Harlequin's Shadow

Chapter 6: Miss Scarlet

On Tuesday morning, Peter's crew bid farewell to Paris. They went their separate ways at the airport. Neal and Peter took a flight back to New York due to arrive early in the afternoon. Mozzie was heading to Rome, but he promised to be back in town in time for the party on Thursday evening. A speakeasy party at June's mansion had become a tradition to mark the completion of one of Diana's Arkham Files stories. This time the event would also serve to celebrate the launch of the double con against Adler and Huber. For Neal, the party had a special significance. It would mark the first time Sara would be included.

He hadn't seen her since the end of July when she agreed to be part of the con. They'd been keeping in touch by phone and text messages, but there was much he hadn't discussed with her, including the slight matter of a curse hanging over his head. He hadn't told Henry yet either. That would be even harder.

When he went to her apartment that evening, he didn't attempt to explain a soul-sucking goddess over dinner. He also left out the extent of his relationship with Leila. Peter might think it was work-related, but as background information for a prospective date, it was hardly suitable. Even so, there was no shortage of topics to cover. Over the promised meal of sushi and maki rolls, Neal explained what had transpired with Gordon and Isabelle.

"The sacrifices Isabelle and René made ..." Sara shook her head, falling silent. "Those paintings simply have to be recovered."

"And we intend to do just that." She didn't know that one painting was already safe. Mozzie was hiding the Braque in his bunker. For months Neal had agonized over that painting. Now he was her guardian, watching over her till she could be returned to the world.

Sara set down her chopsticks. "Stolen items can develop a life of their own. When I hear about something's history, it acquires a personal significance. No longer simply a piece of jewelry, it's a treasured heirloom, the symbol of a wedding, an object which evokes memories of a lost loved one." She brushed a wayward strand of copper hair behind her ear and smiled. "I wind up feeling almost as if I'm rescuing a lost child. Does that sound crazy?"

"Not to me," he assured her. "Paintings have the same effect. Those lost masterpieces are calling to me now too." When he'd been a thief in Europe, he rarely stopped to think about the personal connection an owner might have with the object he stole. That thief was gone forever. The skills were still there. It was how he used them that had changed. And that enabled him to relate to Sara in a way that would have otherwise been impossible.

"André began spreading the word today about the Braque," he said. "By the time of June's party, we could be celebrating the sale of my forgery."

"The amount of money you'll receive for it is staggering. That must make you feel proud."

More than you know. "It's also the opening gambit of the con. That means we'll see a lot more of each other."

"It's about time," Sara declared as she picked up their plates. "I'm off the travel circuit at Sterling-Bosch for two weeks. I assume you know that Henry wants us to meet at his place tomorrow evening."

"Yes, he told me. Then we'll spend the next weekend on the sailboat. Henry hasn't filled me in on the specifics but I'm sure he'll try to throw us together as much as possible. I hope you won't come down with Matthew fatigue before we've had our first date."

"Impossible," she declared confidently, tossing him a roll of plastic wrap for the leftovers. "Alicia's looking forward to making up for squandered opportunities."

They'd chosen names related to two clueless characters from Jane Austen for their fictitious love interests. Sara's fake boyfriend was Matthew, a nod to Matthew Macfadyen, the actor who played Darcy in the new Pride and Prejudice movie. Neal's fake girlfriend was named Alicia after Alicia Silverstone who starred in Clueless, an appropriately titled remake of Emma. And no one would know that when they mentioned Alicia and Matthew, they were actually speaking about themselves. It was a maneuver designed to keep them from having to lie to their friends.