Prelude to The Musicians

My new Caffrey Conversation story The Musicians takes place in October 2005 after the events in Night Howls on the Hudson and Harlequin's Shadow.

Warning for minor spoilers to earlier Caffrey Conversation stories

In Harlequin's Shadow, the team staged an elaborate U-boat con where they succeeded in capturing the fugitive hedge fund manager Vincent Adler as well as several members of the criminal organization Ydrus. Their present focus is to bring Rolf and Klaus Mansfeld to justice. Neal has been assigned the task of painting a Renoir forgery in preparation.

Neal has begun dating Sara Ellis. They initially kept their interest in each other a secret to foil would-be matchmakers. They've both experienced disasters in their love lives and believe that if they can date for a while without anyone's misguided efforts to help out, they'll have a better chance of success. You can read more about Neal and Sara's status in my post, Unlucky in Love: The Clueless Con.

Complicating their relationship is the con Neal's running against Bianka Kaldy. She's an art student who has the studio next to his. In Harlequin's Shadow, Neal discovered that she's acting under orders of Ydrus. Bianka's trying to make Neal fall in love with her. Neal plays along, hoping that she will be the means to snare Rolf and Klaus Mansfeld. The fact that no one knows about Sara makes conning Bianka easier, but it's a major stumbling block for Neal and Sara's developing relationship.

For the past year, Rolf and Klaus have been manipulating Neal and Peter. Klaus faked his death (The Woman in Blue). Rolf assumed the identity of Alistair Chapman and tried to kill Peter (Echoes of a Violin). In Nocturne in Black and Gold, the brothers employed an unethical neurologist named Erasmus Penfold to modify Neal's behavior via a virtual reality program. Now it's payback time.

White Collar has prepared its counterattack. The players know their roles. I hope you'll join me to watch the action unfold.