Among Thieves (34 page)

“What do you need?” Kozlowski asked.

“First and foremost, I need a reason to believe you two have something to offer me. I need a reason to believe you aren’t
full of bullshit.”

Kozlowski turned to Finn. “Your call.”

Finn thought about it for a moment. “A client of mine who may have information that would be helpful to the investigation,”
he said at last. “He’s got a problem you may be helpful in solving. If we could work a trade, would you be interested?”

“I might be,” Porter said. “What can he offer?”

“Under the right circumstances, he might be able to offer a lot.”

“Is he directly connected to the theft?”

“I can’t go there yet. Not without knowing what you can offer in return.”

Porter closed his eyes in thought for a moment. “Let’s handle it this way: I’ll talk to you generally about the theft and
the things that are well known. I won’t discuss the specifics of the investigation, though. Not without more information from
you.”

“Fair enough,” Kozlowski said.

Porter cleared his throat. “I assume you know the basics about how the thieves tricked the guards to gain access?” Finn and
Kozlowski nodded. “Once inside, it was an easy job. The museum had virtually no security systems in place, and the thieves
were able to spend close to an hour and a half in the place. In many ways, it was the perfect robbery. In other ways, it was
a mess.”

“How was it a mess?” Kozlowski asked.

“Well, first, the mixture of art that was stolen was very odd. Several of the paintings stolen were exceptionally valuable.
Vermeer’s
The Concert
, for example, is one of the most valuable paintings ever stolen. Similarly, Rembrandt’s
Storm on the Sea of Galilee
is an exceptional work, worth nearly as much as the Vermeer. It was the only seascape known to be painted by the Dutch master.
Other paintings by Flinck and Degas were worth less, but still justified the effort. Some of the other works taken were comparatively
worthless, though. It doesn’t really make sense. It is as though the thieves had some good information, and some bad information.”

“Are there any theories as to where the paintings are now?” Finn asked.

Porter looked at him. “Hundreds. We have chased over ten thousand tips, to no avail. There are more theories about who did
this and why than there are police officers in Boston. No one has gotten it right yet, and the paintings have still not been
found.”

“Do you have a favorite theory?” Kozlowski asked.

Porter considered the question. “I do. And I might share it with you if I had reason to believe you had legitimate information
to give to me.” No one said anything. “I need more, gentlemen. Otherwise I can’t continue.”

“There were two men involved,” Finn said after a moment. “One had a list of the valuable paintings. The other didn’t know
anything about art; he was just the entry man. He took advantage of the opportunity. That’s why some of what was stolen seemed
worthless.”

“Your client?” Finn said nothing, and Porter smiled. “Of course. That would explain a lot. And it fits with some of the information
we have.”

Finn felt as though he’d been taken. “So? Where do you think the paintings are now?” Finn demanded.

“I think the paintings are still here in Boston,” Porter said.

“Why?”

“You see,” Porter said, “first you have to try to get into the head of the person who planned this. To do that, you have to
understand both the nature of the art theft industry and the psychology of the art thief.”

“Industry?” Finn said. “Can it really be called an industry?”

“Depends on what you consider an industry, Mr. Finn. We estimate stolen art to run in the range of six billion dollars a year.”
Kozlowski let out an astonished whistle. “That’s according to the United Nations. It’s probably more. In terms of economics
and volume, the illicit trade in art and cultural property ranks second only to the drug trade.”

“How do they move it all?”

“That’s the rub,” Porter said. “It’s become very difficult to move paintings and artwork in recent years. Art isn’t like most
other commodities. It is, by its very nature, identifiable. Twenty or even ten years ago, that wasn’t much of a problem. A
painting could be stolen in one country, held for a number of years and then sold in another country. Often the buyer would
have no idea that the work was stolen at all. Many countries have laws that allow such an ‘innocent’ buyer to keep the painting
even if it is later discovered to be a stolen work. However, using the Internet, law-enforcement agencies now cooperate with
most of the world’s major art galleries and auction houses, and we have developed a catalogue of stolen art that is so comprehensive
that it’s become difficult for any buyer to ‘accidentally’ buy a work that’s been stolen. Plus, the laws in most countries
either have been or are in the process of being changed such that the purchaser must prove a reasonable provenance—a chain
of authenticity and legal custody—in order to retain ownership. There has also been such an onslaught of lawsuits from people
to recover stolen works going back even to World War II and the Holocaust, that the cost of buying or selling stolen art has
become very often too high.”

