1 - Artscape: Ike Schwartz Mystery 1 Read Online Free PDF

know how many that will be yet.
    “Also, there will be a lot of strangers in and around the building for the next three weeks. All will have letters of identification. Instruct your men to ask to see them if there’s any question. Have you got that?”
    “Yes, sir, Ma’am,” he replied.
    “Good. That’s all.”

Chapter Four
    He heard the telephone ringing. Anyone else would have rushed to the door, fumbled for keys, dashed to the phone, and more often than not, been greeted by a dial tone. But Vito was a deliberate man whose continued survival depended on caution, careful planning, and a habit of trusting no one. He let the phone ring as he inspected the door for any traces that would indicate someone might have attempted to open it in his absence. Satisfied, he opened the door and pushed it in while moving to his right so that he was out of the line of sight of anyone who might be inside waiting for him. At the same time, he glanced at the mirror hung inside the foyer to give him a clear view of most of the living room.
    He stepped into the apartment and went to the phone. As he had with the door, he checked its polished black surface to see that the thumbprint he placed on it after he polished the hand set was undisturbed. Then he picked up the phone.
    “Yes.”
    “This is Artscape,” the voice on the other end said. “We have a problem. You will have to do the job early.”
    “How early?”
    “In the next two weeks.”
    “Impossible. What happened?”
    “They’re moving the collection to New York in three weeks. One week will be packing and inventory. We’ve only got two weeks.”
    “I am sorry about that, but our contract says July the fourth. If we go now, the risks change.”
    “We have no choice. It has to be now.”
    “How did this happen? You told me you were in charge, that you could do anything you wanted with those pictures. You could get my people in to check the alarms, the number and size of the pictures—all of it.”
    “I couldn’t do anything. The votes weren’t there.”
    “What votes? What is this? Are you in charge or not?”
    “Look, it doesn’t matter. The board wanted to bring the collection to New York and before anyone knew it, they voted to move the collection. Bang. Just like that.”
    “Bang? You didn’t tell me anything about votes or boards. We picked July because nobody would be around and the risks would be small. The contract price assumed those risks as part of the pricing. You understand then, that if I do this—”
    “ If you do this…we have a contract. You’ve got to do it.”
    “We have a contract. I always honor my contracts. Mine says July four. I will, if you insist, break in on that date, and remove everything I find. Then your bosses can see what sort of ransom they can extract from Dillon with it. That is my contract. Are you are suggesting a new one?”
    There was silence on the other end of the line. Vito waited. Finally, the voice said, “What do you want?”
    “The same, but because the risks are greater and because I will not have time to put together the team and backup I need, you will have to come up with a whole lot more cash. Up front.”
    Vito Donati loved moments like these. His client could do nothing—no time to find someone else, even if it were possible. He had them over a barrel. Vito made a mental note to step up his protection after this job. He knew these people well enough to know that the squeeze he was putting on them now would result in an attempt on him later. But that was the nature of the business—all in a day’s work.
    “Here’s the deal. First, none of your people will be part of this. I don’t have the time to train them, and after what happened at the library two months ago, I don’t want to be within a hundred miles of them. Second, the price is now ten million plus expenses, one-half up front, the remainder on delivery. And three, your people will pick up the ransom, and then deliver the goods.