ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

"Great." Shana pointed to the things Anderson had brought with him. "What's all that?"

"I figured after today's events you'd have nightmares and this room only has one bed. I didn't want to sleep on the floor." Anderson held up a folded cot. "I'll sleep on this." He set a sleeping bag by the cot. "My blankets."

"Do you think that's really necessary?"

Anderson's eyes twinkled. "The alternative is we share the bed. It is a queen." He chuckled at her blushing. "I'm sure..."

"Papa wouldn't approve. You're right." Shana paused. "Papa wouldn't approve of this either."

"I know, but it's the best I could come up with. Besides, I'm not sure it's completely safe. I can't believe only one man made it through the perimeter. They normally travel in pairs. I don't want to take any chances." Anderson set up the cot.

"Is that what you told your dad?"

Walking to Shana, he sat beside her. "I promised I wouldn't tell them about your nightmares and I've kept my word. Please trust me."


TODAY'S POST:

(7/22/18) Chapter 27

Early the following morning, Susan knocked on Shana's door. "Drew, you're needed."

Anderson opened it. "What's going on?"

Susan smiled. "I guess she needed security."

Grinning, Anderson shook his head as he viewed Shana sleeping on the floor beside his cot. "I guess so. Hope a gecko didn't run over her during the night."

"I'll have your dad fix the situation before tonight." Susan's eyes met her son's. "I'm here because your dad got a call from an FBI agent. I think his name is Allan Ryan. He's got questions and will be here in about forty-five minutes."

"That can't be good." Anderson glanced back at Shana. "Let her sleep. Somebody needs to stay with her."

"Who do you want?"

"Better make it Jeff. Zack'll tease her about the gecko."

"I'll talk with him."

*****

A little while later, Shana jumped up and yelled, "Drew?" She turned her head at a knock on the door.

Jeff cracked it open. "Shana, it's me. Drew had to take care of some things and asked me to stand outside the door. You okay?"

"Yes. I'll be ready shortly. Thank you, Jeff."

It didn't take long before Shana opened her door. "What's going on?"

"The FBI has taken an interest in your problem. Drew's talking with them."

Shana's hand covered her mouth. "Oh my!"

Jeff led her to the den where they were talking. "Drew, Shana's ready. I thought they'd like to meet her."

Anderson stood. "Shana, please have a seat." He held her chair. After introductions were made, he said, "Shana, these men would like to see the verification of ownership that remains in my safe at the penthouse. Is it okay if Philip gets it and faxes a copy?"

"Yes. Have you explained that we've told Kuznetsov we're not interested in pursuing this any longer?"

"I have." Anderson used Skype to talk with Philip as he explained what to do. "Also fax the information Kuznetsov sent us concerning his alleged purchase of the painting." He faced the two agents. "We'll have them shortly."

"Ms. Kohlberg, I understand you'd like try to convince Kuznetsov yourself that you aren't interested in pursuing the painting. I don't think that's a good idea at this point." Agent Ryan paused.

Shana glanced at Anderson. "I guess I'll forget that plan."

"I'd like to know why after all those years of not being in the possession of painting, you decided you wanted it back?" asked the second agent.

"I never expected to know where the painting was or any of the other items. I saw it at the museum and asked the curator what needed to be done to show ownership. He told me, and I went forward. I never thought it would cause this much trouble. I'd never heard of Kuznetsov until I returned a few weeks ago with the paperwork. I don't understand why he's so upset. As far as I'm concerned, he can keep the painting."

All heads turned as the fax machine began to hum and spit out papers.

"We have the documentation." Anderson retrieved them and handed them to the Ryan.

Agent Ryan took time to read. "It appears this painting definitely belongs to you." He set the papers aside. "We can't help you regain possession. What we can do is stop the threats and violence against you."

"How? I don't think having a talk with Kuznetsov will cause him to stop. He's really angry about this." Shana hesitated. "That's why I thought if I speak with him personally instead of through our lawyer, he might listen."

"I seriously doubt that and believe it would be dangerous for you to do so." The second agent grinned. "You're right about us talking to him, but we'll probably do more than talk. I'm sure he won't want us snooping into his organization and will do anything to keep that from happening."

Shana nodded.

Agent Ryan asked, "Mr. Sharp, do you have any idea what he's concerned about?"

Anderson motioned to Jeff who leaned against the doorjamb. "Jeff, have a seat. He's the head of my security and has done some background checks."

"He belongs to one of two organizations, the Odessa Mafia or the Brothers' Circle. My gut tells me the Brothers' Circle, but I honestly don't know. Neither are saints." Jeff paused. "The only things I know for sure are the two attacks, the one in Chicago and the one here were both well organized and the men were well trained. There have also been a few failed attacks, one in Boston, two on the penthouse. And twice they've attempted to kidnap Shana."

"I see they've been busy." Ryan checked his notepad. "Unfortunately, we don't have the manpower to provide additional security."

"That's not a problem." Anderson's eyes met Jeff's. "I trust Jeff and his team. Each time we've had problems there were rookies in place. That's been remedied. Right?"

"It has." Jeff scratched his head. "I'm guessing Kuznetsov's organization is into money laundering, drugs, weapons, human trafficking, and with that, probably prostitution. What I can't figure out is what the painting has to do with it. Is there any way you can help us figure that out?"

Ryan opened his mouth to speak.

"Excuse me," interrupted Anderson. "One more thing. I went to the museum to check for myself and there was a man trying to get close to the painting. He held something small in his hand. I couldn't tell what it was. I'm guessing it has something to do with why the painting's so important."

"Ma'am?" Ryan glanced at Shana. "Can you tell me a little about the painting?"

"Of course. It's called 'Winter-Traum' and the artist is Bruno Schmidt. He painted it in 1914. He used ornamental gold leaf as a flat two-dimensional perspective reminiscent of Byzantine mosaics. I'm not sure that's of any help."

Agent Ryan smiled. "It may be. Did you say the gold leaf mosaic had a two-dimensional look to it?" After Shana nodded, Allan said, "That may be our answer."



Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's 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
Kyle -- 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 Jacobs -- Shana's cousin, the same age and best friend. Married within the past year and just had a baby, Sarah. Her husband, Paul. Sarah was just diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease.
Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator
Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father
Eliana Kohlberg - - Shana's mother
Maxwell Gaines -- Lawyer hired to retrieve the painting
Erich Berger -- Manager of the Dorotheum art auction house in Austria
Mary Pritchard -- The lady Anderson hired to help Hannah while she's in Boston with Sarah.
Zachery Sharp -- Anderson's younger brother
Michael Sharp -- Anderson's father
Susan Sharp --Anderson's mother
Leon Sharp - - Anderson's grandfather
Grandma Sharp - - Anderson's grandmother
Detective Rollins - - Austin police detective
Allan Ryan - -FBI agent, the lead agent