by Weeks, Abby
She hadn’t been expecting this, she hadn’t known she still had feelings for Gabe. She’d thought she wanted something completely new. But having spent so much time with him during the past few months, and in particular having had sex with him the night before, even if it had been an orgy, it had made her realize that she still had feelings for him. If he really had changed his ways, if he wasn’t going to cheat on her anymore, then she was willing to give things with him another try.
She also knew that Becky would be thrilled about it. Becky hadn’t ever given them a hard time about the divorce, but Ariel knew she’d be pleased if her parents were dating again.
“And what the hell are we going to do about the painting?” Gabe said. “This is going to be a disaster. The more I think about it, the more I realize it will never work. If he shows it to a single person, they’ll immediately recognize it. They’ll know that either it’s a forgery, or else it’s stolen. Either way, they’ll get the authorities involved immediately.”
“But how were you going to handle it originally?”
“Remember, I have the building. All I had to do was put the canvas in that safe and then let contractors find it. It would make sense that it was there.”
“But it won’t make sense if Jake has it here in LA?”
“No sense at all. It will look like a forgery.”
Ariel thought about it.
“I’ll have to tell him the truth.”
“What?”
“At least, part of the truth.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell him it’s a long lost Rembrandt. I’ll tell him how valuable it is. I’ll tell him that it will create a complete stir in the art world when it’s revealed that it’s been found.”
“And then what?”
“I’ll tell him to buy it from you.”
“Why would I sell it?”
“Just leave it to me,” Ariel said.
IX
AN HOUR LATER, ARIEL WAS sitting in the hotel dining room again, at the same table they’d had breakfast at, but it was just her and Jake.
“So what’s going on?” Jake said. “I feel like this deal is going to fall through. Does Gabe even really need me to sell this thing?”
“Listen to me,” Ariel said, “Gabe doesn’t know what he needs. That’s his problem. He’s a complete idiot when it comes to business decisions.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know what this painting is?” Ariel said.
“I don’t know much about art.”
“Storm on the Sea of Galilee.”
“That means nothing to me,” Jake said.
“Do a little research,” Ariel said. “The damn thing’s worth over a hundred million dollars.”
“What?” Jake said. He almost spilled the cup of coffee that was in his hand.
“Just do the research, and call me when you’re ready to make some money. Some real money,” she said.
She got up and left the table.
*
IT WAS A DAY LATER when Jake called her. Ariel had been extremely patient. She hadn’t contacted him once since telling him about the Rembrandt. She knew she didn’t have to. If there was money to be had, Jake would contact her. If he didn’t, then they had no way of pulling off the scam anyway.
“Ariel,” Jake said when she picked up the phone.
“About time you called,” Ariel said, nonchalantly.
“I want to see the canvas.”
“So you’ve done a little research?”
“Hell, yes, I’ve done a little research. I’m not an idiot.”
“I knew the mention of a hundred million would get your attention.”
“The most that painting will ever be worth, to us at least, is five million dollars,” Jake said.
So he had done his homework. Ariel felt a thrill run down her spine. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She prayed she hadn’t underestimated Jake. If this thing went wrong, if Jake realized what she was trying to pull off, she and Gabe could both end up in jail for a very long time.
“You’ve done some homework, then,” she said.
“I’ve got a Rembrandt specialist. He’ll be coming with me.”
“Who is he?”
“He doesn’t work for any museums or anything,” Jake said. “He’s a private consultant. I’m paying him. He’s going to advise me.”
*
ARIEL DIDN’T SPEAK TO GABE before meeting up with Jake and the specialist. She didn’t want to spook him, and she knew he’d be worried if a specialist was going to be involved. Ariel wasn’t sure where her own confidence was coming from, but she had all the documents, everything that Gabe had originally been planning on using to convince the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum that the canvas was the real thing. She had the title deeds to the building in Amsterdam, the documents about the former owners of that building, the fact that they’d been mafia and had dealt in stolen art works. She also had the records of the fire that destroyed the building and the death certificates of the mafia members who’d been its owners. It was as convincing a story as she could think of. Also, given the fact that the canvas dated from the correct period, she knew that there was every chance it would pass chemical testing.
She took a deep breath. She parked outside the warehouse and went inside. She wanted to make sure that everything was set up correctly. The canvas was at the far end of the room with its back to the entrance. She wanted a chance to reveal it to the art consultant at the right moment. She also wanted to double check that all her supporting documents were in order.
When Jake arrived with his consultant, Ariel was as ready as she was ever going to be.
“Ariel,” Jake said, “meet Douglas Landfeld.”
“Mr. Landfeld,” Ariel said, extending a hand to him.
He shook it. He had a beard and white hair and looked like a crackpot professor from some obscure university. He spoke with a European accent that Ariel couldn’t quite place.
“So,” Landfeld said, “I understand we’ve got quite a canvas to view here today.”
