“Abner Kramer.”
“That fits the asterisks, but so would a lot of other names.”
“That’s the only name I care about, at the moment.”
“Whatever you say, Stone.”
“Bye-bye, Bob.”
“See ya.” Cantor hung up.
So did Stone. He checked his watch. Barton Cabot would still be on the road home. He called his cell phone.
“Hello?”
“It’s Stone.”
“Hi. You home already?”
“No. I’m still half an hour away.”
“What’s up?”
“I ran a check on Mildred’s bank account, and yesterday she deposited a check for half a million dollars from Charlie Crow.”
There was a long silence. “Interesting,” Barton said, finally.
“It gets even more interesting. I checked on Charlie’s account, too. Yesterday he deposited a check in his own account for half a million dollars, and – get this – today he received a wire transfer of six and a half million dollars.”
Barton was silent again.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I don’t know, Stone. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that Charlie Crow bought the mahogany secretary that I temporarily stole and delivered to your house from Mildred Strong, then sold it to Ab Kramer for seven million dollars, representing it as the real thing.”
“What about the brass plate on the back of the piece?” Barton asked. “Ab wouldn’t pay seven million dollars for a piece clearly identified as a copy.”
“Charlie would have told Ab that he, himself, put the plate on the piece to disguise the real maker.”
“And why would Ab want it disguised?”
“Because he thinks the secretary is the one Charlie stole from you.”
“Let me get this straight,” Barton said. “You think Charlie stole the secretary from me, then sold Ab a copy, telling him that it was mine, right?”
“Right.”
“That brings to mind two questions: One, if Charlie had my secretary, what has he done with it, and two, what did he buy from Mildred?”
“He bought the Charleston piece from Mildred.”
“And paid her over four hundred thousand dollars more than it was worth? I thought we agreed that Charlie wasn’t stupid.”
“If he’s getting seven million for it, what does he care if Mildred holds him up for an extra three hundred thousand? We already know she’s a shrewd lady.”
“That’s possible, I guess. What’s your answer to my first question?”