Writings

 As with most days, especially Saturdays, Bryce doesn’t know what day of the week it is. Walking into his office with coffee cup in hand he logged onto his computer to check if any progress had been made by Kansas. He expected to see several files and hopefully some images or videos of the crime scene. There were three documents and a few short videos, all of them related to the owner and the car. 

  The first file read - The owner of the stolen Ferrari goes by the name Wilhelm Klein and was born in Haiger Germany in 1950, making him 74 years old, He lived in Haiger until he was 24 years old. Then he moved to Milan Italy. By age 25 Wilhelm had started a business in the mining industry and had amassed a sizable fortune. With his fortune he had started a car collection that included many exotic cars - with a current total value of over $20M. All of his collection is stored in a facility much like a museum located in Milan. Wilhelm never married. Has no brothers or sisters and his parents have passed. His contact info is in the file called Wilhelm.info 

  His Ferrari was stolen on May 13, 2021 from Wilhelm’s car museum in Milan and reported the next day. Security camera footage from the very elaborate security system stops 5 minutes before the robbery then starts again 10 minutes later. If you look at the videos in the folder you will see short clips from traffic cameras in the area surrounding the museum. They picked up a basic white box truck with several company stickers on it - all fictitious. The truck was definitely big enough to hide a Ferrari - it pulls into an ally - then other cameras see three identical trucks with no markings leaving the area - no way to tell which one could have been the real truck with the car. All three trucks were located in the days following the robbery. There was no fingerprints or DNA found.  

  Wilhelm has 2 items of interest in his past. He was investigated in a crash on May 10, 1971. He was driving his car when he lost control and crashed into a pole. He suffered minor injuries but his female passenger was badly injured and later died in the hospital on the morning of May 13. Her name was Rose Russo.  Because this was ruled as an accident no criminal charges were filed. Wilhelm was arrested for public intoxication later that same day. The report on file also mentions that there was an altercation with another person - Sebastian Braun. No charges were filed.  

  On a hunch I looked into Sebastian Braun - he and Wilhelm were best of friends from a young age and together they co-owned a small startup company selling mining equipment. They had started this company in 1970 and Sebastian was his partner until suddenly they sold the company in 1972. The business was doing rather well. No other records indicate that they were in business together again. 

  Wilhelm’s business ventures are strong and he seems to be well funded and completely above board. His net worth is estimated to be $150M. His company has a presence in many countries, mostly in Europe. Five years ago the board of his company attempted a hostile takeover. They were unsuccessful and as a result one member of the board was ousted. Their parting was not amiable and the buildings security had to get involved and local law enforcement were dispatched. The ousted member was caught on camera as saying - “You don’t have the guts to tell everyone about your past, I know you have a secret and I will find out!” This was all documented on the evening news. 

  The car is a red 1950 Ferrari 166MM valued at about $10M on the high end. About 50 were built. The chassis number is 00021 

Amelia walked into the office, sat down at a keyboard next to Bryce, logged in and started reviewing the files and asked “So what have you found out?” 

 “Kansas has done some good work, dug up some interesting stuff” 

 “Do you know where the car is?” 

 “No, not yet. But I know where to start looking.” 

 “Las Vegas?” Amelia’s face lit up. 

 “What is it with you and Las Vegas?” 

 “I like Vegas, sue me” 

 “According to Kansas, the car was stolen from a car facility or museum in Milan.” 

 “Italy?” 

 “Is there another?”, Bryce gave her a rather demeaning look  

 “There is a Milan Michigan and Tennessee. As well as Italy” 

 “Yes, Italy!” Bryce cut her off abruptly 

 “Should I get the plane ready?” 

 “Not yet, I want to see what I can find out about the night the car was stolen.” 

Bryce leans back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head, looks at Amelia and says “We need to see the evidence collected at the scene and who was the inspector assigned to the case. See if Lorelei can help us out.” 

“I’m not sure she has any contacts with the Milan Police but I’ll get in touch with her.” 

“If that is a dead end, reach out to Courtney, in fact maybe you should talk to her first.” 

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea” 

“Has Kansas provided contact info for Wilhelm Klein?”  

Amelia gets Kansas on a video conference. “Hi Kansas, I’m here with Bryce. Did you get any contact info for Wilhelm?” 

 “I’m working on that now. All I’ve found so far is his corporate stuff. Probably won’t be much help. Oh wait, just found something, I’ll add it to the Wilhelm.info file.”  

Amelia opens the file and looks at Bryce “Kansas found an email and a phone number, it’s in the file.” 

 “Great, I’ll give a call here in a few. It’s a bit late in Milan but you never know”  

 “I talked to Courtney and she is trying to get some of the reports from the police department. She might have to toss around some cash” Amelia said 

 “Yeah, standard for us it seems”  

 Kansas interrupts - “I just put a few more files out there. These are the police reports on the accident that Wilhelm had when he was 21, I’m not sure why but I got a feeling about this, I feel like it’s tied in.”   

 Bryce opens the new file and goes through all the details. Certainly one of his strengths is his ability to make connections that others would miss. If he didn’t solve mysteries he would make a great chess player, always thinking 8 or 10 moves ahead. “Well it appears that there was no good leads on the trucks. There were all wiped clean and all stolen in the week leading to the night the car was stolen.” 

  “Alright I’m going to go make some phone calls and I’ll let you know what I find out.” Amelia gets up and walks to the door. 

  Bryce pulls out his phone and dials Wilhelm, instead of a man answering, a female voice says. “Klein Industries, May I help you?” 

  “Hello, My name is Bryce Williams and I am trying reach Wilhelm Klein. Is he available?” 

 “No, I’m afraid he’s not. Can I take a message Mr. Williams?” 

 “Yeah, my team and I recover lost and stolen property. I want to talk to him about his Ferrari 166MM. I believe I can help him.” 

 “Oh I see, I’m sure Mr Klein will want to speak with you. I have your number on my caller ID, Is that the best number to reach you? 

 “Yes it is.” 

 “Wilhelm will be back in the office on Tuesday, I’ll give him your message.” 

 “Ok, thank you very much.” 

 “Have a nice day”  

 “Thanks, goodbye” Bryce ends the call. 

  Just as Bryce hung up the phone, another file appeared on the server from Kansas. In the file it contained more information from police reports. Particularly about the spot where the Ferrari was on display in Wilhelm’s museum. Near the front of the platform stood a pedestal that held a plaque that told a little bit of the cars history.  Around that plaque was a wooden frame. In that frame was a faint impression in the wooden frame in the shape of a rams head. Hanging on the pedestal was a silver chain with a ring with a rams head on it. This same exact ring and chain - with the same rams head  appeared at 5 other crime scenes involving the theft of high dollar items. One painting, two cars, a necklace and a solitary diamond. Each item worth at least $5M. None of those thefts were ever solved. Because the first theft took place in Spain - Interpol starting calling this thief Oveja.  

  Tuesday morning finally arrives and Bryce and the team had not learned much more about Wilhelm or the location of the car. As Bryce pours his morning cup of coffee his cell phone rings. The country code is 39 - the country dialing code for Italy. 

 “Hello, this is Bryce” 

 “Hello Mr. Williams, this is Wilhelm Klein. I got your message. You have some information about my Ferrari?” 

 “I don’t have any substantial information but I have been reviewing the information I can get my hands on.” 

 “I’m a little confused. Why exactly are you looking into this?” By the sounds of Wilhelm’s voice anyone could tell he was intrigued. 

 “My team and I solve crimes that seem to be unsolvable and we learned about your stolen Ferrari and I want to find your car.” 

