揘o, I guess it doesn抰。？
He heard the defeat in her voice.
揥hen it was created in the early 1940s, the copy of the Just Judges was intentionally coated in a wax layer to artificially age it, so it would appear like the others. Over time that wax had thickened and darkened. It looked terrible. Part of my restoration involved a complete removal of that layer. During the removal I knew some of the underlying paint would come off. It抯 unavoidable, and I just repair it as I go. When some did come off, that抯 when I saw the underpaint. Which in and of itself is not suspicious. Artists paint over things all the time. But when I noticed that the underpaint was exactly like what had been painted over it, that changed things.?
揝o you started taking more off??
She nodded. 揟he copy was worthless and could be replaced. So I removed it and discovered the original Just Judges beneath. Right there. Totally intact.?
Amazing. He was definitely intrigued. 揥ho created the copy??
揂 Belgian by the name of Jef Van der Veken. He was a conservator, copyist, and infamous art forger of old masters. Really good at it, too. He was hired in 1939 but did not deliver the panel until 1945. Of course, World War Two came in between so there was nowhere to deliver it to. He was quite talented and did a wonderful job. But now we know he had the original below to help him. His copy was added when the altarpiece was returned to Belgium after the war as a place keeper. Nothing more. But there has always been some controversy associated with it.?
He listened as she explained how Van der Veken signed the back of the reproduction, then inscribed it with a poem.
I did it for love.
And for duty.
And to avenge myself.
I borrowed from the dark side.
揌is contemporaries, as well as the police at the time, were baffled by the verse. But he refused to explain himself in any way, and took whatever he knew to the grave in 1964.?
揕ooks like you solved that mystery too.?
揑t抯 still odd. I抳e been thinking about what he might have meant for the past few weeks. He did it for love and for duty? To avenge myself? What did he mean? And borrowing from the dark side? That抯 a strange choice of words.?
He agreed. But those motivations really didn抰 matter anymore. 揟ell me about de Foix.?
揑 don抰 know a lot about him. I was told he抯 the owner of an auction house in Toulouse. A man of means and a known art collector.?
揂nything about him ever strike you as suspicious??
She shook her head. 揘ot a thing. He was genuinely shocked when I told him what I found.?
揂nd I imagine people weren抰 lining up to donate money for the restoration of a twentieth-century reproduction.?
She grinned. 揟o say the least.?
Which made the man even more suspect. 揌ave you met de Foix??
She nodded. 揟wice. He came to see my work. Both times he was complimentary and professional. He was supposed to return here in a few days. Why all the questions about him??
揃ecause there抯 a leak. Somebody talked. Those women knew exactly where to go, what to get, and what to do. That means they had good intel.?
揃ut why destroy the panel? That makes no sense. It was priceless.?
Good question. But he decided not to press any further. The police and the cathedral authorities would be doing plenty of that over the next few days. And it was their job to investigate, not his.
揥e never got to visit,?she said to him with a smile. 揑 was so looking forward to that.?
揗e too.?
And he meant it. Seeing her, talking to her, it wasn抰 nearly as painful as he抎 envisioned. 揗aybe we could have lunch tomorrow, before I head back to Paris.?
揝o soon??
He nodded. 揑 need to head back by tomorrow evening.?
揌ow exciting it must be to work for UNESCO. Do you like it??
揑 think I found my niche. I抳e enjoyed my time there.?
揟hen, please, tomorrow, before you leave, let抯 have lunch and I want you to tell me all about it.?
He抎 missed talking to her. Though he was sociable and enjoyed people, he wasn抰 all that forthcoming with others. Kelsey had been the one exception. He抎 never been afraid to tell her anything, and that intimacy had eluded him over the past nine years. No other woman had measured up. Maybe one day. He certainly hoped so. But not yet.
He turned for the door, then a thought occurred to him. 揌ow about I hold on to that laptop tonight. No one knows I exist.?
揑 think that抯 a good idea. I was told to keep it safe.?
揥hy didn抰 the curator take it??
揑 didn抰 offer it to him. Nor did he ask.?
And she handed it over.
He抎 wondered what it would be like to be near her again. Long ago his love for her had evolved into something different, something respectful of the path she抎 chosen in life. She was a woman he抎 once loved, someone he still admired and missed. His hope was that this visit would allow them the opportunity to evolve from occasional social media posts to something more personal. What friends would do. And he desperately wanted to be her friend.