Nir thought for a moment, then said, “Liora, I think you’ve come up with a brilliant idea. But we still have one big question. How in the world will we get all that—sheets of explosives, a false cement back, and a detonator—on Alicia’s paintings? Do you have that problem solved too?”

Liora smiled as she emptied a fistful of candies into her mouth. As she chewed, she managed to say, “I have no idea, Mr. Kidon Agent. That’s your job, right?”

Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

AROMA ESPRESSO BAR, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—15:20 / 3:20 P.M. IST

Nir carried two full ceramic mugs to the corner table where Nicole sat waiting for him. Their usual spot, it gave them both a clear view of the front doors and all the windows. And, tucked away as it was, it was unlikely they’d be overheard.

“Is it feasible?” Nir asked, taking a sip of his latte.

“I’ve seen Alicia’s workshop. It’s really big. It has to be because curing the materials and creating the artwork is done in several stages. Once it’s painted, she has a whole separate process for protecting the paint with this glossy sealant and finalizing the canvas. Then there’s the packaging for shipping. I was shocked when I saw her space. She has, like, three or four people working for her.”

“Again, is it feasible?”

“There has to be a way, but that’s much more your mind than mine.”

“It takes a criminal to think like a criminal?”

Nicole laughed. “Something like that.”

“Okay, I’ll get my gang of hooligans together, and we’ll talk it through. But any way you look at it, I think a trip to Houston is in my future.”

Nicole held her own latte in her hands as though she was enjoying the warmth of the mug. She took a sip, then put it down. “So did the ramsad really go after you?”

“It wasn’t pretty, I’ll say that. But he did recognize that something weird had to have happened, because the whole thing doesn’t make sense. Who benefited by the gun not being fully destroyed? And who would have gained by our playing catch-the-bullet in that box truck? The obvious answer to both questions is the IRGC. But that makes no sense in context, because if the IRGC were involved, they would have thwarted the whole attack, and Fakhrizadeh would still be alive today.”

Nicole leaned forward. “Well…maybe just before I left headquarters to meet you here, your team of merry analysts and I found something you can share with the ramsad to make him a little less grumpy.”

Nir raised his eyebrows as he finished off his latte. “As you like to say, color me intrigued.”

“You know how in most places it’s Follow the money? In Iran, it’s—”

“Follow the bodies.”