Page 84 of An Inside Job

“At present there are five collectors attempting to acquire the real Leonardo. The current offer on the table is three hundred and twenty-five million dollars. The bid was made by the French art consultant Stéphane Tremblay on behalf of his client.”

“I showed a painting to Stéphane not long ago. But who’s the client?”

“A Russian oligarch named Alexander Prokhorov.”

Sarah frowned. “He prefers to be called Proko. No first name, just Proko.”

“Do you know him?”

“When Proko came to London, he bought a big mansion up in Highgate and filled it with paintings. I used to bump into him at auctions and gallery openings. He was quite the man about town.” She made a show of thought. “I forget how he made his money.”

It was Christopher who supplied the answer. “Proko was the largest supplier of pipes for the Russian oil-and-gas industry. At last check, he’s worth in excess of twenty-five billion dollars.”

“Most of it earned corruptly through his Kremlin connections,” Gabriel pointed out.

“Which is why His Majesty’s Government froze all of Proko’s British-based assets after the invasion of Ukraine. He left London in a snit and settled in Antibes with his twenty-seven-year-old girlfriend. Yuliana is her name, if I’m not mistaken. Apparently she was a flight attendant.”

“They usually are,” said Gabriel. “But why haven’t the French seized Proko’s assets?”

“Because for some unfathomable reason, they decided to give him a French passport.”

“And if he were to plunk down several hundred million dollars for an autograph work by Gabriel Allon?”

“His Majesty’s Government would not shed a tear. Provided, of course, there was no fallout from our occasional allies the French.”

“Let me worry about the French,” said Gabriel. “The more important question is, what do we do with the money?”

“The money that Proko is about to pay for your painting?”

“Yes, Christopher. That money.”

“I’m notactuallyan international business consultant. But won’t that money be paid to the Banca di Camorra?”

“I assume so.”

“Then the money would remain there, would it not?”

“Under no circumstances.”

“You’re going to steal the moneyandthe painting?”

“I’m going to recover the painting. As for the money,” added Gabriel, “I intend to reroute it.”

“How?”

“My associate will see to that. You remember Ingrid, don’t you?”

“With considerable fondness,” said Christopher. “But can she really pull it off?”

“She seems to think so.”

“In that case, we should probably put the money to good use.”

“Widows and orphans?”

“How about something a bit more pressing?”

“Such as?”

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