“Yes we do,” Ariel said.
“And you’re the owner of it,” Landfeld said.
“No, my ex-husband is the owner. I’m the one who convinced him to sell it to Jake.”
“Sell?” Jake said.
“Yes. Sell.”
“Why? I thought I was going to find him a buyer.”
“You know what this painting is now,” Ariel said.
“Yes, I think I do,” Jake said.
“If it’s the real thing,” Landfeld said.”
“Yes, so, you know, and Gabe is too stupid to realize what he’s got.”
“So what are you proposing?” Jake said.
“I’m proposing you get it cheap from Gabe, and get the reward yourself.”
“Why doesn’t Gabe get the reward?”
“Good question,” Ariel said. “The truth is, he doesn’t know about the reward. He thinks he’s stuck with a stolen painting that he can’t sell. He’s used to selling paintings, not giving them to museums.”
“Has he dealt in stolen art work before?” Jake said.
“Yes, but never at this level. That’s why he’s eager to unload it on you.”
“So I lowball him?”
“Offer him three million,” Ariel said. “I know he’ll go for it. And you’ll instantly be two million richer.”
Jake’s eyebrows rose.
“Well, we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here,” Landfeld said. “Mr. Medeiros, you haven’t even seen the canvas yet.”
Jake didn’t care about the painting. He wasn’t in this for the art. He was in it for the money. “That’s what I brought you for,” he said to Landfeld.
Ariel knew Landfeld was the one she had to convince now. She brought him over to the large desk that Gabe had been using for his paperwork. There was a computer on it and a number of files. There were also three chairs at one end where Ariel told
Jake and Landfeld to sit.
“So,” Ariel said. “Let’s go through this in order. I know you’ll have a lot of questions, Mr. Landfeld. So, starting at the beginning, let’s talk about how Gabe came into possession of this canvas.”
“Exactly,” Landfeld said. “It is stolen property. One of the most infamous art heists of the last fifty years.”
“And if any of us had anything to do with the robbery, I assume we couldn’t claim the reward,” Jake said.
“You assume correct,” Landfeld said, sternly.
Ariel wanted to keep things moving. She was desperate for Jake to fall for this. She pulled out the deeds to the Amsterdam building and slid them across the table to Landfeld.
“What’s this?”
“This proves that Gabe came across the canvas honestly.”
“How so?” Landfeld said.
“It is the deed to a building in Amsterdam that Gabe purchased,” Ariel said, showing Landfeld the document.
Landfeld examined the deed carefully.
“And this is the record of a fire that occurred in the building a decade ago,” Ariel said, passing him another document.
Landfeld spent several minutes examining each document. Jake was making eyes at her across the table. He was relaxed. He was expecting to make a lot of money from the deal, as long as Landfeld gave him the green light. He wasn’t being nearly as cautious as he should have been. Having made his money dealing in the world of the internet, he wasn’t used to the guile and deception that was commonplace in art deals.
Ariel passed more documents to Landfeld. These documents were about the previous owners of the building, their mafia connections and their black market dealings. Again, Landfeld read every word of every document very carefully.
“And this,” Ariel said, “is the insurance report. The key detail on that report is the safe.”
“It couldn’t be opened?” Landfeld said.
“I don’t think anyone tried to open it at the time. The record lists no contents for it, no attempt to open it.”
“I see,” Landfeld said.
“In fact, the safe was substantially melted, sealing it shut for all those years.”
“Incredible,” Landfeld said.
“It is incredible,” Ariel said, “because now I would like to show you what Gabe found when his guys cut open the safe.”
All three of them stood up and Ariel led them to the canvas. They couldn’t see the front until they got right up around it.
Ariel looked at both of their faces for their reactions. Landfeld looked dumbfounded.
“I don’t believe it,” he said.
Ariel smiled. “I assume you’ve brought a testing kit.”
Landfeld nodded to the large case he’d brought with him and which was sitting solidly by the table. “I’ve got everything I need.”
“Indeed,” Ariel said. “Well then let us leave you to it,” she said.
Landfeld didn’t waste any time getting started. Ariel knew that everything he found would only confirm the age of the painting.
“Come on, Jake,” she said. “We have some details to discuss.”
X
THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE a very tense period for Ariel. She had a number of lengthy conversations and phone calls with both Jake and Gabe. There were times when neither of them seemed willing to go through with the deal at all. There were others when they each questioned her motives for being involved in the deal. At some point she even asked herself that question but in the end she knew she had to keep pushing it through if she was going to see Zola free of Jake.
When Gabe called her and said that Jake had just made a transfer of three and a quarter million dollars to his account, Ariel almost fell off her chair.
“What?” she said.
“He did it.”
“Holy shit,” she said.
“I can’t believe it!”
“I didn’t know you were negotiating on the price,” Ariel said.
“Yes, sir,” Gabe said. “I didn’t want to let it go for two and a half.”