 “The Milan police have looked into this and they don’t have a whole lot of leads and the case went cold.” 

 “Yes I figured that was what happened. With your permission I would like to reopen the case, so to speak and hopefully find your car.” 

 “What is this going to cost me?”
  “There are no up front fees. When the car is returned to you we ask for a ‘finders fee’ of approximately ten percent of the value of the car.” 

 “That’s interesting. Why would you do that? I mean that doesn’t seem like a good business model. If you never find the car you stand to lose a lot of money.” 

 “That is true but we have a pretty good track record. There has been only one case when we weren’t successful.” 

 Wilhelm pauses for several moments then replies, “Alright then, you find the car and return it to me and I will pay you fifteen percent.” 

 “Fifteen percent? That’s a generous offer. I’ll have my assistant send over some documents for you to sign. You should have then within the hour. 

 “I’ll look for those and get them looked at by my attorney.” 

 “That sounds good, let me ask you a question - do you have any idea who might have stolen you car?” 

 Mr. Klein paused for several seconds then finally replied “I really don’t.” 

 “Alright, If you think of anything please send us whatever you can. Use the same email that the documents are sent from.” 

 “I will. Thank you Mr. Williams.” 

 ‘You’re welcome. Good bye” 

  Bryce hung up the phone and stared at the computer monitor for a few moments. Thinking to himself - Something didn’t seem right. This case has been investigated for quite a long time. Mr Klein paused for a while when asked if he had any idea who might have stolen the car. At this point he should be pretty sure about that question. Something in his past must be tied to this, is he protecting someone? Who might that be? An old friend or family member. Perhaps a former board member that was ousted during the hostile take over attempt. These people could be easily overlooked by the inspector in Milan. It seems that it is time to go to Milan. If Mr. Klein is as big of a business man as he seems, getting the Milan Police to cooperate might be easier than usual. 

 “Amelia!” Bryce looks up from the monitor he was staring at.  

 “Yeah!” Amelia walks into the room.   

 “Talk to Lorelei, we’re going to Milan. Get the jet ready.” 

 “Who all is going?” 

 “You, me and Courtney.” 

 “When are we leaving?” 

 “As soon as possible.” 

 “Alright, I’ll text you when I have a hard date and time.”

  Everyone has their own method of trying to deal with jet lag. Some stay up for long hours while some might catch an hour of sleep and just push on til a time that aligns with the new timezone. Bryce, Amelia and Courtney used all these methods to try and get their sleep schedules right. The next morning is a bright sunny day in Milan with a temperature of 81 degrees. A near perfect day for being out and traveling around the city. The team gathers in the lounge of their hotel to discuss the days events. The hotel has been around for quite a few years and has that old world feel. Just what you want when visiting. There are many chairs and small tables for the quests to sit and enjoy a morning coffee and some brioche. Bryce all already has some breakfast and Courtney joins them soon after he sits down. 

 “How is everyone this morning?” Bryce asks as Courtney walks up. 

 “Better than I was at least.” Courtney responds “Yeah I’m good. Ready to go! What’s the move?” 

 “I’m going to finish my coffee and while I’m doing that I will call Wilhelm and set up a time when we can meet with him.” Bryce picks up his cup and takes a sip. 

 “I’m going to go get an espresso - I mean a coffee. I forgot that’s not a good idea here.” Amelia turns and heads to the coffee counter on the other side of the hotel lounge. 

 “I’ll go with you.” Courtney follows Amelia. 

 Wilhelm goes over his calendar for the day, as he reads his emails and glances at his assistant sitting on the other side of desk. Lani has been working for Wilhelm since 2018. Wilhelm has grown to trust Lani’s instincts and judgement. She runs the office when Wilhelm is away, which is frequent.  

 “We should be getting a call from Mr. Williams sometime today.” Wilhelm says 

 “I’ll be expecting his call.” Replied Lani 

 “According to his last email, he is traveling with two other members of his team. Amelia and Courtney. Send my car to pick them up whenever they are ready to meet. In fact, they can use the car whenever the need to. Let Robert know. I’ll drive myself.” 

 Lani writes down a few notes, then the phone rings. Lani moves around the desk and picks up the handset. “Mr. Klein’s office, this is Lani.” 

 “May I speak with Mr. Klein please?” 

 “Who is calling?” 

 “Inspector Antonio De Luca.” 

 “One moment.” Lani presses the hold button on the phone and says to Mr. Klein “It’s Inspector Antonio De Luca.” 

 “I’ll take the call, thank you Lani that will be all” 

 “Lani hands the handset to Mr Klein and walks out of the office and closes the door behind her. 

 “Good morning Inspector, what can I do for you?” 

 “Good morning Mr. Klein. I’m calling because I have got a few calls regarding your stolen Ferrari from a few years ago. I’m wondering what is going on here and if you knew about this.” 

 “Yes, I am aware of this. A man by the name of Bryce Williams - he’s an American - believes he can find my car. He and his team arrived last night and I plan on meeting with them today.” 

 “What makes him think he can find your car? Why would he want to do this, fly all the way from America to find your car? That’s absurd!” It’s clear that the Inspector is not at all happy about some American getting involved and possibly solving the case that the Inspector couldn’t. 

 “I understand how you must feel inspector.” 

 “Why does he want to do this?” The inspector is getting more frustrated by the minute. 

 “We have agreed on a monetary settlement if he finds it.” 

 “Maybe he is the one that stole the car in the first place.” 

 “If that were the case then he could get more money by selling the car. I don’t think Mr. Williams is in this so he can be in the spot light. Maybe he will just give you the credit.” 

 “We had better come to an agreement or he will get no help from me.” 

 “I understand. I will call you when I have more information.” 

 “Goodbye.” Inspector De Luca hangs up the phone without waiting for Mr. Klein to say goodbye. 

 Mr Klein hangs up the phone and goes back to the papers on his desk. 

 “Amelia, do you have a pad of paper in that bag of yours?” Bryce holds out his hand waiting.. 

 “Here ya go.” 

 Bryce dials Mr. Klein on his cell phone. 

 “Mr. Klein’s office, this is Lani, how can I help you?” 

 “Hello Lani this is Bryce Williams, Is Mr. Klein available?” 

 “One moment please.” 

 Bryce waits for Mr. Klein to pick up the phone. 

 “Mr. Williams, this is Wilhelm. How are you?” 

 “I’m well thank you. How are you?” 

 “I’m well. How was your flight?” 

 “It was fine. We are still working through the jet lag.” 

 “I would guess that.” 

 “I’m wondering if we could meet today?” 

 “I was expecting your call and Lani has cleared my calendar for the morning. When can you be here?” 

 “We can be there in about an hour.” 

 “That’s perfect. I have made my car available to you and your team. Robert will be your driver.” 

 “Thank you Mr. Klein, that’s very generous.” 

 “You’re welcome. Where are you staying?” 

 “We are at the Westin Palace.” 

 “Robert will be there in about 45 minutes.” 

 “Great, we will see you soon.” 

 “See you.” 

 Bryce ends the call and puts his phone on the table in-front of him. He relays all the details to Amelia and Courtney.  

 “We can meet with Mr. Klein in about 45 minutes.”
  “What are you wanting to find out from the inspector?” Amelia asks. 

 “I know we have some information about the night the car was stolen but I am guessing that there is more there. Maybe we’ll get to see some evidence that we haven’t seen already. Some additional video of the traffic cameras might prove to be very helpful.” 

 “I’m have been thinking that this was an inside job.” Courtney adds. 

