White Collar: An unofficial novel - part 11

The last clue

Peter stared at the bag of evidence filled with dust Diana had brought back, together with Neal. What was this? And a cover of a book?

"Is this the book? With the page?" he asked and Neal made a little 'sorry' shrug. "How did this happen?"

"I drilled a hole in the glass."

"You drilled a hole in the glass," Peter repeated. Did he for a second believe that that was okay to do damage to others' property? "And?"

"That's all I did."

Ancient books did not turn to dust by that. He glanced at Diana.

"That's all he did, boss. As far as I know. The casing was intact except for a small hole."

"Neal, somehow you managed to make my dog an accomplice to a robbery."

"Elizabeth said I'd bear the brunt of this," the kid mumbled to Satchmo. He sat and looked awfully humble in the visitor's chair of his office.

"You know, I give you an inch, and—" Peter held up the bag of dust.

"Now it's light reading," Neal tried. Peter was not yet in the mood for jokes yet.

"Too soon," he warned the kid. "The planetarium intends to prosecute."

"This book is a forgery," Neal said with certainty. "Brahe lived on an island. He ran his own paper mill, primarily from tulip-tree stock, which has a very low acetic content." Peter could nothing but sigh to all these facts. Had the kid googled it before or after he drilled that hole? He had not even knew Brahe was Danish. "Look, the real manuscript could be left in a turkish bathhouse without risk of harm," the kid continued. "The one from the planetarium turned into a shrinky dink the second it hit the air."

Peter only listened with half an ear. He looked at the inside of the book cover lying on his desk.

"So Roland intended for you to destroy this book," Diana asked.

"Yes."

"Whew..." Peter whissled when he realized that Neal was spot on.

"What?" The kid leaned forward to see what he saw.

In the spine, where the book had been, was five squares drawn. The top had a sun and the bottom the moon. The other three squares were empty.

"These symbols," Peter said. "I've seen them before, on Savannah's anklet. Which was given to her by her grandfather."

"So Savannah's the next clue."

Peter nodded.

"Is it too soon to say 'I told you so'?" the kid asked.

"Yes."

Jones knocked on the door frame and entered.

"Con ed is reporting an increase in power usage at the home on 68th.""Okay. I'm going to 68th. Diana, I want you to run point here. Jones, you stay with James and Josh at command center. Gelles has to make contact soon so we can set up the drop." He pulled out his harness with his gun from the drawer and pulled it on. "If he's in the house with her, this could get ugly."

"What if I could lure him out of the house?" Neal asked.

"How?"

"Tell him James doesn't have the money. It's all tied up in the treasure hunt."

"The only way he gets his ransom is to give us Savannah's anklet." Could work. If Galles believed him.

"Give me two minutes on the phone with him."

"Okay. Let's do it. Neal, go with Jones."

Waiting was not Neal's best trait. At least it was not in the van, he told himself. But with an anxious father and uncle.