remember, you threatened to kill Paulo.”

  Manny and Daniel both frowned. Pink took his tablet and tapped the screen.

  Armando glanced at them and gave a half-shrug, failing in his attempt to appear nonchalant. “I still want to kill that bastard. He’s vile.”

  “Yet...”

  “Yet we need him.” Armando closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. “I wish we didn’t. But he’s also been affected by the Collector and he’s obsessed with ending this psycho.”

  I studied his face. “You don’t trust Paulo.”

  Armando made a rude noise. “Absolutely not. I have no idea what his real motivation is to put an end to the Collector, but he’s driven.”

  “What’s your motivation for finding the Collector?” Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Did the Collector do something to you too?”

  The micro-expression of great sorrow answered that question for me. Armando’s lips thinned as he stroked down the cat’s back. “The Collector killed my Jessie and James when I refused to give in to his demands.”

  “Who were Jessie and James?” I watched his fingers gently rake through the cat’s fur. “They were your cats?”

  His gaze jerked to me. “How did you know?”

  I pointed at the cat on his lap. “You’re sad when you’re looking at it.”

  “Her,” Daniel and Armando said simultaneously.

  “Both my cats are female.” Daniel’s expression held empathy as he looked at Armando. “I can’t imagine the loss.”

  “That fucker cut them open in my living room and left them there to bleed out.” Armando’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “I came home and Jessie had dragged herself across the living room to lie next to James. They died curled up next to each other the way they slept every night since I got them.”

  His emotions were so raw that I wasn’t surprised to see a tear running down his cheek. I was appalled at such unimaginable actions against innocent beings. These were the type of actions often associated with psychopaths. Horrifying.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Daniel’s tone and nonverbal cues were compassionate. “No one should experience that.”

  Armando pressed his lips together and took a moment to compose himself. “That’s why I want to stop this. Why we want to stop this. The fucker killed my cats to control me. He knew when I got back to my house after I buried Jessie and James. The moment I stepped into my house, he sent photos of all my family members and their friends. Photos that he took from their webcams. Inside their homes, their bedrooms. Later I found the camera he used inside my living room. He’d hacked my smart TV.”

  “That’s fucked up.” Vinnie’s expression moved from disgust to anger and back.

  Colin tilted his head. “So you guys decided that the enemy of your enemy is your friend and you teamed up.”

  “Something like that.” Armando studied Colin. “Will you help us?”

  “We need a gesture of good faith.” Colin nodded towards Manny. “The law enforcement guys won’t accept having any association with the four of you if we don’t have something more than promises. Now tell me what you decided to offer us.”

  Armando’s smile was small. “You’re right. We knew you would want more than just our help finding and stopping the Collector. So we’ve agreed to give you the locations of a few... well, let’s call them sought-after items.”

  “In other words, things you stole?” Manny asked.

  Armando ignored him, still looking at Colin. “We’ll give you the location for Venus with a Mirror, a six-hundred-and-thirty-two-carat uncut emerald, seven collectors’ sport cars and access codes to a nuclear facility in North Korea.”

  Colin’s eyes widened. “That’s quite a gesture of good faith.” He sobered. “You know you can burn yourself like this, right?”

  “Maybe.” Armando glanced at Manny. “But at least we’ll live to stea... to fight another day. Right now, I don’t care if I’m painting a target on my back for law enforcement. I just want to keep my family safe from the Collector and what he did to my Jessie and James.”

  Manny looked at Colin. “Do we want this Venus flytrap?”

  “Venus with a Mirror.” Colin pinched the bridge of his nose. “We definitely want it.” He turned his attention to Armando. “It is very likely worth much more than one million euros now.” He looked back at Manny. “The first Venus with a Mirror was painted by Tiziano Vecellio in 1555 and then was copied by numerous masters, including Rubens and Van Dyck. It’s definitely something we want. Something the Hungarian government would greatly appreciate having back.”

  I didn’t know how any government would value a huge emerald or those sports cars, but access codes to a nuclear facility in North Korea? I could only imagine how many governments would want that intelligence.

  “Next question.” Manny looked at Armando. “Where is the rest of your band of thieves?”

  Armando shook his head. “Immunity first.”

  “You’re off your bloody rocker if you think you’ll get immunity at the snap of your fingers. The list of crimes the four of you have committed makes that impossible.” Manny shook his head. “No, you haven’t given us enough to even consider your demands.”

  The expression on Armando’s face surprised me. I narrowed my eyes. “You have more stipulations.”

  “Who are you? Some kind of mind reader?”

  “I’m reading your nonverbal cues.” I pointed at his face. “I know when you’re genuine and when you’re deceptive.”

  “Deceptive and bloody delusional if he thinks he can demand more from us.” Manny’s procerus muscle pulled his brows in and down. He slouched lower in his chair.

  “Armando?” Colin raised both eyebrows, waiting.

  “We can give you access to the Collector. But we need immunity, like I said. We also need you to come to Portugal. And the four of us will be involved in finding the Collector. You can’t cut us out.”