 “I was thinking the same thing.” Amelia sets her coffee down and turns to Bryce. 

 “Because of the way that the security cameras stopped working just as the the heist is about to go down?”  

 “Exactly.”  

 “Courtney make a note, let’s see if the inspector looked into anyone’s financials or phone records of the staff of the museum.” 

 Amelia adds “What about the people in Mr. Klein’s office.” 

 “Yeah that’s a good idea too. Doesn’t hurt to ask.” 

 “I’m going to run up to my room and grab a few things and let’s meet back here in 40 minutes or so.” 

They all get up and make their way to the elevator.  

 Fran Morgan manages Mr. Klein’s car museum. She is originally from Russia having been born in Minsk but has been living in Milan for the past 9 years. She lives in a suite that is part of the museum and rarely spends much time away choosing her job over her social life. She speaks English well even with her Russian accent. Many nights she can be seen on the museum’s security cameras walking around the various exhibits. She was orphaned at a young age and spent 10 years waiting to be adopted but she never was. Eventually she turned 18 and was released from the orphanage. She spent a few months living on the streets but eventually returned to the orphanage and was allowed to work there helping with the children. She met Mr Klein while he was traveling to Minsk on business. Mr Klein was quite taken with Fran’s demeanor and friendliness. He chose to offer her a job in Milan and three days later he had moved her to Milan, living in an apartment in the city center. Wilhelm gave her a few options of how he thought she might fit into his organization. When Fran saw the museum and Wilhelm saw the excitement in her face he realized that this was the job for her, making her an assistant to the manager. After the manager moved to Athens, Fran was offered the position of manager and she gladly accepted. She typically gets along with everyone that she interacts with barring one person, Lani.  

Robert pulls Mr. Klein’s car into the hotel driveway and shuts the car off. He is a few minutes early so he waits keeping his eye on the front door of the hotel. Soon he gets out of the the car and stands near the front of the car looking for an American with two women. It is usually easy to spot an American in Milan simply by the way they dress. After a few minutes the three emerge from the front doors of the hotel. They pause at the edge of the sidewalk and glance around the various cars there. They see a man dressed as he might be a driver for a businessman, the fact that he is standing next to a limo gives him away. 

 Robert walks toward them and greets Bryce, “Mr. Williams?” 

 “Call me Bryce, this is Courtney and this is Amelia, you must be Robert?” 

 “Yes, pleased to meet you.” Robert extends his hand to Bryce then Courtney and Amelia. 

 Robert then turns to the car and opens the door.  

 “Where would you like to go Mr. Williams?’ 

 “We are going to Mr. Klein’s office please” 

 “Of course.” 

Robert pulls out of the hotel and heads down the street. “Mr. Klein’s office is only about 5 minutes away.” 

 “Thank you, Robert” 

 The car pulls up to a large 7 story office building. On the top of the building is a prominent sign reading ‘Klein Industries’. Robert passes the obvious parking lot and entrance and heads around to the side of the building to a small gated entrance. The gate opens as they pull up. The small driveway opens to a large courtyard with a circular drive. Robert stops the car and gets out and opens the car for for his passengers. A woman with long brown hair and petite figure holding a clipboard stands by what must be the entrance. As soon as the team has exited the car she walks toward them and holds out her hand to Bryce.  

 “Good morning Mr. Williams, we’ve been expecting you. My name is Lani, I’m Mr. Klein's assistant.” 

 “Good morning, I believe we’ve talked on the phone.  

 “Yes we have.” 

 “This is Courtney and Amelia.” 

 “Ladies, nice to meet you.” 

 “Mr Klein is waiting.” Lani turns and walks in through the double doors and makes her way to the elevator. The doors to the elevator open and Lani passes her ID card past the reader and the button for the top floor lights up. She presses the button for the seventh floor and the doors close. The doors open to an elaborately decorated foyer with a set of double doors at the far side of the room. Off to the side of the foyer is a raised pedestal with a 1904 Model 1 Harley Davidson motorcycle on display. Lani leads them through the double doors into Mr Klein’s office. Mr Klein is seated at his desk but stands as the team enter the room.  

 “Good morning.” Mr Klein greets the team. 

 Bryce extends has hand “Good morning Mr. Klein, I’m Bryce and this is Amelia and Courtney.” 

 “Nice to meet you all, call me Wilhelm. Please have a seat” 

 Bryce and the ladies each sit down.  

 “I have had Lani pull all the files that I have accumulated. Some are files from my own internal security as well as the official police reports. Inspector De Luca called me this morning, he was a little agitated. He is concerned that you and your team might cast a pall on his effort to solve this case. I tried assure him that this was not your intentions. Was I incorrect Bryce?” 

 “Yes you are correct. I want to get this case solved and your car back to you. Inspector De Luca can take all the credit for solving it. I won’t speak to the press or anything like that.” 

 “I believe that is a wise choice. You will get a whole lot more cooperation from him with that approach.” 

 “Is is alright if we take these files with us to our hotel where we can review and discuss the details?” 

 “Of course, These are copies but please bring them back when you are finished.” 

 “Of course. Do you have anything to add that we won’t find in the files? Do you have any hunches as to who might have been involved?” 

 “The Inspector and I have talked in depth in the days following the theft, I don’t have anything extra to add and no new information has come to light.” 

 Bryce picks up the stack of files that were sitting on Wilhelm’s desk and looks through them briefly. Then hands a few to Amelia and a few to Courtney. In one of the file folders were two thumb drives. Bryce holds them up. “Are these videos of the crime scene?” 

 “Yes, there are several videos taken from the museum and traffic cameras. Also there are videos from the museum in the days leading up to the day and days after. Inspector De Luca wanted to see if the thief might have been casing the place.”  

 “We will have our people look at these. “ Bryce closes up the file folder and hands it to Courtney. “One more question before we get started. Not too long ago your Board of Directors staged a hostile take over and tried to oust you - that ended in failure. One member was let go. He was caught on camera saying something about you having a secret that you wouldn’t talk about. Was he a suspect in this case?” 

 “No, No, not to me or the inspector for that matter. The Inspector checked him out and he had a solid alibi, no financial ties or any phone records that lead to anything.” 

 “Okay I think we have enough to get started. Oh before I forget is Inspector De Luca’s phone number in the files?” 

 “Yes it is, there is a department number and a direct line number. I would suggest you use the direct line and call him to arrange a meeting. I’m not exactly sure how he might want to proceed.” 

 “What do you mean?” 

 “He might not want you showing up at the station, he may want to meet outside the station so as to keep this all quiet.” 

 “That sounds like a good idea. We will be in touch Wilhelm.”  

 Bryce stands up followed by Amelia and Courtney. Bryce and Wilhelm shake hands. Wilhelm picks up the phone and says “Lani, our guests are ready to leave.” 

 The doors open and Lani escorts them to the elevator. “Robert is waiting downstairs for you. Call me if there is anything I can do to help.” 

 “Thank you Lani.” Amelia responds. Bryce has one of the files open and is reading intently. Bryce, Bryce” 

 “Yes, thanks you very much for your help Lani.” 

 Robert drives the team to their hotel drops them off and heads back to Klein Industries. The team gather in Bryce’s room to go over the files that Wilhelm gave them. The files have been divided up by their category. As they are each reviewing the files, Amelia’s phone vibrates. It’s another text from Scott.  

 “Holly delivered the package to me. I have transferred your payment to your account. Interpol has taken an interest in me so watch out. Holly has disappeared.” 

 “What do you mean disappeared?” 

