She knew it. And the sisters did too.
揑 am sorry,?she said to her superior. 揊or my mistakes.?
揂s am I, in not listening more closely to you and the others.?
She heard the pain in the voice.
The older woman pointed a finger. 揃ut contrary to what you may think, the Vatican is attentive. They are out there. Watching. Waiting for us to make a mistake. And we just accommodated them.?
She had to say again, as she had weeks ago, 揥e don抰 know they are watching.?
揇on抰 be a fool, Claire. They are most definitely watching. Our only salvation has been they did not know where to look. We have remained hidden in plain sight for a long, long time. But you may have just solved that problem for them.?
揗ay I have the opportunity to fix things??
揌ow would you do that??
揑 would first retrieve Sister Rachel抯 body. She is entitled to a proper burial, here, among us. It could also help chill the trail.?
揂nd that laptop??
揑 would also obtain it. Or, at a minimum, destroy its memory.?
揃oth would now be difficult feats, considering the situation.?
The abbess?eyes maintained a steady, noncommittal gaze. Claire fought for control over her voice as she said, 揃ut not impossible.?
The older woman appraised her with a stern gaze. 揑 will address Sister Deal and the laptop through other, more manageable, means. Ones I was hesitant to use at first, but which now are imperative. As to Rachel, I will not make that decision. We will place it before the collective.?
She bowed her head. 揧es, abbess.?
揑f the maidens so desire, your next efforts must be totally successful, without any error.?
揑 understand.?
揊or your sake, and ours, Claire, I hope you do.?
Chapter 21
Ghent, Belgium
10:00 a.m.
Nick sat in Kelsey抯 apartment as her fingers skipped across the keyboard and she called up the images she抎 methodically scanned onto its hard drive. He抎 walked over, with her computer, from his hotel immediately after talking with his boss.
The Just Judges appeared on the screen.
The oak panel was about sixty inches tall by twenty inches wide. A gradually withdrawing landscape showed a group of people on horseback making their way toward the New Jerusalem, depicted in all its glory on the main center panel, where they all would worship the Lamb of God. Expert consensus was that the ten people depicted in the Just Judges were administrators and politicians from Jan van Eyck抯 time. But with the original gone there抎 been no way of confirming that until now.
揟he Ghent Altarpiece is twenty-four pieces that fit together front and back, akin to a double-sided jigsaw puzzle,?Kelsey said. 揑t抯 a fairly simple construction. What抯 difficult is piecing together the iconography in each panel. How they go together. What they mean in relation to the others. Nothing here was painted haphazardly. There抯 a purpose to every single thing depicted. Experts have wrestled with what those purposes and meanings are for six centuries.?
揑抳e read a few articles,?he noted. 揟here抯 a lot of speculation and debate about the whole thing.?
揟o say the least. The Just Judges is probably the most complex, message-wise, of the twelve. Each of the ten riders most likely expressed a particular story. We know van Eyck worked from a plan. What that was, though, has been impossible to determine. It抯 truly in-the-eye-of-the-beholder. What we do know is that the altarpiece is loaded with hidden detail and symbolism. In its entirety, when opened, it抯 a mystical poem of the Eucharist and the sacrifices of the Lamb, all occurring with Christians, the church, and the world adoring. Eleven of the panels have been totally mapped and minutely studied. Let me show you an example.?
She tapped the screen and called up the image of a seated bearded man holding a scepter in one hand, his right fingers outstretched and pointed skyward. He occupied the top spot above the center panel in a clear place of prominence.
揗any think this is God the Father, overseeing the story of salvation,?she said. 揃ut he wears a papal tiara, there are no wounds in his hands, and he抯 wearing shoes, which usually doesn抰 connote Christ.?
He saw the contradictions. 揗ore of that mysticism??
揚robably. It抯 a magnificent image. But let me show you the genius of van Eyck.?
She tapped the keyboard and zeroed in on the cylindrical glass scepter that the figure held in his left hand. The detail on the enlarged image was amazing. Nick could see creases in the skin, cracks in the fingernails, the crisp folds in the cloth. Like a magnified photograph instead of paint with brushes.
揑f all that is only revealed at high resolution,?he said, 揾ow did van Eyck paint it in the fifteenth century??
揌e was a trained miniaturist, skilled in the technique. Look at the scepter.?