And he told Raymond about what happened in Ghent.
His old friend was shocked. It had been Raymond who told him about the original Just Judges being hidden beneath the reproduction.
揥hy are you telling me this??he asked.
揧ou are my dear friend. That masterpiece has lain hidden for a long time. You should be the one credited for its rediscovery. That will help your business immensely.?
Yes, it would.
And he抎 appreciated the inside information.
揂re you sure that the original is there??he asked Raymond.
揘othing is a certainty, besides death. But I have no reason to believe that what I know is false.?
And Raymond had explained that the creator of the reproduction, Jef Van der Veken, lived to the age of ninety-two, dying in 1964. Van der Veken had continued to ply his trade as an art restorer, copyist, and forger after 1945 until blindness forced him to stop. His son-in-law, Albert Philippot, an artist too, gradually took over his tasks. It had been Philippot who oversaw the 1950 restoration of the Ghent Altarpiece.
揌is father-in-law confided in him that the original lay beneath,?Raymond said. 揌e抎 been involved with the 1934 theft. But when his co-conspirator died of a heart attack he was left with the Just Judges. When he was asked to create a reproduction for the cathedral he used the opportunity to hide the original back in plain sight. Quite brilliant, actually. During the 1950 restoration, Philippot confirmed that fact for himself, but told no one.?
揥hy would he keep that secret??
揌e was one of us.?
揅athar??
Raymond nodded. 揂 Perfectus. He hated the Roman Catholic Church and loved his father-in-law. To hurt the one and protect the other, he kept Van der Veken抯 secret. Before he died in 1974, he told me. We were friends for a long time. Now I抦 telling you. Use this opportunity and bring it back to life. Make a name for yourself.?
Which was precisely what he抎 done.
揑 worry about you, Bernat,?Raymond said.
He smiled. 揂nd I appreciate your concern. You have been more than good to me.?
揑t抯 curious why someone would destroy that panel, but perhaps the images of it might still be enough for you to garner some recognition.?
They抎 timed the attack on Vilamur to happen while the Just Judges made its reemergence. A one-two punch. Acclaim from one direction. Satisfaction from the other. The cathedral curator had told him a few days ago that a press conference would happen shortly when the world would be told what had been found. The attack might well alter that timetable. He was still waiting on the curator to forward Sister Deal抯 images.
揅areful, my friend,?Raymond said. 揟he barrel regarding the church and Vilamur has been jostled. You have no idea what might spill out.?
揑t doesn抰 matter, I抦 way ahead of them.?
Raymond shook his head.
揟hat抯 what our ancestors, who once filled these woods, thought too. But a papal army came and look what happened to them.?
Chapter 40
Vilamur strolled with Cardinal Fuentes down the streets of Toulouse. They抎 enjoyed dinner at his favorite restaurant, sitting at his usual table, the meal interrupted several times by parishioners stopping by and extending him greetings. Here, in the heart of the city, he was well known. But he抎 always made a point to be visible, accessible, making sure that his was the face of the diocese. At Fuentes抯 request he抎 kept the cardinal抯 identity confidential, introducing him with another name, explaining he was a friend from Spain visiting for a few days. He assumed that the cardinal, unlike himself, kept a much lower profile.
揕et me see if I have my history correct,?Fuentes said as they walked. 揝t. Saturnin was the first bishop of Toulouse. Supposedly, he was the son of Aegeus, king of Achaea. He lived in the first century and some chroniclers have described him as one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, placing him at the Last Supper. Quite an honor. Peter himself supposedly consecrated him a bishop. But who knows if any of that is accurate??
He agreed. There was simply no way to know what happened that far back, as few records had survived.
揃ut,?Fuentes said, 搇ike with most of the important people from that time, his death had greater significance than his life. Strange how that is.?
Yes, it was.
揝upposedly, Saturnin lived here, in Toulouse. Each day, to reach the local Christian church he had to pass by the Capitole. The pagan priests had an altar there and they began to blame the silence of their oracles on his regular appearances. So one day they seized him and tied his feet to a bull, which dragged him about the town, killing him. How am I doing??
換uite well, Eminence.?
Fuentes stopped walking, clearly pleased with himself. 揥here the bull stopped and the rope broke, Saturnin lay dead. Two Christian women gathered his remains and buried them right there. Which, if I抦 not mistaken, is somewhere here, on this street. Correct??