 “I can’t reach her and I can’t track her phone. I’m guessing she has ditched it..“ 

“I’ll watch my back, Thank you” Amelia responds. Having Courtney around with her involvement with the CIA could prove to be an asset or a liability.  

 “Should I get a burner phone?” 

 “Yes, your should. When you get the new phone text me.” 

 “Alright, Courtney lets take a look at the videos from the museum for the days prior to the theft. Can you put those up on the tv?” Bryce positions his chair so he can see the tv. 

 “Yeah hang on one second.” After a minute or so she has a video playing. 

 “So how many different views of the museum are there?” 

 “We have 5 different views. One of the entrance, and four from around the main floor.” 

 “Okay let’s look at the entrance. I want to see the day of the theft first.” 

 A video starts playing showing people entering the facility. There are not a lot of people coming and going. May is not a  very busy time in Milan. As the tourists arrive in mass, typically mid June then the numbers really increase. Most of the people visiting the facility are arriving in pairs and look very typical. Bryce is looking for something that looks out of place. Fortunately the video has been recorded using the the latest technology for two years ago. Digital hi def video is so much better that old videos stored on magnetic tape. Bryce and Courtney review several videos, sometimes multiple times. Tracking people as they move through the museum. It can be a time consuming process.The Ferrari is a beautiful car, not like what most people would think of when you say the word Ferrari. The car seems to be the focus of the the entire facility. It has the most dramatic display and many people take photos and selfies. No one spends an unusual amount of time looking at the Ferrari. As Bryce and Courtney are reviewing the videos, Amelia is reviewing some financial records of the some of the people that De Luca had thought were worth investigating.  

 “Bryce, I’m looking at the financials and I don’t see anything from any of Wilhelm’s staff. You had mentioned earlier about how you thought this might have been an inside job. Evidently De Luca didn’t think about that.” 

 “Okay, put that on the list of things to talk to De Luca about.” 

 The team spend the next few hours sifting through more information and building a list of things to talk to De Luca about. 

 “I think it’s time to give Inspector De Luca a call and see if he will meet with us.” Bryce finds he is number in the files and grabs his phone. 

 “Inspector De Luca this is Bryce Williams, I’m researching Mr. Klein’s case.” 

 “Mr. Williams I was wondering when you would call.” 

 “I’m hoping you can find some time when we could meet.” 

 “Well that all depends.” 

 “Depends on what?” 

 “If you are here to make me look bad to my Caption then I have nothing to offer.” 

 “That is not my intention. All I want is to find Mr. Klein’s car and return it to him.” 

 “Are you planning on getting the local papers involved, telling them how you are superior to the Milan Police? Because if that is the case then you are on your own.” 

 “No, I do not want to do that. I want your help and in exchange I want you to take all the credit and you can explain how you found a new lead that helped you solve the case. Then we leave Milan without saying a word.” 

 “If that is true then we can work together. If that changes then forget it.” 

 “Fair enough. Can we meet tomorrow morning some time?” 

 “I can meet at 10:00 tomorrow morning. Where are you staying? I’ll come to you.” 

 “We are at the Westin Palace room 2112.” 

 “I’ll see you at 10:00” 

  Bryce ends the call and sets his phone down. “Well Mr. Klein was not kidding, De Luca is a bit of a jerk. I’m not sure how helpful he will be.” 

 “Sounds like a jerk that’s for sure.” Amelia adds. 

 “Courtney can any of your contacts get some financial information for Wilhelm’s employees?” 

 “It’s possible but usually those requests are a little tougher to get done.” 

 “We’ve done this in the past.” 

 “True but my CIA contacts tend to be more cooperative when the situation has international implications. What are you thinking?” 

 “Alright, that makes sense. I’m just going back to the inside person concept. Amelia, If you had to pick a person that you would suspect as being the inside person here, who would you pick?” 

 “At this point I would take a good look at Joey Marks. He is on Wilhelm’s payroll as a handyman and janitor. He would have the access to the facility to be able to turn off the security system, open the door on the loading dock for the the thief and even help get the car loaded onto the truck.” 

 “Did De Luca look at him?” 

 “He questioned him, claimed to have an alibi. That’s where it stopped.” 

 “What about Fran, the museum administrator?” 

 “She had an alibi and that was the end of it.” 

 “Okay, It seems like De Luca felt that wasn’t even a possibility so he just ignored it.” 

 “Courtney, if you can get any financials on Joey and Fran that would be great.” 

 “I’m wondering if Wilhelm’s position in this community had an affect on how De Luca investigated this case.” Courtney adds. 

 “Yeah, I agree.” Amelia points out. “If finding out that one of Wilhelm’s own people were guilty then that definitely wouldn’t look good.” 

 “Let’s keep that all in mind when we meet with De Luca tomorrow.  

 The team spend the next few hours going through the videos, interrogations and witness statements then break for the evening, Jet lag was still keeping them from operating at their peak.  

 Bryce walks into the main lobby of Klein Industries just as Lani is walking out. She glances at him but quickly lowers her head. She clearly didn’t want to make eye contact. They pass each other without saying a word. Bryce continues into the lobby and gets on the elevator. The doors open and Bryce steps off the elevator. Wilhelm is standing outside his office looking at the Harley motorcycle on display there as if deep in thought.

 “That is a great item to have in your collection.” Bryce says as he walks up

 Wilhelm slowly turns to Bryce and says, “Yes, it is. It wasn’t easy to get one of these for my collection. I spent four years looking and negotiating with the former owner. Eventually we arrived at a deal.”

 They both stand there for a few more moments just admiring the motorcycle.

 “Shall we move to my office?” Wilhelm asks.

 “Let’s do that.” Bryce walks toward the door to the office and makes his way to one of the guest chairs. Wilhelm’s desk is covered with file folders and many pieces of paper.

 “How is your investigation going? Are you making any progress?” Wilhelm gathers up papers and folders and makes one tidy pile. 

 “I think we are. I spoke with Inspector De Luca and he shared some insights that we didn’t see in the files.”

 “What insights would those be?”

 “Well, he seemed to think that you had some ideas about who stole your car but you aren’t interested in finding the thief, you just want the car back.”

 “That is true, he is very perceptive, the car is all that matters. If you find the person responsible I won’t press any charges.”

 “Well I don’t really understand that but that’s not why I’m working this case. I just want to find the car. I talked to Lani and she wasn’t very forthcoming with much information. I got the idea that she was withholding something. Why would she do that?”

 “My guess is that she is just defending my position. When this all happened she realized that I was reluctant to talk and she did the same.”

 “Inspector De Luca thinks that you know who stole the car and you might be protecting someone.”

 “I don’t know who did this but I have a strong feeling that whoever it was, I don’t want to know. My circle of friends is quite small. I can’t afford to find that the thief is a friend that I can’t trust or even look them in the eye anymore.”

 “Okay, let me ask you a question. Does Lani have access to the server that is used to monitor the security at the museum?”

 “Yes she does, in my absence she has quite a bit of access and responsibilities. Do you think she did something to the security system on that night?”

 “We do, we found a bank account that she is a fiduciary for, it belongs to her mother, that received a deposit of $20,000 just a short time before the date of the theft. Do you know anything about this?”

 “No I don't!” Wilhelm stands up and walks to the large window just behind his desk. He stares out the window with his hands clasped behind him.

 “Is it possible to look at the logs on your security server on the night of the crime?”

 Wilhelm returns to his desk and sits down. “I will have our tech department create an account for you and get you that information.” Wilhelm writes a note to himself.

