Page 34 of The Collector
“Lockpick tools. I’m old-school.”
“I gathered that from the telltale.”
“How did you spot it?”
“The better question is, how could I have missed it?”
She lowered her pale blue eyes toward the jewelry glowing softlyin the candlelight. Her hair was the color of toffee and streaked with blond. Parted in the middle, it framed a face of straight, even features. There was nothing out of place, not a line or mark.
“You have very good taste, Mr. Allon.”
“Your friend Khoren Nazarian told me the same thing.”
“How did you convince him to betray me?”
“You know what they say about honor among thieves.”
“Why didn’t you simply go to the Danish police?”
He pointed out the offer of immunity. “I was hoping to settle the matter privately.”
“Is that still your intention?”
“To be determined.”
“By what?”
“Your level of candor in the next few minutes.”
She added Sancerre to his glass. “It isn’t really an actual crime, you know.”
“What’s that?”
“Stealing a stolen painting.”
“It is when it involves shooting someone twice in the head at close range.”
“I didn’t kill Lukas van Damme, Mr. Allon.” She returned the bottle to the cooler. “Or Peter Nielsen, in case you’re wondering.”
“What was the nature of your relationship?”
“Peter was a book hunter. Collectors hired him to track down volumes of great significance or value. And when their current owners refused to part with them...”
“He turned to you?”
She gazed at him through the candlelight but said nothing.
“How much did he pay you to steal the Vermeer?”
“Ten million.”
“Kroner?”
“I wouldn’t have touched it for that amount of money. The deal was in euros.”
“How was it structured?”
“Does it matter?”
