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"Wow." I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing in front of me. I wasn't an expert when it came to art, but this definitely had me fooled for the real thing.
"It's perfect, Michael, you've made my girlfriend's day." Carl put his arm around me and squeezed me tightly. I knew it was all an act but I couldn't help but love the feeling of his body so close to mine.
"You don't mind that it's not the real thing?" Michael asked me. "Most people don't commission their own pieces." He flashed Carl a knowing look.
"Not at all, it's hard to tell it's not," I assured him.
"Why do you even want a fake?" He turned away and carried on painting, my answer clearly not affecting anything.
"Not a fake, an imitation. I have friends I want to impress." I beamed, knowing he could still see me from the corner of his eye.
"And they don't know enough about art to know you wouldn't be able to afford a real Monet?"
I laughed loudly. "They wouldn't even know what a Monet was if they were asked about it. That's more for me. I love his paintings and if I have to look at something, it should be something I like looking at." I just had to hope the lie was enough to convince him, we didn't want to tip Michael off that we were doing something so illegal with his work. Well, more illegal than his imitations were in the first place. Whether he liked it or not, what he was doing could also end up getting him into trouble.
"Makes sense to me. When do you need it by?"
"As soon as you can be finished," Carl responded. "You have meetings next week don't you, sweetie?"
"Huh...oh yes. Lots of meetings next week."
"I'm not a charity. Favour or not, that's going to cost you."
"Of course," Carl countered. "We never expected you to do this for free. The favour is just fitting us in."
"Hmph," Michael responded.
"We'll pay well." Carl pushed a briefcase in the artist's direction.
My heart pounded as nerves built. We hadn't set the rest of the plan in motion yet, but if Michael said no, we'd certainly be set back a little bit. My second date with Hubert was fast approaching and we needed to start steering him in the right direction. Getting in and out as quickly as we could, not let this drag out for weeks. That was a risk that would no doubt land us with a stint in jail each.
Michael unclicked the briefcase and looked inside. "I'll have it done by Monday."
"Thank you," Carl said.
"I can't wait to see it." That wasn't even a lie. I'd never seen a forgery before and a part of me was excited to discover what one was like.
"No doubt." Michael turned back to the painting he was working on. "Now if that's everything..."
"Yes. Thanks, Michael. Just let us know when you're done and we'll come pick it up." Carl smiled at the artist's back, but the gesture could be heard in his voice.
"See you then."
It took me a moment to realise that was a dismissal.
Carl took my hand and we walked out of the studio. I wouldn't say it out loud, but I liked the feel of our hands entwined together. It felt surprisingly right to be walking next to him. I didn't want to think about that too much about what was going on. We had to concentrate on the con and the long game. There was no way I could see this through while getting my feelings involved.
"Why didn't you tell him what we're really doing with the painting?" I asked as soon as we were in the car. The question had been plaguing me since we'd arrived but I thought it was better not to voice my question in front of Michael.
"He'd want more for it if he knew the plan." Carl chuckled at the thought.
"So he's not worried about being caught?"
"I doubt it. He's not the kind to ever sign one of his pieces and as far as I know, he never does one without a commission, only takes cash, and is very careful with his clientele."
"Seems risky." I leaned back in my car seat as Carl pulled out of the parking spot and headed back to the flat.
"It is. Someone was caught a while back for forgeries. He's out now and makes a living from official copies. I don't know how Michael feels about that, but it doesn't seem like the worst outcome of being caught."
"I suppose not, no."
"It's better than we're looking at if this goes wrong, Katie," he warned me.
"I know." The consequences of what we were doing weren't lost on me. Far from it. We were playing with our freedom with every law we broke. And there were plenty of them we were breaking. I wasn't entirely sure if a law existed against commissioning counterfeit paintings but there was bound to be one.
"Are you still okay with it?"
"I have no choice," I reminded him. "Or you'll tell the police all about my little adventure with Walter."
The two of us lapsed into silence after that. No doubt he was feeling a little guilty over how they'd gotten me on board now that he knew a little bit more about me.
"I'm sorry I did that."
I shrugged even though he wouldn't be able to properly see it. "You needed to get me on board."
"You don't seem all that bothered by it," he prodded.
"I don't see the point of dwelling on the past. Besides, I'm having a lot of fun with you and the others."
"Ah, the thrill of the chase," he teased.
