The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin Read Online Free Page A

definitely couldn’t have been misplaced.”
    “What makes you think the thief is keeping it in his home?”
    “It’s an assumption, though you may find evidence to suggest otherwise.”
    “I’m not a big fan of assumptions.”
    “I can understand that,” Freddy told me. “But I think you may appreciate how our proposal is structured.”
    He hung his tongue out of his mouth as he sent an ambitious shot curving way out over the side of the table. The ball started to curve back in, but not nearly enough. It cannoned off the table edge and skittered away beyond the cone of lamplight to settle among the blackened roots of the graffiti-riddled tree.
    I went and hunted for the ball, grumbling sourly to myself, and when I finally found it, I wrapped it in my fist. I was through with his silly game—both of them. I leaned forward over the table, arms straight, my bat in one hand, the ball in the other. The graffiti-smeared concrete was cold against my knuckles.
    “Enough fooling around,” I said. “What exactly is your proposal?”
    Freddy pouted, very much like a kid who wanted his ball back from a dreaded neighbor but was too afraid to ask.
    “Very well,” he said. “There’s a company function this coming Tuesday night. Our chief exec is receiving an important dignitary at nine o’clock, and all four employees will be on duty at our headquarters from eight P.M. to help with preparations and, in some cases, to attend as guests. We want you to search each of their homes, in the order of our choosing. We’ll pay you for every place you search until you find the item we’re looking for.”
    I glanced across at Victoria. She was chewing her lip in thought.
    “How much?” she asked. “For each place, I mean.”
    “Two thousand euros.”
    I felt myself rock back a little. It sounded like a pretty good deal to me. A potential fee of eight thousand euros was a handsome return for one night’s work. But there was a downside, too.
    “What if I find this secret object in the first apartment?” I asked. “I’ll only receive one installment.”
    “Thought you’d spot that,” Freddy said. “So we’re offering you a bonus—a finder’s fee, if you will. Five thousand euros for retrieving the package. It’s a generous deal, I think you’ll agree.”
    I was certainly inclined to—despite my earlier misgivings, money tends to have a soothing effect on me—but Victoria spoke up before I had the opportunity.
    “I’m not comfortable with this,” she said, wagging a finger at Freddy. “Think about it. With every theft Charlie carries out for you, his chances of being caught increase. One burglary in a night might be okay. But four separate burglaries—particularly when he doesn’t know the locations involved and you haven’t said just yet what he’s meant to be searching for—well, that’s a different scenario entirely. So a fair deal, in my opinion, would include a sliding fee.”
    “A sliding fee?” Freddy repeated.
    “That’s right,” Victoria said. “But nothing too exploitative. Let’s say an extra five hundred euros for each subsequent burglary Charlie carries out after he knocks over location one. So that’s two thousand for the first place, like you suggested. Then two thousand five hundred, three thousand, and three thousand five hundred for locations two, three, and four.”
    Freddy paused. His chubby face clouded over. I daresay I was wearing a similar expression. I was tussling with the math in my head. Unless I was very much mistaken, Victoria’s suggestion would give me a total of eleven thousand euros for all four burglaries. An increase of three thousand on what I’d originally been offered. Stack that together with the bonus Freddy had mentioned and I’d have a very respectable sum indeed.
    I was still checking my calculations when Freddy surprised me by shuffling toward Victoria and offering her his hand.
    “Deal,” he said.
    They shook on it, and then Victoria winked at me