“Is that what he offered?” Ariel said.
“Yes.”
“Funny,” Ariel went on, “because I told him to offer three.”
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders,” Gabe said, “but I’ve got better.”
“So he went up to three and a quarter?”
“He’s greedy,” Gabe said. “He thinks the five million is a sure thing.”
“He might get it,” Ariel said. It would be just like Jake to get sucked into something like this and still come out ahead, but she had plans for every dollar he ever made out of this deal.
“He’ll be lucky if he does,” Gabe said. “It will be no easy task fooling the museum. Getting it past Douglas Landfeld was one thing. Getting the museum to pay the reward, it could take years.”
“And he’ll always have to worry that we’ll spill the beans about the painting’s authenticity,” Ariel said.
“Well, that’s the whole point, isn’t it?” Gabe said.
“Yes,” Ariel said. “That’s exactly the point.”
“I feel like we should go out and celebrate,” Gabe said.
“Don’t go spending any of that money,” Ariel said.
“Why not? I earned it.”
“That money is to make sure Zola gets a fresh start,” Ariel said. “It was for her that we did all this.”
“Oh, I know,” Gabe said, “but something tells me Zola’s not going to have any trouble getting a very generous settlement out of Jake now.”
“Well, we’ve got him by the balls. One word from us and he can kiss that five million goodbye.”
“So,” Gabe said, “what are we doing to celebrate?”
Ariel smiled. Gabe was so eager to spend time with her now. Divorcing him had been the smartest thing she’d ever done it seemed. It had really made him appreciate her.
“Why don’t you come over here for dinner?” Ariel said.
“To your house?” Gabe said.
“Yes.”
“And you’ll cook?”
“I’ll come up with something,” Ariel said.
When she hung up the phone, Ariel had to steady herself against the counter. It had worked! Jake had fallen for the bait. Three and a quarter million dollars! Zola’s future was secure. That’s what it meant.
She wanted to call Zola but she knew Jake would become suspicious if Zola started acting differently. Ariel decided not to tell Zola anything just yet. She didn’t call Jake either. First of all, she didn’t want to speak to him, but more importantly, she didn’t want him to know that she and Gabe had such close communication about the deal. She’d spent a lot of time convincing Jake that she was trying to double cross Gabe.
She went upstairs.
“Becky,” she called out. Becky was in her room, working on a school project.
“Yes, mom.”
“Will you help me cook dinner tonight?”
“Really? What’s the occasion?”
“We’re having a guest.”
“Oh, mom. If it’s one of your dates, you can leave me out of it. I don’t need to meet some random guy you’ve picked up.”
“Becky West! Is that any way to speak about your father?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Dad’s coming over for dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We’re celebrating. We just sold a really expensive painting.”
“Oh.”
They looked at each other a little awkwardly.
“If you’ve got a question you can go ahead and ask it,” Ariel said.
“Well,” Becky said. “Are you getting back together with dad?”
“We’re not jumping into anything,” Ariel said, “but we’re going to give things a try and see how they go. We’ve remained friends through the divorce.”
“And dad’s changed
a lot, hasn’t he?”
“It does seem like that,” Ariel said.
“Oh, mom,” Becky said.
She got up and hugged her mother.
“Don’t get ahead of things,” Ariel said. “I just thought I should tell you that we’re looking at our options.”
“Oh, I know mom. I know it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it would be really nice if dad was a part of your life again.”
“He’s always been a part of my life,” Ariel said. “And he always will be. He’s your father after all.”
“I know, but I’m just glad you two are giving things a try.”
“Me too,” Ariel said, smiling.
The two of them spent the next three hours cooking the biggest turkey they could find at the supermarket. Ariel prayed she hadn’t jumped the gun in telling Becky about her and Gabe. The disappointment would be terrible if things didn’t work out.
But something about the way he had been acting since the divorce told Ariel that things might just work out better this second time around.
XI
IT FELT LIKE IT HAD been a long time since Ariel had spent any time with Trudy but sitting there at Trudy’s kitchen counter it was as if no time had passed at all.
Trudy came over to the counter with two cups of coffee and took a seat on a stool next to Ariel’s.
“So, Zola has told me that you’ve been very busy on her behalf,” Trudy said.
“Yes I have,” Ariel said.
“Well, I think that’s wonderful. That woman needed someone to stand up for her.”
“This is going to change everything.”
“What exactly is going on?” Trudy said.
“Well, it’s a long story,” Ariel said, a sly smile crossing her face, “but basically, I’ve got Jake’s balls in the palm of my hand.”
“How so?”
“Well, I’ve got over three million dollars of his money!”
Trudy almost spilled her coffee. “You are kidding!”
Ariel shook her head. She had to admit, she felt very proud of what she’d managed to pull off.
“How the hell did you get that to happen?”
“Jake bought a painting from Gabe.”
“For three million dollars?”
“Three and a quarter! Yes!”
