Page 72 of Whispers of Redemption

“Olga’s perfect retirement plan,” murmured Cassie.

“After the original theft, our team initiated an investigation, Operation Masterpiece, to recover the pieces. We traced The Concert to the Connecticut and Philadelphia regions, but then we lost track of it. Until several months ago, that is. We picked up chatter that someone was trying to move it through Olga’s ring. That’s why we, er...removed her former assistant, and I was sent in to work undercover. Our goal is to identify all the players and bust the entire ring. And also to return this famous piece of art to its museum home.”

“Well, congratulations!” Cassie said. “Looks like you’ve accomplished your mission.”

Zack pursed his lips. “Not quite.”

“What do you mean?” Cassie said.

Zack moved so the chief could take his seat again, and he began pacing up and down in the tiny office. “After I was hired by Olga, my team did their best to establish my credibility in her eyes. Shortly after I started, I brought her a deal with a piece of allegedly stolen art. We used undercover operatives as a phony art thief seller and buyer for the transaction, and Olga made a small profit on it. Unfortunately, she still doesn’t completely trust me. And there’s one key member of the ring that I haven’t yet been able to identify. We only know it’s a woman and we call her the Liaison. She’s the one who matches up sellers and buyers for the ring, and coordinates the deals.”

“We were really close to nailing her,” Zack said. “When I packaged all this up for you, Cassie,” he waved a hand to encompass the paintings on the desk, “we already had a team in place to watch the delivery. We planned to catch the Liaison the moment she arrived to pick up the package. But Brett stole it and messed up everything.”

“Wait a minute,” Cassie said with a frown. “I never thought about it, but how the heck did Brett know to steal that painting in the first place?”

“That’s a great question,” Zack agreed. “And one that baffled Olga, as well as my team for quite some time. We couldn’t believe it had been taken right out from under our noses.” Zack returned to his perch on the corner of the chief’s desk. “At first, I think Olga thought she’d been double crossed by the Liaison or another member of the ring. But it was clear pretty quickly that this wasn’t the case. We discovered that it was sheer dumb luck that Brett found out about it.”

“That sounds about right,” Cassie muttered.

“A couple of weeks after it was stolen, our team learned that someone was trying to unload it. But the thief was sloppy, definitely not a professional, and made all kinds of rookie mistakes. For instance, he started out by contacting the museum anonymously to get information about the reward money for turning it in. Then he must’ve decided he could get more by trying to sell it. But his efforts didn’t pan out because he has no contacts in the industry.

“The real break came from you, Cassie. When you stopped by to tell Olga and me about your suspicions concerning Brett and that you’d seen him researching famous art thefts. Suddenly, the pieces fell into place. But after your interview with him...” he tipped his head toward Wade. “As you know, Brett vanished. I put my team on it, and we finally tracked him down. I confronted him at the restaurant where you saw us.” His gaze swung between Cassie and Wade.

“I got him to admit he’d stolen it, but he wouldn’t turn it over. And he threatened to destroy it if we didn’t cut him in on the deal. I didn’t want to blow my cover by forcing the situation, so I decided to play along. I told Olga about it, and she was furious. Just like me, but for different reasons of course.” Zack shook his head ruefully. “But there was nothing we could do. As unbelievable as it was, Brett held all the cards.”

“Unbelievable is right,” Wade said.

“But you didn’t answer my question,” Cassie said, leaning forward in her chair. “How did Brett know about The Concert in the first place?”

“Oh right, sorry!” Zack gave a shake of his head. “It was literally a random fluke. One afternoon when I was out of the office picking up lunch for Olga and me, he arrived earlier than expected for a package pick-up. The front door was unlocked and he walked in while Olga was on the phone with the Liaison. Olga, believing that she was alone, was speaking freely about the entire plan, including when she’d be finished with the restoration. She even mentioned The Concert by name. When I walked in with lunch, Brett acted as if he’d only just arrived. But afterward, he must have done his own research on it and discovered how valuable it was, and then decided to steal it for himself.

“We suspect he kept his eye out for Olga’s deliveries around the day he knew she planned to ship it. He was hoping to handle that delivery himself. Unfortunately, you messed that up for him when you were assigned to pick up the package that day, Cassie. So, then he was forced to steal it from you,” Zack said, looking at her.

“And now, it looks like you’ve thwarted Brett’s plans once again,” said Chief Roland with a grin.

“One of my most favorite things to do in the world,” Cassie said, grinning back.

“So, what happens now?” Wade asked. “How do you plan to identify and capture the Liaison?”

Chief Roland looked at Zack, who gave him a quick nod. Then he looked at Cassie. “The FBI and the Whispering Pines Police Department would like Cassie to accept an undercover assignment for us,” he said.

“What?!” Wade said.

Cassie felt blood rush to her head.

Zack looked directly at Cassie. “Olga already knows you plan to bring the painting back to her once the police have processed it. So, you bring it to her tonight. Then you offer to hand deliver the painting to her client for extra safety. Tell her you’ll operate freelance, so there’s no official record of the delivery, and no chance for further thefts from Brett or anyone else. This won’t seem too strange because she knows how much you care about doing a good job for her. Get her to trust you, Cassie. Once she gives you the recipient’s name and delivery location, we’ll have the final piece of the puzzle that we need. Our ability to take down the entire ring hinges on this; we have to know who the Liaison is.”

“Sounds all neat and tidy,” Wade said, with a frown on his face. “But how do we make sure Cassie is safe in case something goes sideways.”

“We put a wire on her,” Chief Roland said. “We’ll call in Hugo so that we have you, him, and Zack all listening and ready to step in if anything happens.” Then he looked at Cassie. “Are you up for this?”

She sat in silence for a long moment. Then she said, “I’m still struggling to wrap my head around the fact that my favorite client is a master criminal. I find it so hard to believe. But if everything you say is true, what she’s doing is terrible and she needs to be stopped.” Cassie took a deep breath. “All right, I’m in. Let’s catch a thief!”

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