Page 15 of Stuart Woods' Smolder

“I’m happy to hear that.”

“It’s a great first step.”

“First step?”

“I’m not going to be happy until he’s lying in a box, buried in the ground. But that can wait until things around me cool off. This idea of yours is good because no one will ever think I had anything to do with it.”

“Thanks.”

“One tweak. Wouldn’t it be better if Barrington witnessed the destruction?”

Nico suppressed a frown. Ideally, the break-in would occur when the lawyer was away, as having him home could complicate things. “He might put up a fight.”

Petry shrugged. “If he does, then rough him up a little. All I care about is that he’s in good enough condition to watch his precious paintings get ripped apart.”

Nico thought about pushing back, but he could tell his boss was in one of his don’t-argue-with-me moods, which meant there was only one thing Nico could say. “I’ll take care of it.”

—

Nico got to work right away, hiring a guy he knew named Toby Hill to check out the security at Barrington’s house.

That afternoon, Toby called back on one of Nico’s throwaway phones.

“How did it go?” Nico asked.

“Not surprising, but the place definitely has an alarm system. I couldn’t tell what kind it is from the street, or who Barrington’s monitoring company is. I made a few calls, but none of my contacts know, either.”

“Then how do we find out?”

“You said he works out of his house?”

“Yeah.”

“Then my guess is that it’s a commercial-grade system. Which means you should have at least thirty seconds after you enter to shut it off. That should be more than enough time for an alarm expert. However, you have a bigger problem. The locks.”

“The locks? What’s so special about them?”

“They’re Israeli. Top of the line. Unless you have someone who knows what they’re doing, it’d be easier to smash a window and climb in, because you’ll never get them unlocked.”

“Then we get someone who knows what he’s doing.”

“Do you know how many people in the city fit that description?”

“How many?”

“Two, and one is a retired cop who wouldn’t touch this job.”

“Who’s the other?”

“There, you’re in luck. It’s me. But I ain’t cheap.”

“Name your price.”

“Let’s see. I assume you’ll want me to deal with the alarm, too?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Five grand should do it.”

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