By the Book

Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Dinner with the Burkes

Burke Residence, Brooklyn. January 2, 2004 – Friday evening.

On the way home, Elizabeth Burke was consumed with curiosity about her husband's consultant. She'd been wrapping up her day at the art gallery when Peter called to say he was worried about Neal Caffrey, who hadn't been out of the hospital very long. He didn't think Neal should be left alone, but also didn't think Neal would welcome any concern about his well-being. Peter proposed conning the con man. He was going to tell Neal that El had called volunteering to pick up Chinese food on the way home. If he took Neal to Riverside Drive, dinner would get cold, making it more convenient to have Neal join them for the meal.

When Elizabeth opened the door to their townhouse, she saw two suit jackets on the sofa. The one in a crumpled pile she recognized as Peter's. It fit perfectly with her view of her husband, who was in the dining room, setting the table. Clothing and appearances weren't a high priority for Peter. That's probably one of the reasons he forgot to stop at the drycleaners half the time.

The other jacket was clearly more expensive. Finely tailored in a high quality wool fabric, it was folded carefully and precisely, with a silk tie centered on top. It fit perfectly with her view of a slick con man.

What didn't fit her expectations was the sight she observed on the living room floor. Satchmo, the exuberant golden Labrador that normally would have been getting in Peter's way, was tangled up with a young man, whose face Satchmo was trying to lick. The man wore slacks and shoes that clearly went with the expensive suit jacket, but his white shirt had come untucked, and his dark hair was in disarray from wrestling with the determined dog. He laughed with such unadulterated joy that he looked and sounded too young to be the accomplished forger and thief Peter had described. El would have guessed he was barely twenty years old. When she closed the door behind her, he looked up, his bright blue eyes shining with pure happiness.

He wasn't at all what Elizabeth had expected, and she couldn't help saying, "You're James Bonds?"

He sat up straight, and pushed his hair out of his face. "James Bonds?" he repeated.

Peter groaned. "He wasn't supposed to know about that."

Neal turned his delighted grin toward Peter. "You called me James Bonds?"

"It was a case file name for an anonymous bond forger."

Neal looked into the face of an adoring dog. "I'm Bonds. James Bonds."

"I wanted to avoid this," Peter told El. "He's going to be insufferable now." But even though he tried to sound displeased, Peter was smiling.

Throughout the meal, Neal and El bonded over a discussion of art. Eventually she said, "It's obvious you love art. Why would you forge an artwork? It seems disrespectful."

She felt Peter go still beside her. He was more an aficionado of art theft than actual art itself. This turn in the conversation caught his interest.

At first Neal looked at El, but seemed to be looking through her, absorbed in memory. "It's a long story," he finally said.

Mindful of the fact that Peter wanted to keep Neal at the house for a while, El smiled. "I see. Then let's clear off the table, pour a glass of wine, and settle in the living room before you start telling us about it."

Neal shrugged. "Okay." As he carried his dishes into the kitchen, El looked expectantly at Peter.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't interrogate him."

"I wasn't going to –" he started.

"Wasn't going to what?" Neal asked as he returned from the kitchen.