 “One other thing we saw on security cam video at the museum, again in the weeks prior to the theft, we saw Fran meeting with an unidentified man and this man delivers a small box to Fran with a gun in it.”

 “I find that hard to believe.” Wilhelm is clearly hearing things that are very upsetting to him and something he didn’t know.

 “We can show you the footage. We also saw a withdrawal from her bank for $800 cash the day before. My guess is that the money was used to buy the gun.”

 “These are exactly the things I didn’t want to know. I guess I need to stop ignoring these things.” 

 Bryce pauses for a moment and gives Wilhelm time to process all that he has just learned. 

 “There is another thing we saw on the security camera footage. An unidentified man is seen looking at the Ferrari, paying particular attention to the underside of the car and taking a lot of pictures. All the while wearing sunglasses inside. Not a criminal offense but certainly odd. Then on the night of the theft he is seen on a traffic camera walking out of an alley where one of the trucks was seen moments before it was dumped. We are working on facial recognition to id him.”

 Wilhelm is clearly upset with all this information. He has a few big decisions to make or to ignore. It’s not easy to predict what his next move will be.

 Bryce finally breaks the silence and asks, “Is there anything else you want to tell me.”

 “No, there isn’t.” Wilhelm stares at his computer monitor to avoid looking at Bryce. 

 “Alright, I will return to my hotel and I will wait for that account information for the security server. I’ll let you know if we learn anything new. Maybe you should keep an eye on Fran and Lani for now. I’m requesting that you don’t let on that you know anything. If they know what you know, they might do something to mess up the investigation.”

 “I think you’re right, I will make some changes to the access that Lani has to all the systems. That’s for sure”

 “You may want to review your financials as well.”

 “Yes, I will.”

 “Good day Wilhelm. I’ll see myself out.”

Bryce leaves Wilhelm’s office and steps onto the elevator. When the doors open he sees Lani in the ground floor lobby talking to Robert. As soon as she sees Bryce she stops talking to Robert and starts walking toward Bryce.

 “How was your meeting?” She asks. 

 “Fine, just fine.”

 “Alright, hope to see you soon.”

 “Bye.” Bryce and Robert walk to the car and Bryce wonders- That was a very different mood from Lani. Why is she all friendly all of the sudden? Did she find something out, has she been talking to someone? Does she have Wilhelm’s office bugged?

 Bryce pulls out his phone and texts Amelia and Courtney- “I’m heading back to the hotel. Let’s meet.”

 Courtney responds- “Amelia and I are still in your room working. We have an identity for sunglass man in the museum.”

 “Who is it?” he responds.

 “Do you really want me to tell you?”

 “Yes, tell me!!”

 “It is - sorry my phone is dying.”

 “Okay Okay, I see what’s going on, this is payback for last month.”

 “Yes it is! The man is Sebastian Braun. Wilhelm's childhood friend and former business partner.”

 “Wow, didn’t see that coming!”

 “I agree, we are getting more information on Sebastian, residences, travel records, financials, the usual.”

 “I’m pulling up to the hotel now. I’ll see you in a minute.”

Bryce hurries up to his room. He can’t believe the news. Knowing that Sebastian is their most likely suspect gives them a whole new direction to go now. He opens the door to his room to see Courtney and Amelia still deep into videos, financials and databases that only Courtney has access to.

 “I leave for 1 hour and you two crack the case.”

 “Well we might have, we still don’t have any real proof that it was Sebastian.” Courtney responds.

 “Yeah but this is our first real lead.”

 “I had to use a little of the petty cash on this one.”

 “How much?” Bryce knew this was going to happen, the only question is how much.

 “One thousand U.S.”

 “Well that’s not too bad. Someone you have worked with before?”

 “Yeah, she has actually helped already on this case, so it seems fair to me.”

 “Alright, so we can’t prove that it was Sebastian, how are we going to do that then?”

 Amelia interrupts, “All we have to do is follow the money. We show that he paid Lani to disable the security system.”

 “Okay let’s do that.” Bryce has a sense of purpose in his tone of voice now. The energy in the room is palpable.

 Courtney responds, “I’ve been trying to do that. The money deposited to Lani’s Mom’s account - the one that originated in Monaco- I can’t get the account holders name. The laws and politics going on here are very different from what we usually see.”

 “Alright, do we need to get Inspector De Luca involved?”

 “I have one more contact I’m working with. He doesn’t want money. He wants something else.”

 “What do you mean - something else?” Bryce looks at Courtney then at Amelia.

 Amelia gives Bryce the- are you kidding me stare. “Seriously Bryce?!?”

 “What, oh ok I get it. So tell him you’ll sleep with him. It's a perfectly good tactic to get what you want. I’ve done it.”

 “So have I.” Amelia adds, nodding her head in approval. 

 “You two are terrible.” Courtney hangs her head.

 “Amelia, you sleep with him.” Bryce actually looks like he is being serious. 

 “Settle down you two.” Courtney starts an email. 

 “Who are you emailing?” Amelia leans over to get a better view of Courtney’s laptop. 

 Courtney quickly spins it away from her.

 “Alright, so we think Sebastian stole the car. Why? Did he sell it? Not easy to sell a car like that. Could have been sold to a private collector.” 

 Amelia reminds Bryce, “The person that stole the car left the rams head mark at the crime scene, remember? He is wanted for 5 other crimes, all high dollar items. Doesn’t seem like he’s in it for the money.”

 “That’s right, so what was the motive?” Bryce looks through some of the files. 

 “Maybe he is still upset about the car crash that Wilhelm had that killed Sebastian's girlfriend. What was her name?” Amelia asks as she searches for her name in the files.

 “Rose Russo.” Courtney says as she hands Amelia the papers related to Sebastian. 

 “Why wait so long though. That crash was forty or fifty years ago. When was the car crash?” Amelia asks. 

 Amelia scans the paper and finds the date she was looking for, “May 10 1971. Then Rose died on May 13th, three days later.”

  “Alright, how did we not see this?”

 Amelia looks at Bryce with a curious face. “What are you talking about?”

 “The Ferrari was stolen on May 13th 2021 - 50 years later. 50 years to the day!” Bryce puts his hand to his forehead then throws his hands in the air “I’m an idiot.”

 “Well, if you are an idiot then we all are. None of us caught that one.” Amelia agrees.

 “I still want to prove this though. Courtney, have you planned your date with Monaco bank guy yet?”

 Courtney turns away from her laptop and gives Bryce a wry smile. Then the same for Amelia who was staring intently at her. “I have the name of the person on the account that paid Lani the $20,000”

 “Let me guess, Sebastian Braun?” Bryce asks. 

 “You got it. Now we have some proof!” Courtney leans back in her chair and smiles.

 “Alright, we know Sebastian stole the car and five other very valuable things. Where is he and where is the car? If we find the car we might find the rest of the stolen items. Might be some additional finders fees in there if we play our cards right” Bryce adds. 

 “Well he has an account with a bank in Monaco, let's start there.” Amelia looks at Courtney.

 “I am really working hard on this one, you both know that right?” Courtney shoots them both a glance. 

 “And we appreciate all your hard work Courtney.” Bryce gives her a thumbs up.

 Courtney begins typing on her laptop. Searching for known addresses for Sebastian. After several minutes she blurts out, “I think I found something.”

 “What ya got?” Bryce asks.

