Peter was in the conference room interrogating Si Man, and after about ten minutes, it appeared there were results. Peter stood up and left the conference room, while Si Man hung his head low, grasping his hair, looking very despondent.
Peter ca over to Jones and handed him a note, "Jones, go apply for an arrest warrant to arrest Si Man's roommate; he works as a waiter at a restaurant."
Jones took the note, then stood up, grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair, and walked toward the elevator.
Peter picked up the phone, dialing while he headed upstairs, "Dian, any movent from Parker's side?" "Keep tracking them, we're preparing to take them all down."
Peter hung up the phone, arrived at the office door, was just about to go in when suddenly he stopped. He turned around and shouted, "Jimmy," gesturing with a hook of his finger, before he entered the office.
Actually, Jimmy had been watching them ever since Peter and Jones started assigning tasks, and now seeing Peter calling for him, he hurried upstairs. Staring at the computer screen and daydreaming was just too boring; having tasks was a good thing.
Jimmy: "Peter, what's up?"
Peter: "Si Man has confessed. It was Parker who arranged for him to steal those paintings. Let's catch the two who did the job, and then Parker will be easy to handle."
Jimmy: "Got it, so what do I need to do?"
Peter: "Nothing for the mont, but we now basically have all the clues. Do you understand what exactly happened?"
Jimmy: "Pop quiz, huh? Okay, let think."
After a mont of thought, Jimmy said, "I can roughly figure it out, but I still have so questions."
Parker found Rachel, who had already gained so fa in Paris, so having a personal exhibition in New York would definitely be beneficial for her to gain recognition. If her work sold for high prices, it would also boost her value.
After the exhibition began, Parker arranged for Si Man to steal the paintings. Since it was inconvenient for Si Man to transport them alone, he enlisted the help of his roommate, and they committed the theft at 1 AM because they knew there were no caras outside the gallery, only two inside, so their movents wouldn't be exposed.
Si Man had a key to the gallery, so our initial assumption that soone had picked the lock was incorrect; it seems it was an inside job all along.
They stored the paintings in Si Man's roommate's room. Perhaps because our investigation startled Si Man, he contacted Parker. After eting with Si Man, Parker arranged for him to move the paintings to a mini storage. Then we caught him as he was preparing to move them.
What I don't understand is why Parker would do this. Labeling the gallery as unsafe could cause trouble for future business operations."
Peter: "You're missing soone in your calculation, Rachel. This case was very likely a sche devised together by Rachel and Parker. Don't understand? To an artist, especially one who's sowhat famous, the best way to gain recognition is to have soone pay a high price for one's paintings. Secondly, having one's paintings targeted by a renowned thief can also enhance one's reputation indirectly.
In this event, it's very possible that Rachel gains the fa and compensation, while Parker receives a cash settlent from the insurance company. They collaborated to turn this into an unsolved case, so they could privately claim that a major thief was after Rachel's paintings. Does that make sense to you?"
Jimmy nodded, realizing he hadn't considered the advantages for Rachel in this scenario.
Peter: "Just now, I got so fragnted information from Si Man, not yet confird. Si Man ntioned that Rachel had paintings sell for over 50,000 euros each in Paris. If they really pull this off, Rachel's next solo exhibition could hit the six figures."
Jimmy nodded again, "So do we go arrest Rachel now?"
Peter: "No, we need to catch Parker first. We can't arrest Parker just on Si Man's testimony. Once Jones is done with his part, we'll start fishing."
Jimmy: "Are we going to use Si Man to lure Parker to the storage with the paintings?"
Peter: "Yes, it seems you've thought this through. When did you first suspect sothing was off with Parker?"
Jimmy: "We found it odd when we confird the photo of Parker and that he returned to New York earlier than expected. I even suspect Parker never left New York."
Peter: "Go on."
Jimmy: "When Jones previously contacted Parker for information, he simply said he was out of town, yet he t with Si Man a day earlier than planned. Assuming he was out of town, no matter his mode of transportation, it would be troubleso to return prematurely. If we catch him, we can further verify his whereabouts. If he insists he didn't co back, then the photo I took is evidence, and perjury on his part is nailed down."
Peter: "Anything else?"
Jimmy: "That's all. I haven't worked many cases and this is my first art-related case. I really don't have much experience."
Peter: "Alright, head out for now. You'll join us for the fishing later."
Jimmy turned and left Peter's office. Si Man was still in the conference room, though it was unlikely he'd run away.
Jones returned shortly, having already detained Si Man's roommate. Seeing Jones back, Peter took Si Man downstairs. Peter drove his own car; Jimmy and Jones followed in the surveillance van, taking Si Man and the paintings to the agreed-upon storage.
Si Man already had the key; Jones had set up caras and listening devices inside and outside the storage. Si Man called Parker and arranged to et at the storage for inspection and exchange.
Peter, Jones, and Jimmy parked their vehicles at a distance, waiting for Parker to arrive. Diana had received an advance notice from Peter and followed Parker to the storage, parking next to the surveillance van.
Diana entered the surveillance van. Peter and Jones were listening with earpieces, while Jimmy sat by the rear door, toying with his revolver.
Peter: "Target has entered the storage. Diana, Jimmy, move out and wait for the order to arrest."
Jimmy, Diana: "Understood."
The two left the surveillance van and made their way toward the storage. Parker was already inside. Jimmy and Diana approached from the side, just waiting for the order from Peter's radio.
"Move in."
Jimmy drew his gun and ran ahead, followed by Diana.
"FBI, don't move, drop the painting." Jimmy shouted the mont he entered the storage door. Parker was holding a painting, and they couldn't afford to let him drop it—it would be troubleso later.
Seeing the two FBI agents with guns trained on him and Si Man, Parker had no choice but to surrender. Jimmy pulled out two pairs of handcuffs from behind his belt, one of which he had previously gotten from Diana. It was clear that handcuffing was a man's job.
Finally done, Peter and Jones drove up, put Parker and Si Man in the back seat, and the paintings were secured in the surveillance van. They could now return to Federal Square with peace of mind.
Reviews
All reviews (0)