  “The hell you say.” Manny got up and shook his index finger at Armando. “You have some nerve.”

  “I know this is a big ask,” Armando said quietly. “Clear it with whomever you need.” He looked at Colin. “All I ask is that you only tell your most trusted people. If you don’t trust the higher-ups one hundred percent, don’t tell them. The Collector has many Portuguese police officials under his control. There’s no way it won’t get to him.”

  “Yet you want us to go to Portugal? Into the lion’s den?” Manny rubbed his hands over his head. “Bloody hell.”

  Armando stood up and faced Manny. Gone was all his pretence. His expression was genuine. “Clear it. Soon. I have a private plane waiting to take us to Portugal. As soon as we enter Portuguese airspace, I’ll tell you everything.”

  I studied his face. “You’re lying.”

  The room erupted in expletives and threats. All aimed at Armando. He stood his ground, but his face lost all colour. He waited until Manny stopped shouting at him and nodded. “I can’t tell you everything. Not without Inge, Jake and Paulo present. But I’ll tell you more. Please help us help you find and stop the Collector. The plane is ready. We can leave as early as this afternoon.”

  Chapter FOUR

  “I WANT TO FEEL HONOURED to be here, but every time I see you people, I end up with at least two migraines.” Captain Bouvier sat down on one of the cha
irs in the reception area in front of President Godard’s office. For a neurotypical he was more tolerable than most. His reputation as strict but fair was justified. I hadn’t had a lot of contact with him, but Daniel and his team had great respect for their superior. He gave me a long look before he turned to Manny. “Am I going have another migraine?”

  “Probably.” Manny shrugged. “You should be used to it by now.”

  Manny had allowed only me to join him for this meeting. He’d grumbled about Colin’s history with the four criminals, but especially Paulo. He didn’t want to give the president of France any obvious reasons for not allowing us to go to Portugal. Colin and Vinnie were waiting for us in the SUV.

  Captain Bouvier sighed. “What is so important that we’re meeting here?”

  Manny was about to answer, but the door to the president’s office opened. As always, President Godard was wearing a dark tailored suit and a colourful tie.

  His expression was welcoming when he saw me. “Genevieve. It’s so good to see you. Isabelle was just saying a few days ago that she wants to invite you and Francine over for lunch to discuss the shelter for gifted girls.”

  I nodded. “She phoned me. We’re meeting next week.”

  “Good.” He turned to the men. “Manny.”

  “Mister President.”

  The president’s eyes widened slightly, then he glanced at Captain Bouvier and nodded. Over the last eight years we’d been working under the president, not only had Manny grown to trust him, they’d become friends. A few times, I’d heard Manny use the president’s first name and even chuckle when they’d had phone conversations. Manny wasn’t known for his humour.

  Manny’s use of the president’s official title was not only out of respect, but also for the benefit of Captain Bouvier. The president looked at the captain. “Good to see you again, Captain Bouvier.”

  “It’s an honour to be here, sir.”

  President Godard held out his hand towards his office. “Please come in.”

  We followed him into the beautiful room that he used as his office in Strasbourg. The official presidential residence was in the historic Élysée Palace in the heart of Paris, but he and Isabelle spent a lot of time in their home here in Strasbourg.

  We settled around a small conference table as the president closed the door. “You are lucky to catch me here. Isabelle and I are leaving for Paris this afternoon.” He sat down. “What is this matter that we couldn’t discuss over the phone?”

  “The Collector.” Manny slumped in his chair. “We have an opportunity to get to him.”

  “And I’m not going to like this.” The president nodded. “Why is the captain here?”

  “Because we need the support of his GIPN team.”

  “You know you have it,” Captain Bouvier replied immediately.

  Manny paused. “We need the team in Portugal with us.”

  I barely contained the shudder that threatened to shake my body. I’d always found travelling to be stressful, but had managed that fear and had visited incredible destinations that had given me invaluable experiences and memories. But facing the reality of travelling in a time where viral infections were a real threat overwhelmed my neurodiverse mind to the point of going into a shutdown.

  I truly didn’t want to travel to Portugal.

  I took three slow breaths and turned my full attention to the conversation. President Godard was looking at Manny over the brim of the frameless glasses he’d started wearing a year ago. Captain Bouvier’s expression turned from confused to suspicious. “Portugal? Why not contact their response team? GOE is what they’re called, if I remember correctly.”

  President Godard leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “I think Manny has to start from the beginning.” He held up one finger. “Start with a quick briefing on what you have so far on the Collector. So Captain Bouvier has the full context.”

  The captain hadn’t been pleased when he’d found out that Pink was helping Francine search the dark web for any and all mentions of the Collector. He’d only been slightly mollified when Pink had vowed that he’d only been helping in his off time. Captain Bouvier had made it clear that he didn’t want to use the GIPN team’s resources to find an international art criminal. Not when they were dealing with an increasing workload. There had been more need for SWAT-like intervention in the last few months.

