Madeline and Jack Lee.
Parents to five children.
His older brother followed in their footsteps, earning his own Olympic gold in speed skating. Which made him, and rightly so, a bit of the golden child, named for their father, Jack Jr. Now he was married, with two daughters, and owned a real estate firm. Two more brothers also came along before him. Aaron was a doctor who, along with his husband, Michael, worked as a humanitarian with several international outreach organizations. Gabe had the most mysterious of the sibling occupations. He worked with the CIA. But doing what? Nobody knew, and he refused to discuss it. Best guess? He was a senior analyst at Langley, probably high in the ranks, as he抎 been with the agency for over a decade. Unmarried, he liked to play the field and had broken more than a few hearts. But, as he liked to say, he just wasn抰 the marrying type.
Nick and his twin sister, Natalie, rounded out the five. She抎 been born first by a mere thirty seconds, which made him the runt of the litter, something none of the other four ever let him forget. Figure skating had been in her blood from an early age. She抎 competed in the Olympics but fell short of a medal. No matter, she抎 given it everything she had and that抯 all that mattered.
Nick and Nat. That抯 what the others called them.
Not surprising that he was closest with her. They even had the same middle name. Parker. In honor of their maternal grandmother, who抎 also been a world-class athlete. Natalie remained single, working as a much-sought-after figure skating coach for future hopefuls. A true workaholic. She and Kelsey had once been close, but the breakup left some bitter feelings that Nat had yet to expunge. True, she understood Kelsey抯 calling, but breaking her brother抯 heart came with repercussions, whether God was involved or not.
Quite a group.
All ambitious.
Raised in an atmosphere saturated with education and challenge, all of it bred into them by genetics and a solid upbringing.
Sport had never been a passion for him, though he抎 showed promise as a hockey player in college. There was talk of him playing professionally, but he nixed the idea, preferring instead to join the army. His parents had understood. It was his life and he had to lead it the way he wanted. Having a wife? Children? A family? Sure, he抎 love that. But when Kelsey left those dreams went with her. Forever? Not likely. And surely one day someone would come along and rekindle that dream.
Thankfully he had his family.
At least once a quarter most, if not all of them, gathered somewhere for dinner. Of late, Paris had been the best locale to accommodate their various traveling schedules. They were due for another meal next month.
He needed to head back to Kelsey抯 apartment, but first he placed a call to his boss at CLIO. That position was something of a revolving door. He抎 had three other supervisors over the past five years. Two good. One not so much. The current holder of the appointed position seemed intent on making a mark.
Reynaldo Pena.
A Spaniard with a degree in European art history from the University of C髍doba in Andalusia. He抎 worked as a conservator at several mainstay museums, most notably the Belvedere in Vienna. He抎 actively sought the CLIO position, which was an improvement from his last boss who抎 seemed to hate every minute of her time there. Pena was also proactive and had not hesitated to involve the agency where needed.
Which he liked.
Nine a.m. in Ghent meant 3:00 a.m. in New York. But CLIO ran around the clock and Pena had made it clear that he was always available, night or day. So Nick placed the call, which was answered promptly.
揧ou don抰 sound like you were asleep,?he said to Reynaldo.
揑 was doing some reading.?
He explained all that had happened, leaving no detail out and finishing with, 揟he bottom line is that part of one of the world抯 greatest works of art was intentionally destroyed. And the vandals knew what they were burning.?
揑 remember what one commentator said. Napoleon robbed it, Calvinists nearly burned it, the Nazis were desperate to own it, and part of it has been missing for eighty years. The Ghent Altarpiece has quite a history.?
揟his was planned out,?he said. 揟hey burned the panel and took the laptop, which means there抯 something on the images those nuns are prepared to die for. Did that woman last night realize the police would kill her? That抯 hard to say. But she willingly tossed the laptop over the wall and faced them down.?
揧ou抮e curious??Reynaldo asked him.
揥ho wouldn抰 be??
He hadn抰 explained to Pena about Kelsey, only saying that he抎 come to town to visit an old friend. Anything more seemed a bit too personal for their all-business relationship.
揑 need you back in Paris,?Reynaldo said. 揂 couple of new scenarios are developing.?