 “Sebastian has a few addresses in three countries, German, the U.S. and Monaco- technically Monaco isn’t a country but. According to his travels he spends most of his time in Monaco. At least that’s what his passport indicates.” His finances show a modest income and I can’t find any other foreign accounts linked directly to him. Not yet anyway. Here is something interesting, in the local Monaco paper - Monaco Life - there is an article about Sebastian, evidently he is quite the gambler, he is a regular at the Monte Carlo Casino”

 “Alright, that could be useful. Does he own any properties in Monaco? Doesn’t sound like he sold off all the things he stole. I guess he could have fenced the items and just kept all the money in his mattress.” Bryce says. 

 “He has an apartment in Monaco with a private garage. That's got to be a pricey place to live, especially in Monaco.” Courtney glances at Bryce.

 “Let’s assume that the car is at his place in Monaco, how do we get in there to see it?” Bryce ponders. 

 “We could break in. Take a few pictures, get out.” Amelia suggests. 

 “Let's call that plan B” Bryce heads to the coffee maker and pours himself a cup. “What if, hear me out, Amelia you pose as a broker for a client in Dubai, and you are looking for a rare car for him. Like we did for the art thief in Singapore.” 

 “Then I get him talking about cars without making him suspicious.” Amelia says.

 “Then maybe we get him to start talking about the Ferrari. Then maybe he will let you see it.” Bryce is getting more excited by the minute. 

 “That could work. Low risk.” Amelia nods in approval. 

 “Courtney, can we confirm that Sebastian is actually in Monaco right now?” Bryce asks.

 “We have a phone number for him, I could call and pretend to be a journalist from a local paper and I want to talk to him for a piece I’m working on about living in Monaco. He seems to be a bit of a minor celebrity.” 

 “Block your number.”

 “I’m way ahead of ya.” Courtney dials Sebastian’s number- one ring- two rings- three rings- she was about to give up when someone answers. 

 “Hello.”

 “Hello Mr. Braun, my name is Chelsea Summers, I’m an independent journalist and I was wondering if you would be willing to give me an interview for a piece I’m working on.” 

 “What type of story is it?” 

 “The story is about Monaco and the casinos there- I saw a piece in Monaco Life and I want to hear about your experiences.”

 “Well I guess, when would you like to meet!”

 “How about day after tomorrow?”

 “That’s perfect, where?”

 “Cafe de Paris, it’s just down the street from the Monte Carlo. Say 10:00am”

 “Sounds good, see you there.”

 “Well that was easy, well done you” Bryce claps sarcastically. 

 “Thank you, thank you” 

 “Now all we have to do is get to Monaco.” Amelia says. 

 “It’s not that far.” Courtney has already brought up a map with directions. 

 “We could drive or take the train.” Amelia suggests. 

 “I like the train, nice relaxing ride.” Bryce says.

 “You want me to get a private room?”

 “Yeah, let’s leave tomorrow. And get us some rooms for four days.”

 “Hey I got a friend who is in London for two weeks, let me text her, maybe we can stay there.” 

 “Sounds good”

 Lani walks into Wilhelm’s office and positions herself in front of him standing there with her arms crossed. Wilhelm looks up from his desk and says “Is there something I can do for you?”

 “I just wanted to say I’m a little concerned.” 

 “About what?”

 “Mr. Williams and his team, I’m concerned that they will drag your good name through the mud with this investigation.” 

 “I don’t see that happening. Mr Williams has been very upfront and cooperative.”

 “I don’t think he knows what he’s doing. He’s not even a real detective.” 

 “He has learned a great deal about all of this. I am confident he will find my Ferrari.” 

 Lani’s posture changes as well as her facial expression, what was argumentative and confrontational now seems more like she is overly kind and conniving “I would be willing to assist you in your meetings with Mr. Williams. I could pull all the data together for you.”

 “I don’t think that will be necessary but thank you.”

 Lani spins around and heads for the door. 

 Scott picks up his phone and dials Holly, she doesn’t answer. He leaves a voicemail for her. “Holly, I’ve been thinking about what you said - about me being unfair about the money. You’re right. Can we meet somewhere and have a drink and talk about this? I’ve got another job and I want your help. Call me!” Scott sets his phone down and leans back in his chair. 

 No more than two minutes have passed and Scott’s phone rings. “Hello Holly”

 “I’m surprised you called me. We didn’t part the best of friends.” she says.

 “That’s true, but like I said in the voicemail, I realized what a mistake I made. Can we meet?”

 After a long pause she finally says “Ok, meet me at Clown Dogs at 9:00pm” 

 “I’ll see you there.” 

 Scott sends a text message “we are meeting at Clown Dogs at 9:00, bring the van”

 Bryce, Amelia and Courtney arrive at Courtney’s friends apartment after a relaxing train ride. The apartment is small but has a very comfortable vibe to it. It’s five blocks from the center of action in Monaco. The time has come for Courtney to meet with Sebastian. She walks out of the bathroom after spending a long time getting ready, looking very nice. A little flirty but with a dash of professionalism sprinkled on top. 

 “You look very nice.” Bryce smiles as he gives her the once over. “Wait, flats!?! With that dress and makeup and hair. Seems out of place. Is this a European thing I don’t know about?” Bryce turns to Amelia as if to get her to agree with him. 

 “She looks very nice. You look very nice Courtney. Don’t let Bryce get to you. Don’t forget we are talking about a seventy year old man, I don’t think it will matter too much.” 

 “Alright, Alright. Remember what we talked about on the train.”

 “I will”

 Courtney makes her way to the cafe with Bryce and Amelia following close behind. Courtney enters the cafe and sees Sebastian sitting at a table by himself. Bryce and Amelia are seated at a table on the other side of the room. Too far for them to be able to hear the conversation but there weren’t any other options.

 “Mr. Braun, hello I’m Chelsea Summers.”

 Sebastian stands up and pulls her chair out for her and waits.” 

 “Miss Summers please sit down.”

 Chelsea sits down and Sebastian scoots her chair in.

 “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.” 

 “Of course, I was intrigued by your call. What made you want to contact me?”

 “When I saw the piece in the paper on you I knew I had to talk to you. I love Monaco and the casinos. It’s kind of a passion for me, well that and automobiles. I love cars and racing.” 

 “Well what would you like to know?” 

 Bryce and Amelia can see by Sebastian’s body language that the meeting is going well. They sip their coffees and try to watch without being conspicuous. Whatever the training was that Courtney received from the CIA seems to be paying off. The meeting goes on for about 30 minutes and then Sebastian pays his bill and stands up, shakes Courtney’s hand and collects the glasses that were on the table and takes them to the bar. He hands them to the man behind the bar and says something to him. The man places the glasses below the counter and Sebastian slips him a note and some money. Then Sebastian returns to the table, says goodbye and leaves the cafe. Bryce and Amelia leave a few minutes later. They all meet around the corner from the cafe and continue to the apartment. 

 “That looked like it went well.” Bryce exclaims.

 “Yes it did, I think he bought the whole thing.”

 “What was the deal with the glasses?” Amelia asks.

 “I noticed that too” Bryce adds

 “I’m not sure. Maybe just being polite.”

 “Maybe, What did you find out?” Bryce asks

 “He loves to gamble, first off. Then when I brought up my love for cars - exotic and rare cars he really opened up to me. He says he has a few of them. He never mentioned a Ferrari. But he did mention that he has a very special car but he wouldn’t give me the details” 

 “Okay so what’s the next move then?” 

 “He agreed to take me to the Monte Carlo later and show me around. I have a bit of a plan.  While we are in the casino I’ll make a wager with him that if I win he shows me the car.” 

 “But what if you lose, then what?” 

 “I’ll play the best of three card. I really think he wants to show me the car. This will work.”

