After we all had grabbed coffee and croissants, I opened the meeting.

"I cannot stress how dangerous José is." I looked soberly at them both, concerned. He is one of the three that can literally blow us out of the project.

Avram nodded.

Sarah smiled." You're right Charlie, but you are wrong too."

"How so?" I leaned forward intrigued. She provided hooks better than anyone else. The entire sales approach had been her concept.

"Sarah jabbed her thumb towards her laptop, and offered us a crooked grin. "All our research shows us that José doesn't really run his businesses anymore, and hasn't for the past three years. He relies almost totally on three people... Garbana, Ysleta and Utrillo."

We were all on the same page, and I raised my eyebrow in a so what's your point gesture.

She grinned back at me. "The only things we can verify that he does do, is meet weekly with those three and chase art and women. From the taps we know that Ysleta is the only one 'connected' and he handles any problems that develop anywhere in the organization. So that's where you are right, Charlie. If we come to his attention as a problem, the situation could get become serious." She paused. Avram lounged back in his chair, the tension gone from his face. He was ahead of me.

"Now, if we keep José happy and satisfied there will be no problem." She sat back, liking her simple solution.

"I can see your point. Yes, we realized quickly that we needed to keep Ysleta out of our little adventure." I laughed at how she had set me up for that one. She was a research psychologist and such a charming quick wit. "However, we all know Plan A rarely works." I offered.

"True, but all the variations take in diversions for Ysleta."

"That's true," I conceded. " Let's get on with this."

"Ok, José told us from the beginning that van Gogh and Picasso were his favorites. One of our keys is he only sold one painting during his lifetime.

I nodded. "Yes, we have all read some of the same basics."

Avram interjected, "Let me save us some time. Here." He handed out a 20 page highlighted biographical sketches of van Gogh, Picasso and 40 pages on José.

Sarah took her copy, and continued without looking at it. " José's focus is on the art, and not being deceived, or robbed. Although he worries a lot about scams, we have an excellent chance to remain no threat and therefore should be safe."

"In this business, there is no safety, Sarah. Only degrees of success or failure."

"We will succeed," affirmed Avram.

"With a little help from our friends," added Sarah.

We three smiled at each other, glad for the mutual support. We continued to chat as we listened to Av read. Each of us had interjections for Avram to add to the final version we used to develop our little play. We all enjoyed the break and the camaraderie.

"Vincent van Gogh, born on March 30, 1853, died: Suicide on July 29, 1890.

Van Gogh produced all of his work completing some 900 paintings and 1100 drawings during only a 10-year span before yielding to bipolar mental illness. Yes, he committed suicide. His fame grew rapidly after his death especially following a showing of 71 of van Gogh's paintings in Paris on March 17, 1901. Only 11 years after his death, People had trouble pronouncing his name. Properly done, the name rhymes with loch, but it is also pronounced 'goph', 'go' and 'goe'."

Avram made the necessary additions on his laptop then continued to read.

"Van Gogh's influence on expressionism, fauvism, and early abstraction was enormous, and may be seen in many other aspects of 20th-century art. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is dedicated to his work and that of his contemporaries. The Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo is located in The Netherlands, and rather nice collection of Vincent van Gogh paintings. Several Van Gogh paintings rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. On March 30, 1987 Van Gogh's painting Irises was sold for a record $53.9 million at Southeby's, New York. On May 15, 1990 his Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold for $82.5 million at Christie's."

"Charlie what's fauvism?" Sarah asked. "I missed that day in art class."

I cracked up. "We all missed days in art class." It was a short-lived concept, about 10 years, I think. The movement came out of the post impressionism and Pointillism, you remember those little dots?"

Sarah chuckled, "yes."

I guess Matisse is the best artist I can use to explain. He helped develop the style after finding Pointillism too confining. It became a forerunner for expressionism. It is considered a more expressive and somehow freer style of painting. They were not tied to any natural use of color. It is often applied straight from the paint tube in an aggressive, wild beast kind of way.

"Oh yes, fauvre is French for wild beast!"

"Exactly, Sarah. Exaggeration was a key. I think that is the meaning of free that he was looking for," I mused.

"I like Matisse"

"So do I, but he lost my interest when he moved toward cubism."

Avram laughed, "I guess that makes it unanimous!"

Av went on, laughing in spurts.

"Vincent was born in Zundert, The Netherlands. His father was a Protestant minister. Vincent found religion appealing and would be drawn to it later in his life. His sister described him as a serious and introspective child.

At age 16 Vincent worked for an art dealer, Goupil & Co., in The Hague. His four years younger brother Theo shared a life long friendship and joined the company later. Their friendship is documented in the letters they sent each other. These letters were preserved and published in 1914. They provide the insights so many write about as they explore the life of the painter. The letters show Picasso as a talented writer with a sharp mind. Theo supported Vincent financially throughout his life."

Sarah soberly noted, "Mental illness truly destroys life."

Avram replied, "So many people are screwed up, it is amazing that anything works.

I agreed adding, "That is why we have to research our eccentric billionaires and their wants so very carefully. If we don't know, we may end up the ones being screwed! And each one of these guys has more than one screw loose."

"Or we could end up very dead," Avram added quietly.

We all paused and looked at each other. We all shifted uncomfortably in our chairs. We had accepted the seriousness of our venture at the very beginning, but it was probably good to remind ourselves. I think each of us was resolving to get it right. I know I did. We went back to the work at hand.