“So why would anyone steal art?” Kozlowski asked. “Seems like it’s a lot of work for relatively little gain.”

“One would think so,” Porter said. “But the relative risk for thieves is still often well worth it. First of all, the dangers
involved are low compared with other illegal activities. Much of the art in the world is held in private collections—in houses
and estates—which have little or no real security. Even many of the museums in the world are minimally protected. The criminal
penalties for art theft also tend to be significantly more lenient than those for other lucrative illegal activities—like
trading in drugs or weapons. Finally, even if the paintings are difficult to fence, there are other ways to collect. Some
are ransomed back to the museums. Even at a fraction of their value, the transaction can net the thieves millions. They hit
museums or private residences and then offer to return the paintings for the insurance money.”

“Why didn’t that happen in this case?”

“The Gardner Museum was uninsured. It’s a private institution with one of the largest collections in the United States. At
the time, they viewed the cost of insurance premiums as prohibitively expensive.”

“They had no insurance?” Finn was incredulous.

“None,” Porter replied. “That’s probably why no demand was made. Insurance is usually necessary for any institution to pay
a ransom. In theory, there are other ways the thieves can profit. The theft could have been commissioned by some wealthy client
with a fetish for these particular works. Or the works may have been collateralized in connection with other criminal activities.”

“I don’t understand,” Finn said.

“Stolen artwork has become a second currency among criminals. It’s traded as collateral for purchases of weapons or drugs.
Art is often easier to transport than huge sums of cash, and makes transfers easier. In addition, drug and arms dealers are
looking for ways to invest their enormous illegal profits. Stolen art is one place where they can plow huge sums of money.”

“But you don’t think that happened with the artwork stolen from the Gardner?”

Porter shook his head. “I don’t think so. It is possible, of course. Perhaps they are hanging right now on the wall of some
grand mansion of one of the world’s great crime figures—sort of a real-life version of James Bond’s
Dr. No
. I think it’s too romantic a notion, though.”

“What makes you believe the paintings are still here, in Boston?”

Porter laughed bitterly. “Perhaps I’m just an optimist. I still have hope.”

“Why?”

“Because this is Boston,” Porter said. “In 1990, most crime in Boston was run by Whitey Bulger. He was at the height of his
power. Nothing like this happened in Boston without his involvement. So I start with the assumption that Bulger was tied in.
But it’s equally clear to me that Bulger didn’t plan this job himself.”

“Too complicated for him?” Kozlowski asked.

“It’s not the complication factor,” Porter responded. “It’s the subject matter. Bulger was a smart man, smart enough to recognize
that this was outside of his area of expertise. Plus, it’s not clear that he would have had a good idea of how to move these
effectively unless he already had a buyer.”

“So the question is, who was the buyer,” Kozlowski commented.

“Well, yes and no. In fact, it’s fairly obvious who the buyer would have been.”

“Who?”

“The IRA,” Porter said. “At the time, the Republican movement was the most active group in art theft. They were linked to
dozens of high-profile thefts in the late eighties and early nineties throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. It was how
the movement supported much of its paramilitary activities.”

“Terrorism,” Kozlowski corrected him.

“Yes,” Porter agreed. “Terrorism. There are those—particularly in Boston—who would take issue with that characterization,
but I certainly don’t disagree. They funded a large portion of their operations with money made from the theft of precious
art.”

Finn shook his head. “Art buying bullets. Ironic.”

“Ironic, perhaps,” Porter said, “but hardly surprising or unusual. Artwork has often played a significant role in funding
terrorist activity—still does today. Consider Iraq. According to intelligence estimates, the artwork looted from the Iraqi
museums after the American invasion is still providing a significant percentage of the revenue used by the terrorists there
to fund their campaigns. Hitler made the capitalization of plundered art a centerpiece of his plans. Even as far back as the
Greeks and Romans stolen art was used to fund insurrections and massive armies on both sides of virtually every dispute in
history.”