 “I hope so.” Amelia responds

 Bryce was skeptical about this plan but the risk factor was low and the reward could really be worth it. 

 Scott arrives at Clown Dogs and makes his way to the front door. As he enters, the security guard pats him down. He isn’t carrying a weapon and this means that Holly won’t be either.  He finds a table on the upper level near the back entrance and orders a drink. For whatever reason the club is quiet tonight, at least by club standards. Scott’s associate, only known as Damian, sits at a table not far away. Damian is a large man standing at least 6 foot 3 inches. He must weigh at least 280 pounds and it seems like all muscle. 

 Holly arrives and passes through security and spots Scott. She makes her way over to his table.

 “Hello Holly.” 

 “Scott”

 “I’m glad you agreed to meet with me.” 

 “I’m interested to find out if you really had a change of heart or if this is all bullshit.” 

 “My heart has nothing to do with this. This is all business. I want to continue working with you and split the money evenly.”

 “Interesting, why now?” 

 “I realize how good you are at this and how we can make a lot more money together rather apart.”

 “Alright, I'll keep working with you until you cross me again.”

 “Great! Let’s have a drink to seal our new deal. You still drinking Jack and coke?”

 “Yeah”

 “I’ll be right back.” Scott makes his way to the bar and orders two Jack and cokes and returns to the table. He sets the drinks down. Holly has no idea that Scott has slipped some drugs into her drink. Holly reaches for her glass but Scott interrupts her.

 “Wait! I want to make a toast. Here’s to us both getting more of what we deserve.” 

 They touch glasses and Holly takes a generous sip and sets her glass down.

 “I never thought you would change your mind Scott.” Holly takes another generous sip.” She blinks repeatedly, rubs her right eye and grabs a hold of the table to keep from falling out of her chair. She tries to speak but she can’t get the words to come out. Scott nods at Damian, he gets up and moves over to Scott’s table. They lift her up by her elbows to get her to her feet and move to the exit. They get her to the alley and into the back of the waiting van without being noticed. Damian hops in the driver’s seat and Scott stays in the back with Holly.

 “Let’s go” Scott calls out. Damian drives off.

 Scott arrives at the warehouse the next morning. He parks his car near the door to the side of the building. This door leads directly into the office area where Holly is being held. Instead of finding her still restrained to the bed he discovers that she has escaped. All that remains is the rag that was tied around her head for a gag. He says to himself- ‘Well I should’ve seen that coming. She always was unpredictable.’  He turns, walks to the door and leaves the building, gets in his car and drives off. Before he even hears the shot ring out, a bullet pierces the windshield and hits him in the left eye socket killing him instantly. The car drifts toward another building and comes to a stop when it runs into a wall. Holly gets up from her position on the roof and breaks down her rifle, packs it up and heads down the fire escape. 

 “Well that’ll teach ya.” she says.

 She gets in her car and opens the carry case that she took from Scott’s vault. Takes a look at it, closes the case and drives away.

 Bryce and the team meet in the lobby of the hotel at 2:45 and grab a cab to the address that Sebastian gave them. The truck that Courtney hired to get the car to Milan pulls up to the garage moments after they do and the driver gets out of his truck and walks over to them. 

 “Good afternoon, I’m Charles.”

 “Good afternoon Charles, the car is in the garage.”

 “What kind of car is it?”

 “It’s a 1950 Ferrari 166 MM.”

 “I’m pretty sure I have never transported one of those, I’m not even sure what it looks like.”

 “I’ve never seen one either. I’m working for the owner of the car.”

 “Well let’s take a look.”

 “It’s 3:05, the alarm is probably off” Bryce walks to the keypad on the side of the garage door and keys in the code 1971. 

 The garage door begins to open. They get their first glimpse of the car. It’s a beautiful red color, shiny and pristine like it just left the factory maybe better than when it left the factory. The body lines flow so well that it makes you think that it is more of a piece of art rather than a car. It’s hard to believe that this car is 74 years old.

 Everyone just stands there and admires the car for a few minutes.

 “It looks like that car would strain the limits of machine and man.” Bryce says.

 “Is that a song lyric?” Amelia asks.

 “Maybe.” responds Bryce

 “Well let’s see if the key is where Sebastian said it would be.” Courtney says.

 Bryce walks to the car and leans over to feel on top of the tire for the key.

 “It’s not here.” he says.

 “Sebastian said drivers side front wheel.” Courtney gives a wry smile.

 “Yeah, drivers side” Bryce points at the tire. 

 “The steering wheel is on the right - not the left.”

 “Oh, right!”

 Bryce grabs the key and looks like he is getting ready to get in the car and start it up.

 “Whoa, hang on there.” Charles calls out. “You’re not going to try and start the car are you?”

 “I was, but now I’m thinking that might be a bad thing.”

 “Yeah, very bad. We don’t know how the car was prepped for storage. It probably doesn’t have proper engine oil in it. Starting it would destroy the engine. Not to mention that it probably doesn’t even have gas in it. I will get the car out of the garage.”

 “Ok, good call. We will get out of your way and let you get to work.”

 Charles uses the winch and pulleys on his truck to get the car out of the garage. The back of the truck has a ramp that lowers to the ground so that the car has the smallest of inclines to get up. He pulls the car onto the ramp, secures it and raises the ramp to the level of the bed of the truck. Then he gently and methodically rolls the car into the truck. Bryce, Courtney and Amelia watch the whole process and are amazed at the precision that Charles uses to load the car. After the car is secured with several straps and covered with a soft cover he closes the door and walks over to the three.

 “Once the doors are all closed up, you have no idea that there is a multi-million dollar car in there.” Amelia says

 “That is so true.” Bryce nods.

 “Charles, you have the address for the destination?” Courtney asks.

 “Yes, I do.”

 “We are taking the train back to Milan, so we will meet you at the museum at 10:00am tomorrow.” Bryce says.

 “The truck will be parked overnight in our secured warehouse and we have a security guard on staff all night.”

 “That’s perfect, drive safe Charles.”

 “I will, goodbye.”
 Charles walks to his truck and climbs in the cab and drives off.

 “Well I guess we should head back to the apartment.” Bryce says.

 “I called for a cab to pick us up, should be here any minute.” Courtney confirms.

 “Courtney, you have been such a great help on this trip. Thanks for all you do.” Amelia says.

 “It’s been an interesting adventure. I enjoyed it.”

 The cab arrives and takes them back to their apartment. They get packed up and then wait for the cab to take them to the train station.

 “I still have a few questions.” Amelia says.

 “Like what?” Bryce responds.

 “So Sebastian steals the car on the 50th anniversary of Rose’s death. The only woman he ever loved evidently, why steal the car? I mean Wilhelm didn’t have the car back then, he bought the car years later.”

 “Maybe Sebastian just wanted to take away one thing that Wilhelm loved.” Bryce says.

 “Yeah I guess.”  Amelia says

 “I’m guessing that Sebastian wasn’t looking for any closure for himself, I don’t think he will ever find that. He just wanted Wilhelm to feel bad.”

 “So how do we explain all this to Wilhelm?” Amelia asks.

 “I have been thinking about that and I think I will just tell Wilhelm that we have the car and that it will be delivered tomorrow at 10:00am. He didn’t want to know who stole it and I won’t even bring that up. If Wilhelm changes his mind I will tell him that I have made agreements with others that I won’t break.”

 “Sounds like the best plan.” Amelia says.

 The team boards the train for Milan.

 Robert drops off the team at the museum at about 9:30 the next morning. Wilhelm is waiting and greets them.

