The Burning Gates Read Online Free Page B

as it were.’
    ‘You said this American came to you out of the blue?’
    ‘I have no reason not to trust him. Especially since he came to me recommended by such a respectable dealer as Norton Granger.’
    ‘Did you check on him?’
    ‘I understand your concern,’ Kasabian smiled. ‘It is in your nature to see conspiracy everywhere.’ Makana was beginning to tire of that smile. Kasabian’s manner suggested there was something here he could not be expected to comprehend. ‘But the art world is a high-risk business. There are no assurances. Anyone who expects it will grow old and poor very quickly.’
    ‘Where do I come in?’
    Kasabian settled back in his chair. ‘As I mentioned, there have long been rumours of what disappeared from Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion thirteen years ago. But that is all, just rumours. Sellers are often reluctant to say how they came into possession of a certain painting or sculpture and many buyers are equally unconcerned with such . . . formalities. If the piece is for a private collection nobody will ever see it without permission.’
    ‘I take it you have no moral problems with selling potentially stolen items.’
    ‘I am a dealer, Mr Makana. I take what comes to me. It is in the nature of the game. I didn’t steal the painting, you understand. And if I didn’t sell it, my nearest competitor most certainly would.’
    ‘I get the feeling you have an idea where this painting might be.’
    ‘Very astute, Mr Makana.’ Kasabian took a sip of his drink. ‘My client insists that the rumours he has heard associated this painting with a certain Iraqi colonel of the Republican Guard by the name of Kadhim al-Samari.’
    ‘It sounds as though he came here well informed.’
    Kasabian shrugged. ‘He’s American. With a few friends in Washington he could have access to some of the most powerful intelligence services in the world.’
    ‘But still he came to you.’
    ‘To him this is a foreign country. I assume he came to me because of my knowledge of the region and how things work here.’
    ‘In other words, he knows who has the painting but not how to find him.’
    ‘That is my understanding.’
    ‘And you think that this colonel of yours might be in this country?’
    ‘It’s possible. Naturally, before contacting you I made a few enquiries of my own, in the hope of establishing contact. That is the key to my work, Mr Makana: circulating, making my name known.’
    ‘But you came up with nothing.’ Kasabian’s smooth charm was beginning to grate. The more he strived to convince him of his sincerity, the more Makana began to wonder what it was he was not telling him.
    ‘Correct. No trace whatsoever of a Colonel Kadhim al-Samari. If he is here he keeps a very low profile.’
    ‘What is it you would like from me, Mr Kasabian?’
    ‘I want you to find this man Samari. If our American friend is right, then we have a priceless collection under our very noses. If he is wrong, well, my reputation is at stake. I cannot have this man going back to New York to report that I was anything but completely thorough. It goes without saying that you need to be discreet. We don’t want the world to know of our interest in this man.’
    ‘What do I do when I find him?’
    ‘Nothing. Report back to me and nobody but me. Not a word to anyone else. Any approach must be handled very delicately.’ Kasabian beamed once more. ‘We don’t want to scare him off.’
    ‘I understand.’
    ‘I hope so. You can make the arrangements for fees and so forth with my assistant, Jules. You will be handsomely rewarded, but I want you to report only to me. Is that clear?’
    ‘I think so.’
    Kasabian leaned forward to rest his hands on the desk. ‘Please be aware, Mr Makana, there are many people who might be interested in this information. I don’t want you to be in doubt about where your loyalties lie.’
    Makana got to his feet. ‘This is a big city, Mr Kasabian, but a small town. I wouldn’t get