  “We’ve so far found events that fit the Collector’s M.O. in twelve countries. With the fire at the consulate general, it’s now thirteen.” Manny continued to tell the president and Captain Bouvier about all the buildings the Collector had destroyed and the innocent lives lost in the process.

  Captain Bouvier’s one raised eyebrow and tightened lips conveyed a level of irritation that worried me. I’d only agreed to consider going to Portugal on the condition that Daniel and Pink joined us. At first, the captain’s expression led me to believe he wouldn’t agree to his people leaving France. But the more Manny revealed, the wider his eyes grew. His depressor anguli oris muscles pulled down the corners of his mouth, his nostrils flaring. “This was all done by one person?”

  “Orchestrated, more like.” Manny snorted with derision. “The Collector finds some underhanded way to gain the cooperation of local criminals. They pull these jobs and the Collector gets what he wants.”

  “Which is what exactly?” Captain Bouvier waved his hand around. “All these artworks you’re talking about?”

  “Yes.” Manny looked at me. “Doc?”

  “Yes?” I recognised his expression, but I didn’t know what he expected from me.

  Manny sighed heavily. “Please share with us the theory about the art.”

  I leaned away from him. “It’s not a theory.”

  “I would still like to hear what you’ve found, Genevieve.” The president’s smile was gentle.

  I took a moment to organise my thoughts so I could convey our findings as accurately as possible. “We limited ourselves at first by only looking for heists of artefacts similar to the antique silver coins of our previous case in Croatia. But then I found heists with the same pattern, yet the items taken were paintings, not coins or any other type of artwork.”

  “Long story short, they came to important conclusions.” Manny rolled his hand impatiently for me to continue.

  “Shouldn’t I give more context for how I came to these conclusions?”

  “For the love of Mary, no.” Manny glanced at Captain Bouvier when the latter snorted. “Doc, just give us the final results.”

  I exhaled in annoyance. Context was important. But to these men brevity trumped that. “I’ve divided these heists into two groups. One with artefacts dating back thousands of years. The second group is paintings dating back no further than the eighteenth century. The Malhoa painting taken from the consulate general fits in that category.”

  Manny knocked on the table. “Doc, the end results.”

  I closed my eyes and held back my impatient retort. “We have no end results yet. What I can tell you is that the antique artefact heists were in countries like Egypt, Iran, Peru and India. Countries where bombings and fires are easy to disguise amid the internal conflict in these regions.”

  “And the painting heists?” Captain Bouvier asked.

  I counted them off on my fingers. “Brazil, Morocco, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Too similar to the artefact countries to really make a distinction. With the exception now of the most recent heist here in Strasbourg.”

  The president narrowed his eyes. “What conclusions have you drawn from this data?”

  “I believe we need to find more of the Collector’s past heists to create a complete profile. That will help us figure out the pattern and a possible motivation. And an understanding of the two distinct groups of artworks stolen.”

  “This is taking far too bloody long.” Manny inhaled deeply and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “We might have a shorter way of finding the Collector.”

  “And something tells me I�
��m not going to like it.” The president straightened. “Let’s hear it.”

  “An art thief contacted us.” Manny’s lips thinned. “The bast... idiot broke into Lieutenant Daniel Cassel’s apartment and held him hostage until we arrived.”

  “What?” Captain Bouvier moved to get out of his chair, but sat back down when Manny shook his head.

  “Daniel was never in any danger. The thief only had a stun gun with him and his only goal was to get Frey to help him.”

  “He knows Colin?” the president asked.

  “Hmm.” The regret on Manny’s face was fleeting. He hadn’t wanted to let this slip. “Not important right now. What we should pay attention to is that four wanted criminals have agreed not only to work together, but to ask for our help in catching the Collector, knowing the risk they’re taking by exposing themselves to law enforcement. They also don’t come empty-handed.”

  Manny gave a very brief account of what Armando had told us. When he finished, he looked at me, then at the president. “We think we should go to Portugal and at the very least check this out.”

  Captain Bouvier shifted in his chair and inhaled to speak, but stopped when the president lifted his hand and looked at me. “Genevieve? Do you trust this Armando?”

  “No.” I blinked when all three men reacted with soft laughter and grunts. “To be clear, I don’t trust him in general, but I do trust that he experienced extreme fear whenever he spoke about the Collector. I feel confident that his motivation to help us find and stop the Collector is genuine.”

  “What Doc’s not saying is that his true motivation is likely to stop the Collector so he can continue thieving without worrying about the Collector threatening the lives of his loved ones.”

  “The Collector threatened their lives?” the captain asked.

  Manny’s lips tightened. “The Collector brutally killed Armando’s cats.”

  “That... damn.” The president crossed his arms. “Is he a psychopath?”

  “Diagnosing psychopathy is not that simple.” Generally, I loathed how quickly people fell back onto accusing someone of a mental illness when that person’s behaviour was borne from fear or trauma. “Yet in this case, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were to be the diagnosis.”