 “Well I must say I had my doubts that you would find my car but you did it. Thank you so much!”

 “It was quite the adventure and we have met a lot of interesting people along the way. The truck should be pulling up in a few minutes.” Bryce says.

 “It is a beautiful car Mr Klein. A real piece of art.” Amelia adds.

 “It will be very satisfying to see it back in its rightful place.” Wilhelm is getting more anxious by the minute.

 The truck pulls up and Charles backs up to the loading dock.

 “I want to see the car after it has been unloaded. Let’s step inside.” Wilhelm says. 

 They all walk into the museum and see Fran and Lani standing there. They follow Wilhelm to a conference room and close the door behind them. On one of the side tables sits two buckets of ice and champagne. 

 “I know it’s early but the occasion demands that we have a bit of a celebration.”

 Everyone agrees and nods in approval. Fran opens the bottles and pours several glasses. They each take a glass and wait for Wilhelm.

 “I would like to make a toast.” Wilhelm lifts his glass. “To Bryce, Amelia and Courtney, you have done the seemingly impossible and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Cheers!”

 Everyone raises their glasses and in unison says “Cheers!”

 After about 25 minutes Charles walks into the room and says. “The car is unloaded and sitting in the loading area.”

 Wilhelm walks to the door and makes his way to the loading area with everyone following. As he turns the corner and sees the car for the first time in a long time his eyes tear up. 

 “Wow, it looks beautiful.” Wilhelm says.

 He walks around the car, gliding his hand along the body, he opens the door and sits in the seat and feels the steering wheel, grabs the gear shift and gives it a wiggle.

 “This is so amazing, I love it! Yet there is something different about the car, I can’t quite put my finger on it.” Wilhelm says.

 “It will look even better when it is back on display.” Bryce says.

 “That is true, I’ll get my car guy to give the car a once over before going back on display. I think I will have the display redone too.”

 “I would love to see how that turns out.” Bryce says.

 “Me too” Amelia adds

 “Yes, that would be awesome.” Courtney says

 “Well Mr Klein, I think it is time for us to leave you to your car and head back to the States.” Bryce says.

 “I’ll send you an email with the details of my payment for you and your team's service as per our agreement.” Wilhelm says.

 “I will be waiting for your email.”

 “Goodbye Bryce, Amelia, Courtney. If you ever return to Milan please contact me.”

 “We will.”

 They all shake hands then make their way to the front of the museum where Robert is waiting to take them to the airport where Rich and Evan are already doing their pre-flight inspection. Wilhelm goes out to the loading area and stares at the car for a while longer. Fran walks out and stands next to him.

 “It’s good to have it back, Wilhelm.”

 “Yes, yes it is.”

 “Did they find out who was responsible?”

 “ Probably, but I told them that I didn’t want to know and this is the end of that.”

 “They should have to pay for their crime.”

 “I’m letting it go. You should too. I’m going to head back to my office.” he turns and starts to walk away but realizes that he has something else to tell Fran. 

 “I have made a few changes to who has access to the security system here at the museum. Now it’s only you and I.”

 “Okay, so Lani no longer has access?”

 “That’s correct.”

 “Alright then, good to know.”

 Wilhelm makes his way to the front of the museum and gets in his car and drives off.

 Fran pulls out her phone and texts Lani

 ‘Hey I’m going to start working on the designs for the new display for the Ferrari. I would love your input.’

A minute or so later, ‘That would be fun, when?’

‘Tonight at 9:00?’

‘I’ll see you at the museum.’

Lani arrives at the museum a little before 9:00 and Fran is busy taking some pictures of the space where the Ferrari was on display. 

 “Hi Lani” Fran greets her

 “Fran.”

 “I think I have a few ideas and I would love to hear your thoughts. Let’s go to the conference room.”

 They both make their way to the conference room where Fran has a few designs laid out on the table. 

 “I had started some things before the car was stolen. I thought they might give us some inspiration. If I had known the car was going to be stolen I wouldn’t have started all this back then.”

 “Yeah that was crazy!”

 “But you knew for a while that the car was going to be stolen, didn’t you?”

 “What? No!”

 “Yeah, you did! Don’t lie!” Fran is getting louder as she steps toward a box on one of the side tables. She reaches in and pulls out a gun and points it at Lani.

 “What the hell Fran!”

 “How much were you paid to disable the alarm system that night? Five thousand, ten thousand?”

 “I had no part in this, you have to believe me!”

 “No, I really don’t. I have access to the same security system that you do. When Wilhelm told me today that he took your access away I got suspicious. I went back through the logs and I found you were the one that disabled the system. You tried to cover your tracks by erasing the log but you didn’t know that the log is duplicated on another server. That is where I found that it was you.”

 Lani rushes toward Fran and Fran pulls the trigger and hits her in the leg. She falls to the floor and grabs her leg as she cries out in pain.

 “Oh, oh god. Fran! Stop!”

 Fran stands over her with her gun pointed at her head.

 “The next one won’t be in your leg.”

 Luckily the bullet passed through her leg and didn’t hit any bone or major blood vessels, the bleeding is minimal but the pain is intense.

 “Why are you doing this!” Lani cries out.

 “You are just getting what you deserve.”

 “I still have the money! I can give it to you”

 “ I don’t want your filthy money, I want justice!”

 “This isn’t justice!”

 “This is my justice.”

 Fran is just about to pull the trigger when she hears sirens approaching. She turns to look out the window to see a police car pulling up. 

 “I want everyone to know what you have done.” Fran screams.

 Fran hears the front door open and footsteps approaching.

 Inspector De Luca stands in the doorway directly in front of Fran with his gun drawn and pointed at her.

 “Put the gun down!” he shouts. “Do it now!”

 “She has to pay for what she did.”

 “Not like this, we have all the evidence we need to send her away!”

 “Send her away?, that’s not what will happen, she will get a deal and then never serve a day in prison?”

 “If you do this then you’ll be the one serving a prison sentence.”

 “I can’t go to prison, I won’t make it.”

 “Fran! Put the gun down.”

 Fran turns to look at Lani, lying on the floor. Lani’s eyes are begging for mercy, she raises her hand as if to block the shot. Fran cocks her head to one side and pulls the trigger. The bullet finds its mark, hits Lani in the head, brain matter is sprayed all over the floor, her body goes limp. Inspector De Luca fires and hits Fran right in the heart and she falls to the floor. Blood pools under her body. Two other officers that had just arrived enter the room with their guns drawn. 

 “Stand down! Stand down.” the inspector shouts.

 They all holster their guns and look at the two bodies on the floor. 

 “Dammit! Why did she have to do this? The car was returned, it was all over.” the inspector says.

 “Suicide by cop.” one of the officers says.

 Bryce and the team are just about to get on the plane when Bryce’s phone lights up. 

 “Wilhelm is calling.”

Bryce gets the bad news about Fran and Lani and from the conversation Amelia and Courtney can tell that something bad has happened. Bryce eventually ends the call and tells the story to them. Everyone is in disbelief. 

 “Such a shame. I hope Wilhelm will be okay. It’s been a rough couple years and then this happens.”

 They sit in silence for several minutes trying to find a way to make sense of all they have learned. Amelia gets a text message. She reads it and turns to Bryce. 

 “No one has found out who is counterfeiting those hundred dollar bills.” 

 “Get a hold of Kansas and ask him to dig into that.” Bryce responds.

 “You got anywhere to be Courtney?” Bryce asks.

 “As my Grandma used to say, I got nowhere to go and all night to get there.

THE END