The Mirror

Chapter 10: Controlling the Middlegame

Federal Building. Tuesday, February 22, 2005.

With Neal scheduled to work at the university for the next two days, Peter was free to focus on the team's other cases. On Tuesday he spent an hour with Jones reviewing his progress on the Dutchman sting. Jones reported that he'd placed feelers online and through contacts. A fence in London had gotten back to him, indicating he might know of a seller.

Midmorning Hughes dropped in. Judging from the somber expression on his face, his news wasn't going to be good.

"I heard from John Hobhouse in Interpol," Hughes said. "He's back in London now. We discussed the staffing issue for his task force. John was frank. He didn't mince words about Kramer's campaign to be on the task force. He's going over John's head, writing Interpol directly. I can tell you John isn't pleased with his tactics. Kramer's doing himself and the Bureau a disservice by engaging in so much self-promotion."

"Interpol probably labels him as a pushy American."

Hughes nodded in agreement. "John was impressed by you and Caffrey. I feel if he had his way, you two would be appointed. But Kramer isn't the only issue. Interpol is raising flags about having someone with Caffrey's history working closely with museums and their security systems. John brought up his record over the past year to prove how valuable that experience can be, but it may not be enough."

Although not a surprise, it was disappointing. Peter knew how excited Neal was over the prospect of working on the task force.

"Here's the particularly troubling part," Hughes added. "Kramer has been mischaracterizing the incident last fall when Caffrey was suspected of having stolen evidence from the FBI vault. John is close with one of the officials at Interpol who told him off the record. John wanted to hear my side of the story."

"That was supposed to be confidential," Peter protested angrily. "Can charges be filed?"

"I wish, but Kramer was too clever. Nothing was in writing and it was related confidentially. If we file a protest, he'll simply deny it." Hughes paused for a moment. "I trust you to ensure that what I've told you goes no further than these walls. Kramer's on my watch list now, and I'm sure he's also on yours."

Peter nodded. He could hear Kramer talking in his head. Petey, I'm simply protecting FBI interests by reporting what occurred. You've gotten too close to Neal. He's your friend. You've forgotten that being a con is hardwired into his brain.

Kramer had warned him to be careful when he recruited Neal. His former mentor refused to believe people can change.

"John's not giving up," Hughes added, giving a low chuckle. "Caffrey scored a home run with him. He reminds John of some of the grad students his wife used to have over to their house in happier times. He said that the decision will be made in the next few days."

Peter was glad Hughes had alerted him. He'd like to think of ways to soften the probable outcome. If Kramer were raising so many obstacles to Neal's participation on the task force, he would also veto any attempts to share art crime investigations with New York. Neal was wise to pursue a PhD that could lead to other career options. As long as Kramer continued to stonewall him, what kind of future would he have with the FBI?

* * * * *

On Tuesday morning Neal got an early start for Prentis Hall where Columbia's metalworking shop was located. Aidan had his studio there and was letting him use it to store his equipment and supplies. Neal planned to work during the day when Aidan was at his job.

An additional advantage to Prentis was its location. Because it was in a rough neighborhood, the university enforced heightened security measures with controlled access. Keller couldn't just drop in on him, and at night if Keller broke in, there'd be nothing to find. As an additional precaution, Neal approached Prentis by traversing the main campus underground in the tunnels. He entered the tunnel system through a locked entrance in the basement of Low Library and was confident that Keller wouldn't be able to follow him.