Art and Murder Read Free

his home. Seven of his paintings were stolen, but to date none had been located.
    Two days after the party, both the informant and the thug who’d let the information slip were found shot to death in an alley.
    That action prompted a premature start to Kerin’s undercover assignment, even though it would be another two months before judicial approval was officially given.
    Kerin managed to befriend Roche by passing himself off as a high-class criminal who operated a car-theft ring that moved stolen cars, as well as other merchandise, around the world. When Roche asked what other merchandise, Kerin smiled and twirled a diamond ring around his finger. It was enough to bait the hook.
    Roche began to confide in Kerin more and more with the idea of bringing him into the gang as an equal. He spoke of working for someone he referred to as the Ringmaster. Kerin had laughed at the title, but Roche shrugged it off. He said they were like a circus, with multiple troupes playing in different countries and moving frequently. He said the secrecy of their identities helped keep them safe from the police. That and using disposable phones.
    â€œAnd do you have a title?” Kerin asked.
    â€œActually, I do,” Roche replied. “I’m known as the juggler, or sometimes the French juggler . I’m responsible for recruiting people to do the dirty work, as well as looking after the distribution of the goods in France. Sometimes I need to store them until it is safe, while other times the situation calls for a speedier distribution.”
    â€œHence the juggling act,” Kerin said. “Are there many jugglers in your, uh, company?”
    â€œIt varies. At the moment, there are five of us, counting my brother.”
    â€œAnton is a juggler?” Kerin was surprised. “You once mentioned he was a cabinetmaker.”
    â€œYou’ve got a good memory,” Roche noted. “Yes, it is a recent development that he was brought into the fold.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œKeep what I told you in confidence,” warned Roche. “The Ringmaster and the jugglers meet once a year to go over what we have done and see what we can do to help each other. That meeting should be happening soon. If you are accepted, you will meet the others then.”
    Kerin smiled. That is an opportunity I don’t want to miss.
    Despite Roche’s apparent trust, Kerin was still subjected to an electronic search for hidden transmitters once in a while. Roche would apologize each time and say he was simply following procedure. As a result, Kerin never wore a transmitter, but meticulously made notes of all his conversations with Roche immediately afterwards.
    Recently Roche had mentioned that the Ringmaster’s birthday was coming up, so Kerin gave him a gold watch to pass along, acting like it was a trivial item. The truth was, the cost of the watch had cut a big hole in the investigative funds allotted.
    The watch had a dual purpose. Besides gaining the favour of the Ringmaster, the watchband had a unique pattern of gold and silver. Unique enough, Kerin had convinced his bosses, that the man wearing it might be spotted and thus identified.
    Unfortunately subsequent surveillance of Roche did not identify anyone wearing the watch, but today Kerin had a chance to please his disgruntled bosses back at headquarters.
    A week ago Roche said he thought he might be garnering police attention. Kerin expressed concern, knowing full well that surveillance teams were targeting Roche. Fortunately it had an unexpected benefit. Roche blamed the police attention on the informant, who had allied himself to the gang and had been murdered prior to Kerin’s arrival. He then asked Kerin if he would be interested in temporarily replacing him as a safety precaution and suggested Kerin might be able to use his own connections to move stolen goods.
    Kerin could barely contain the exhilaration he felt. He remained silent.
    â€œI have heard