Kelsey lingered a moment and faced the older nun. 揑 hope you go and pray.?
揊or what??
揊orgiveness for your deceit.?
And she left out the door.
Chapter 16
Nick entered the small apartment where Kelsey had been staying for the past few weeks. They抎 left Zeekers, who抎 agreed with them that the mother superior was lying. But, without more, there was little they could do. The maidens had certainly covered their tracks. But that didn抰 mean they did not bear a thorough investigation. He抎 given Zeekers his recommendations but the inspector had been noncommittal on what would happen next. The arsonist was dead. The laptop retrieved. Only a copy of the Just Judges was destroyed. And nothing led from the convent to anywhere else.
揝eems like finding Sister Claire would be easy,?he said to Zeekers. 揟here has to be a list somewhere of all the women connected with that order.?
揑抦 sure there is, and that will be the first place we start. But ask yourself, if they were that careful to sweep things clean, don抰 you think they were equally careful with their membership rosters??
Good point.
But it was still worth the effort, along with identifying the dead woman, who almost certainly had been a nun too.
None of that was his problem, though.
His was standing across the room as Kelsey switched on some lamps.
揟he diocese supplied this apartment,?she said to him. 揚art of the compensation for my services.?
揟hey pay you??
揘ot me. But they do pay the convent. It isn抰 much. But it helps us survive.?
Zeekers had told her not to leave Ghent for a few days. Nick didn抰 like the implications, the suggestion that Kelsey might have somehow been complicit. Time, though, for some answers.
揟ell me why the laptop was so important??
And he listened as she explained what she抎 found beneath the copy of the Just Judges, along with the high-resolution images she抎 made.
揟hat抯 an incredible find,?he said to her. 揅ongratulations, you solved a nearly ninety-year-old cold case.?
揑t was an amazing feeling, stripping away the overpaint and seeing that masterpiece again.?
Interestingly, no one had informed the police about the treasure that had lain beneath the copy. Kelsey had not said a word and the curator of the altarpiece, who抎 been waiting for them when they returned from the convent, had not reported that fact either. Zeekers was operating on the assumption that a copy had been destroyed. It now being the original would definitely change everything.
揥hy not tell the police the truth??he asked her.
揟hat抯 not a decision for me. I was told to tell no one.?
揧ou were going to tell me.?
She sat on the settee. Her red hair hung loose, which made her look much more like the woman he remembered. 揧ou抮e different, Nick. I didn抰 see the harm. Besides, you were always good at keeping a secret. And a public announcement was coming shortly anyway. The curator was already making plans for a press conference to announce it to the world.?
He liked that he was being placed in a category by himself. 揧ou look tired.?
揑 am.?
The laptop sat on the cushion beside her.
揟hank goodness I recorded those images,?she said. 揑 have the entire panel mapped in high res. Which I only finished two days ago.?
揥ho knew that??
揑 kept my prioress informed, the curator, and, of course, Monsieur de Foix, who funded the restoration. He was coming to Ghent in a few days. I planned to show him everything.?
揟ell me exactly what happened earlier.?
揑 finished working and closed the workshop around 5:30. I wanted to come back here, rest a little, clean up, and change clothes. I did that and returned a few minutes before you arrived. When I came in through the front door I heard someone in the other room. I entered just as the fire started. I saw the woman in black and tried to stop her. That抯 when you appeared.?
揟hat was a foolish risk you took.?
She rubbed her stomach. 揗y gut is sore from that kick. But I had to protect the panel and敆she pointed at the laptop lying next to her棑those images.?
Something else occurred to him. 揇id anyone know you would be returning to meet me??
She shook her head. 揘ot a soul. I considered it no one抯 business.?
Interesting. Had the intruders known she was gone, but not known she would be returning? Clearly yes, since the last thing they would have wanted was an interruption.
揇o you usually leave your laptop there??he asked.
揂lways. It抯 safer than carrying it around. Of course, I didn抰 realize someone was targeting my work. How would I??
But the two women who抎 orchestrated the burglary clearly knew everything.
揟ell me more about what you found. Secrecy doesn抰 really matter much anymore.?