ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Philip grinned and then glanced over his notes. "Should I wait until tomorrow to call Isaiah?"

"I think in the morning should be fine. He won't be able to do anything today." Anderson hesitated. "If Patricia's using, that explains why she can't live within her alimony."

"You need to make sure you get Emily."

"I know." Anderson answered his ringing cell. "What?" He paused. "Send them up." He released a deep breath. "Today just gets better and better. There are two Jewish gentlemen outside of the building. They were being harassed by Kuznetsov's men when Jeff intervened. They want to talk with me."

TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 9 part 3

Jeff escorted the two men up the elevator and introduced them. "Mr. Sharp, I'd like to introduce Benjamin Kohlberg, Shana's father, and Aaron Kohlberg, Shana's brother."

Anderson offered his hand to the older man, "I'm Anderson Sharp. I'm glad to meet you," and then offered his hand to the other. "We've spoken on the phone. I'm happy to finally meet you. Please, both of you have a seat."

After Jeff left, Anderson sat and asked, "How can I help you?"

"My daughter is staying with you. I understand for her safety." Benjamin paused briefly. "I didn't really understand why. After meeting the men outside, I now know."

"I'm sorry for what happened. If I knew you were coming, I would've made sure somebody was at the airport to meet you." He glanced at Aaron. "You have my number, correct?"

"Yes, I do. To be honest, I didn't believe it was this bad. There have been men asking questions and spying on us but they've never made direct contact."

"I hope you weren't hurt. Is there a need to call for medical attention?" Philip leaned forward, waiting for a response.

Anderson introduced Philip before he continued, "Please tell me what happened."

"There were three men. Only one spoke and he had a strong accent. I'm pretty sure it was Russian, but not positive. He wanted access to my sister. We tried to ignore and walk by them. They shoved us." Aaron rubbed his hands along his thighs. "Mr. Burk showed up, out of nowhere, and encouraged them to leave. We weren't hurt." He glanced at his dad. "Right, Father?"

"Yes, I'm fine. But I am very concerned. Are you sure you can keep my Shana safe? These men seemed very aggressive." Before Anderson could answer, he continued, "I don't know why she thinks we need that painting back. She should have just left well enough alone."

"I'm glad Jeff intervened. He can be very persuasive." Anderson kept his eyes focused on Shana's father.

"He pulled a gun from inside his jacket and the men backed off. It was like we were in the Wild West, not a modern city like New York." Benjamin's eyes widened. "He then helped us to the elevator."

"Jeff's still carrying the HK45. I've mentioned maybe he shouldn't keep it on his person." Anderson grinned. "I guess today it's a good thing he didn't follow my suggestion. Excuse me a minute." He spoke into the intercom, "Helen, we have guests. Could you bring refreshments?"

"On my way, Drew."

"Cold drinks will be here in a minute." Anderson leaned forward. "I'm glad to meet both of you and I'm sure you'd like to visit with Shana."

Benjamin looked directly into Anderson's eyes. "Before we talk with Shana, I'd like to know how you plan to keep her safe."

"First, I'm sure you've noticed before anybody has access to this penthouse, they have to call up and have the elevator sent down."

"Mr. Burk didn't," offered Aaron.

"You're correct. Jeff had his thumb print scanned. Once it was accepted, the elevator acknowledged him and let him up."

"Philip's correct," said Anderson. "Only my staff and I can activate the elevators. So far Shana hasn't had a need to leave the penthouse so we haven't crossed that bridge, yet. When the time arises we'll figure it out. I probably need to add my staff can be trusted completely."

Helen set a tray with four glasses and two pitchers, one with iced tea and the other with lemonade. "I'll be out in a few minutes with finger sandwiches and fresh fruit."

Philip's eyes met Helen's, before he said. "Helen, I'd like you to meet Shana's father and brother." He nodded.

"I'm glad to meet both of you. I've enjoyed Shana staying with us." As she turned to leave she nodded toward Philip and bumped into Emily. "Sorry, my dear, but you shouldn't be out of the kitchen until we wash those hands. Come with me." She took Emily's hand in hers.

"Daddy?" Emily tugged but paused, eyeing the men sitting in front of the large wooden desk. "Why does that man have a small hat on his head?" She pointed at Benjamin.

Anderson stood. "Emily, it's not polite to ask..."

"It's fine," interrupted Benjamin. "I get asked that often. She's young and curious." He pointed to the top of his head. "I'm Orthodox Jewish. Often the men choose to wear this." He removed his. "Come here." Emily came closer. "It's called a kippah or in Yiddish yarmulke." He pointed to the top. This is the Star of David."

Emily reached out to touch it.

Helen grabbed her hand. "Don't touch. You're sticky from the pancakes and furry from Romeo."

Benjamin grinned. "Wash your hands and then you can touch it." He watched Emily leave with Helen, and then with raised eyebrows asked, "Mr. Sharp, where is your child's mother? Are there others?"

Anderson sat and swallowed. "No, sir, Emily is my only child. Her mother and I are divorced. I'm sure in the Jewish religion divorce is considered a great tragedy."

"I'm sure you had reason," offered Aaron.

In ran Shana. She threw her arms around her dad and kissed his cheek. "Papa! What brings you here?"

"I think we should give them privacy." Anderson stood and motioned to Philip. The two men left.







Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her families painting back

Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells

Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits

Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.

Helen -- Anderson's cook

Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper

Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend and confident

Ben -- Anderson's dog walker

Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd

Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd

Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd

Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother

Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.

Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife

Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter

Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.

Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.

Hannah -- Shana's cousin, the same age. Married within the past year and just had a baby

Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator

Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father