Mugshots of Manhattan by Christin Brecher

Author:Christin Brecher [Brecher, Christin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Harry and his team at the Art Crime Unit believed their elusive thief was halfway around the world by now; yet somehow, he was here in my suite at Bisa’s Todo Amor. If the media lingering outside only knew, the headlines that followed would be for the ages.

Questions lit every part of my brain, but I could not speak. The obvious one was, why was he here? The only answer: He saw some value in me, enough to track me down, which was eerie and mind-boggling in itself. I didn’t like his choice of words—at last—either. As Harry’s girlfriend, had the thief been spying on me? Did he plan to use me as leverage to get out of town? I had a big job and a murder to solve. There was no time for me to be kidnapped as well.

“You don’t think I believe the Neue’s little security team brought down the Cardinal,” he said, referring to himself in both first and third person. “I’ve known about your secret Art Crime Unit, and how you’ve been on my trail for months. And I’ve known you all upped your game. You, madam, came so close in LA that I had to create an entire decoy in Japan. You’ve cost me a lot of money.”

It hit me. When we’d made eye contact last night, I’d given a mighty whistle to alert Harry that I’d spotted the Cardinal. I was the only guest who’d had my eyes on him. Ergo, he thought I was Harry. Or, he thought I was the ACU agent who’d been tracking him down all these months. He mistakenly thought he’d made me.

Harry’s entire career as an agent for the ACU depended on him being undercover, playing the role of himself: He was the wealthy heir of an old New York family. His parents died when he was fairly young. His aunt Bernie raised him. Harry and Aunt Bernie, who appeared to be no more than a Park Avenue matriarch with a penchant for parties, rolled through the world of old money and art collectors, with Harry posing as an appraiser for an insurance company. Harry’s cover was even better than I imagined. In the Cardinal’s eyes, my scrappy, whistle-blowing persona seemed like a much better fit for an undercover agent.

All to say, if Harry’s identity was revealed, his days at the ACU would be over. I decided, therefore, that I would play the part the Cardinal had assigned to me. I could juggle three balls as well as two. I added secret agent to my résumé. From waking up with my boyfriend in a murdered woman’s room to conversing with a world-renowned art thief, this is how things seemed to roll with me and Harry. As long as we had some nights to binge the latest shows, I could live with it.

I thought of the game of chess that formed the basis of Russell and Bisa’s relationship and decided to try it out for myself. The best

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