The Queen's Jewels

Chapter 2: En Garde

November 8, 2004. Tuesday afternoon.

The news about Yuri Bolotnov was a potential game-changer in their efforts to recover the stolen earrings. Elated, Neal relayed the information to Peter as soon as he'd exited the fencing club. His Gary Rydell alias was a casual guy. Neal debated briefly going back to his loft to change but decided the Bureau could put up with one day of Neal Caffrey in a pullover and leather jacket.

When he entered the White Collar bullpen, Peter beckoned him upstairs. Diana and Jones were already sitting in the conference room.

"Good look for you, Caffrey," Diana commented as he strolled in. Trust Diana to notice. Peter and Jones, on the other hand, were cut from the same cloth. Jones probably asked Peter where he bought his suits so he could buy identical ones.

"Go ahead and explain to the others where you were this morning," Peter requested.

"I was at the Chelsea Fencing Club, a hangout for Gary Rydell, ace fence and fencer. I'd arranged to meet a contact there. He gave me a tip on the probable buyer—a Russian named Yuri Bolotnov. He's the head of Rosgor, a Russian mining company. He'd put the word out that he was interested in acquiring jewelry owned by the French aristocracy."

"How reliable is your contact?" Jones demanded. "Do you trust him?"

"He has no reason to mislead me on this," Neal assured him. He could understand Jones raising doubts. After all, Jones didn't know André. For that matter, André was a probable unknown to everyone at the Bureau, and Neal intended to keep it that way.

"I did some preliminary research on Bolotnov." Peter projected a photo on the wall monitor. The image was of a comfortably prosperous, middle-aged businessman. His clothing was well-made but not ostentatious. Based strictly on his appearance, he could have been a banker or a diplomat. "Bolotnov makes regular trips to New York as a trade liaison with the United States. His record is unblemished with not a hint of scandal."

"According to my source, Bolotnov is very careful to maintain that clean image," Neal supplied.

Agent Travis Miller stepped into the conference room with a folder while Neal was speaking. Travis preferred to hole up in the FBI tech lab. Peter must have short-circuited one of his electronics to roust him out.

"I asked Travis to look into Bolotnov's background," Peter said.

"He's certainly wealthy enough to pay someone for the earrings," Travis said, taking a seat at the table. "He's amassed a sizeable fortune, the vast bulk of which is untraceable."

"He's rumored to be high up in the Russian mafia," Neal said. "That could explain his bank account. Are there any reports of Bolotnov being in town?"

Travis glanced at his notes. "He was here on business last month and flew back to Moscow on October 25. He's also listed on an Aeroflot flight due to arrive today at Kennedy Airport."

"The timing's certainly suspicious," Diana commented.

"Jones, you and Diana research the mafia connection and find out where he's staying," Peter ordered. "Travis, start preparations for round-the-clock surveillance. Once we've established a location for him, we might as well throw all our resources into it since this is the only lead we have. Neal, continue checking with your contacts. Make a list of any likely candidates who may have carried out the job."

"If Bolotnov is in the market for jewels, Regnier's itself may be targeted," Diana said. "Shouldn't we also set up surveillance there?"

"Their security is already so state-of-the-art, frankly I don't think we could add much," Jones said. "I met with them this morning. Their surveillance cameras are strategically located to pick up anyone in the store or back rooms, and their vault is one of the most secure I've seen. But I could ask them for copies of their videos. If there is any known criminal casing them out, we could try to ID them with facial recognition software."