Honour Among Thieves

slightest smell of gas before he went to bed, some time after his master had retired. The explosives expert carried out his job deftly, and in moments the basement stank of gas. Hutchins recommended to the butler that for his own safety he should return to the street. With a handkerchief covering his nose and mouth Martin reluctantly agreed, leaving them to try and locate the leak. While the expert repaired the damage, Scott and Dexter began checking every room in the basement. Scott was the first to enter Cavalli's study and discover the parchment hanging on the wall, exactly where Dollar Bill had promised it would be. Within seconds the other two had joined him. Mendelssohn stared lovingly at the document. He checked the word 'Brittish' before lifting the glass frame gently off the wall and placing it on the boardroom table. Scott unzipped the large tool bag one of the agents had put together earlier in the evening, containing screwdrivers of all sizes, knives of all lengths, chisels of several widths and even a small drill, in fact everything that would be required by a professional picture framer. The Conservator checked the back of the frame and requested a medium-sized screwdriver. Scott selected one and passed it across to him. Mendelssohn slowly and methodically removed all eight of the screws that held the two large steel clamps to the back of the frame. Then he turned the glass over on its front. Dexter Hutchins couldn't help thinking that he might have shown a little more sense of urgency. The Conservator, oblivious to the Deputy Director's impatience, rummaged around in the bag until he had selected an appropriate chisel. He wedged it between the two pieces of laminated glass at the top right-hand corner of the frame. At the same time, Scott extracted from the cylinder supplied by Mendelssohn the copy of the Declaration they had taken from the National Archives earlier that evening. When the Conservator lifted the top piece of the laminated glass and rested it on the boardroom table, Scott could tell from the smile on his face that he believed he was staring down at the original. 'Come on,' said Dexter, 'or they'll start getting suspicious.' Mendelssohn didn't seem to hear the Deputy Director's urgings. He once again checked the spelling of 'Brittish' and, satisfied, turned his attention to the five 'Geo's and one 'George' before glancing, first quickly and then slowly, over the rest of the parchment. The smile never left his face. Without a word, the Conservator slowly rolled up the original, and Scott replaced it with the copy from the National Archives. Once Scott had the sheets of glass back in position he screwed the two steel clamps firmly in place. Mendelssohn deposited the cylinder in the work bag while Scott hung the copy on the wall. They both heard Dexter Hutchins' deep sigh of relief. 'Now for Christ's sake let's get out of here,' said the Deputy Director as six cops, guns drawn, burst into the room and surrounded them. 'Freeze!' said one of them. Mendelssohn fainted. ALL FOUR WERE ARRESTED, handcuffed and had their rights read out to them. They were then driven in separate police cars to the Nineteenth Precinct. When they were questioned, three refused to speak without an attorney present. The fourth pointed out to the Desk Sergeant that if the bag which had been taken from him was opened at any time other than in the presence of his attorney, a writ would be issued and a separate action taken out against the NYPD. The Desk Sergeant looked at the smartly-dressed, distinguished-looking man and decided not to take any risks. He labelled the bag with a red tag and threw it in the night safe. The same man insisted on his legal right to make one phone call. The request was granted, but not until another form had been completed and signed. Dexter Hutchins put a collect call through to the Director of the CIA at 2.27 a.m. The Director confessed to his subordinate that he hadn't been able to sleep. He listened intently to Hutchins' report and praised him for not revealing his name or giving the police any details of the covert assignment. 'We don't need anyone to know who you are,' he added. 'We must be sure at all times not to embarrass the President.' He paused for a moment. 'Or, more important, the CIA.' When the Deputy Director put the phone down, he and his three colleagues were hustled away to separate cells. The Director of the CIA put on his dressing gown and went down to his study. After he