"In 1873, his firm transferred him first to London, then to Paris. Religion became more and more a part of his focus. In 1876 lack of motivation led to losing his job at Goupil. A teaching assistant position in Ramsgate near London was a stopgap before he returned to Amsterdam to study theology in 1877.

Yet he quit that in 1878 and became a lay preacher in Borinage, Belgium, a poor mining region. He preached deep down in the mines expressing concern for the plight of the workers. He lost that job after 6 months but continued to serve without pay."

"Yes, I remember. It was here he began to draw those charcoal sketches?" Sarah asked.

"That's right," Avram grinned.

"In 1880 his brother Theo suggested Vincent paint seriously. For only a brief period Vincent actually studied painting with Anton Mauve at The Hague. Vincent and Anton soon split over artistic differences. Some of the influences from The Hague School of painting would remain obvious in Vincent's work: the played with light and the style of his brush strokes. His color usage, the dark tones would set him apart from his teacher, creating at least part of his unique style.

He had trouble keeping friends didn't he? I asked.

"Yes, but his family seemed to care deeply," Av responded.

"In 1881 Vincent asked his widowed cousin Kee Vos, to marry him. She rejected him. Later he would move in with a prostitute, Sien Hoornik and her children. He even considered marrying her, although his father frantically fought against it and even his beloved brother Theo fought the idea. They ended up separating to the heartfelt relief of the Gogh family."

Van Gogh concentrated on the rural paintings and a focus on peasants. Impressed and influenced by Jean François Millet, he seemed to enjoy this time. He would move around a lot. He traveled to the Dutch province Drenthe, Nuenen, and then North Brabant, all within The Netherlands. In North Brabant, he painted The Potato Eaters in 1885. This painting is in The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam." Av looked up and added, "for now."

"It was the winter of 1885-1886 when Van Gogh attended an art academy in Antwerp, Belgium. Professor Eugène Siberdt dismissed him after only a few months. For many artists, training academies were too limiting. Van Gogh did explore Japanese art during this period and he began collecting it eagerly. It was the bright colours, use of canvas space and the role lines played that dew his attention and affection. The Japanese style would influence him in many ways. Van Gogh completed a few paintings in the Japanese style. In fact some of the portraits he painted are have a Japanese art background."

Avram looked up at us and cheerfully added, "surprisingly none of our art collectors seem to be interested in Japanese art. We may have to focus on Japan next time around."

"There will be a next time? Sarah looked at him her eyes opened wide.

"No, Sarah, Av is just teasing."

Av pointed at Sarah with his index finger and laughed. After he got himself back under control, he returned to reading.

In 1888, Van Gogh left Paris and went to Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He loved the local landscape and had hopes to create an art colony. He created a celebrated series of yellow sunflower paintings to decorate a yellow house. Of all the artists he met in Paris only Paul Gauguin, of the synthetism approach- simplified colour schemes and forms- followed Van Gogh. Their mutual admiration led to Gauguin painting van Gogh painting sunflowers. As now seems characteristic of the fiery Van Gogh, their time together ended in a quarrel with Gauguin leaving in December of 1888. It was after the argument that Van Gogh suffered a mental breakdown and cut off part of his left ear. He gave that ear to a prostitute friend, who was likely less than enthusiastic."

"It is so sad that his illness could not have had proper treatment. The man felt such failure in his life. He was such a genius, and he deserved better."

I smiled warmly at Sarah. Her eyes glistened with the unshed tears. One of the many things I loved about her was the depth of compassion she had for people. She once told me she went into Psychology to heal the world. She said it took her two years to discover the world would not be healed, and that you could only plant seeds and hope they would take root. Avram looked disgusted, shaking his head, he read on.

"Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, painted in 1888, is on display in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia." Now he looked up, grinned and added "for now."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed again. Oh yes, this meeting was a very good idea.

Sarah joined me the laughter shifting her mood. Av looked as pleased.

"But… Van Gogh's history continued, as did his painting. He changed from painting those Pointillism dots turning to small stripes. The depression, in 1889, led Van Gogh to self-admit himself into the psychiatric center at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole in Saint Remy de Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Here the clinic and its garden became his painting focus. Here his pencil strokes changed again, turning into spiral curves.

In May 1890 Vincent went to Dr. Paul Gachet, after leaving the clinic. In Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, he was closer to his brother Theo, who had recently married. Gachet had treated several artists before. Van Gogh created his only etching: a portrait of the same melancholic doctor Gachet. His depression got worse and on July 27 of the same year, at 37, after a frantic spurt of painting, van Gogh shot himself in the chest. He died two days later, with Theo at his side. "La tristesse durera toujours" according to his brother Theo. "The sadness will last forever" was the last thing he ever said. Theo buried Van Gogh at the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise. Theo was later buried right next to him."

I listened to Av's last words, thinking how Theo must have loved his brother.

Av sat back with a roll of his shoulders. "I'm done."

"Gachet was a quack."

Av and I laughed.

"Ok, he was one of the better ones of his time, but they were all quacks."

"Ah, Sarah," I rubbed her right hand gently. It is only somewhat better now."

"True, " she agreed.

"Let's go eat, " Av licked his lips, looking hopeful.

"All right, " I glanced at my Rolex, saw it was nearly 1:00. "Sounds good to me."

"Oh you two, " Sarah said in disgust. Eat sleep and play. That's all you two do!"

"What's wrong with that?" I asked, my most innocent expression plastered on my face.

Sarah giggled, "Ok, food. We can finish this after lunch."