“And you think the IRA sold the Gardner Museum paintings?”

Porter crossed his arms. “It feels like I’ve been doing most of the talking. That doesn’t seem quite fair. It’s clear that
you have a client who claims to have been one of the men who pulled the robbery off.”

“I can’t officially confirm that for the purposes of this meeting,” Finn said.

Porter rolled his eyes. “How quaint. We’re going to go through the absurd charade of using hypotheticals? Fine. Hypothetically,
why would your client come forward at this point? What’s happened now? Is he afraid that someone is selling the paintings
out from under him?”

Finn shook his head. “I don’t think he even knew that someone was trying to sell the paintings. But the other man involved
in the robbery must have found out, and he’s come back.”

“Come back? Come back from where?” Porter asked. Then he smiled again and answered his own question. “Ireland.”

Finn just stared at him.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Finn, I’m not looking for an admission to use in court. It makes sense, though. The IRA was successful in
the art theft business, but they got too greedy in this case. This was the greatest art theft in history. There was no insurance
to provide a ransom, and within hours, it was international news. It would have been virtually impossible for them to sell
the paintings on the open market. They would have had to sit on them for a long time. Like twenty years. Even if those in
the IRA had wanted to get the paintings, it would have been problematic with their organization crumbling and Bulger on the
run. It would also have been difficult to move the paintings, so they most likely remained here in Boston.”

“But now someone is trying to sell them,” Kozlowski said. “That would probably get those who were once in the IRA pretty pissed
off.”

“So it appears,” Porter said. “I assume you gentlemen have heard about the untimely demise of Vincent Murphy and Eddie Ballick?
Of course you have. And if your hypothetical client is tied in with all this, he can’t be feeling too comfortable right now,
can he?”

Finn and Kozlowski looked at each other, and Kozlowski raised his eyebrows.

Porter reached into a file he had brought with him into the room and pulled out a picture. It was the face of a man Finn had
never seen before, but it fit the description Lissa had given them of the man who’d attacked her and kidnapped Sally. He had
dark hair and black eyes that stared into the camera with an evil, lifeless gaze. “Have you seen this man before?”

Finn shook his head. No,” he said honestly. “Who is he?”

“His name is Liam Kilbranish,” Porter said. “He is a former IRA operative. Our terrorism task force picked up information
from their British counterparts recently that he fled Ireland, headed to the US.”

“I thought the IRA was dead,” Finn said.

“It is,” Porter said. “The ceasefire was reached under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. There were years of negotiations
that followed, with the major sticking point being the process of disarming all paramilitary organizations in Northern Ireland,
including the IRA. In 2005, the IRA finally capitulated, and international weapons inspectors verified the decommissioning
of the IRA’s arsenal. By late 2006 the independent monitoring commission ruled that the IRA was no longer a threat.”

“But that’s not the whole story?” Finn asked.

“It never is, is it?” Porter said. “This is a struggle that went on for more than three quarters of a century. Most of those
involved in the fight have been willing to put down their arms and work to maintain the peace. That’s a significant achievement.”

“But not all?” Finn said. He pointed to the picture. “Not him?”

“As with any cause, there will always be those few who refuse to accept anything but total victory. There is a small cadre
of former IRA operatives who are still looking to ruin the peace and begin the fighting all over again. Kilbranish is one
of them. His family was killed when he was a boy.”

“Why was he headed to the United States?” Finn asked.

“I think you can figure that out,” Porter said. “Kilbranish is known for two things: his brutality, and his skill as an art
thief. If he thought there was a way to recover the Gardner paintings, he wouldn’t hesitate. The IRA has no weapons and no
money. If the troubles are to start fresh, they would need an enormous influx of cash. Our informants tell us that once the
offer to sell the paintings was made, this group of IRA leftovers paid a hundred thousand dollars for confirmation that the
offer was genuine. They received that confirmation.”