"Partly. But life was getting dull and this gives me something to focus on." The most worrying thing about that was that it wasn't even a lie. I had been bored and this was fun. And I knew what they said. High risks led to high rewards no matter what game was being played. I just happened to like this one.
"That must have been a very dull life to be swayed into conning."
"What can I say, life was getting that way."
"Hmm."
"How did you get into this?" I asked, not wanting the car to become completely silent as we made our way back to the flat.
"My Dad."
"Your Dad?" I couldn't hide the surprise in my voice. Of all the things I would have guessed, a family affair wouldn't have been the first idea that popped into my head. I doubted it would have made the list at all if I was honest.
"He was really into it. Instead of talking to me about cars or sport, he'd show me how to fake card tricks and do sleight of hand. At first, I thought it was just for fun, but when I was twelve, he used me in a con for the first time."
"Twelve? What kind of..."
"It was just to distract a mark. I didn't actually know what I was a part of until later in life. Technically, he's never actually admitted that's what it was either." Carl didn't look at me as he drove.
"So how do you..?"
"Because why else would he have me lie about my name and where my parents were? He used my sister too."
"You have a sister?" That surprised me, though I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was just because I hadn't imagined that any of them had lives outside the job we were doing. Maybe that was unfair of me. Then again, I doubted any of them had thought about what my life was outside of this. Or what I might be missing to go on dates with the mark. It didn't matter that I wasn't missing anything at all. I didn't have much of a social life. Nor did I particularly want one.
"Yes. Maria."
I didn't push him any further on that. I didn't want to turn him against me.
"What happened after that?"
Carl sighed, but I could see the small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Now we weren't talking about his sister, he was back in more comfortable territory. "Dad used us in more and more of his cons. It wasn't until Maria was eighteen and decided she didn't want to do it anymore and left. Dad...well, he didn't take it well. Almost as if it was an insult to him. But we carried on."
He lapsed into silence again and I didn't press. He'd tell me the rest in a moment I was sure.
"Where is he now?" I asked when it appeared he wouldn't tell me what I wanted.
"He got caught. About three years ago. He didn't give up a single name of the other people that worked with him but they all went their separate ways regardless."
"Is that when you met the others?" It didn't seem like Carl had grown up with Dean and Samuel, but what did I know. They were conmen. For all I knew, they hadn't even given me their real names in the first place. I might not be getting my share of the profits from this scheme either.
"I knew Dean already. He's great with fake IDs and Dad was using him before he got caught. I was the one who got sent to pick things up."
"And so he just started doing jobs with you?" I pulled my eyebrows together, confusion crashing through me. It didn't quite make sense to me.
"He actually asked me. Someone stole money from his Mum and the police failed her. They tried, but they just couldn't find the evidence against the man, even though they knew without a doubt he'd done it."
"That's not really their fault," I murmured, feeling like I should at least try and sound like a reasonable law-abiding person. I realised the irony considering what I was now part of.
"Oh no, not at all. The police did everything they could, but it did Dean's Mum no good. So he did something about it. Isn't that exactly what you did with your mark too?"
I nodded. "He hurt my friend. Nothing would have stuck if it had gone to court."
"That's what motivates Dean too. It's why we'll never go after someone who hasn't done something wrong in the first place." Carl looked in his mirrors before turning left onto one of the streets leading to the flat. If I wanted to know more, then I needed to ask fast. I wasn't sure why I didn't want to ask all three of them about this at once, but something was stopping me.
"And you're happy just going with that?"
His answer could change everything for me. I didn't want him to be the kind of person who'd just con money out of anyone. Which was ridiculous, even I couldn't ignore that. But if I was going to keep on doing this, then I needed to be sure they were the kind of people I wanted to mix with.
"Yes. I'm not saying it's always been that way. Dad wasn't quite as discerning when it came to picking his marks. But since they put him away, we've done things this way," he assured me.
"An eye for an eye," I muttered.
"Something like that." He turned and gave me a weak smile.
"I like that," I whispered.
"We give some of the money to charities too. Anonymously. But we give away a decent amount of it."
"That's a nice thing to do." Hence why I'd done the same with Walter's money too. I didn't want to keep it on me, but I did want to do something with it.
"It's necessary. If we didn't do it, then the guilt of how we got the money in the first place would be too heavy."
I nodded. Understanding completely. I wanted to ask more, but didn't feel like it would get me anywhere. I didn't want him to think I was questioning them too much. That could lead me to being cast out when really, what I wanted was to be even more involved. This wasn't a short term con for me. I wanted this for good.