Masterpiece

by TheGirlWhoWearsBlack

Four dead people. Four long lost pieces of art recovered. Spencer Reid is tasked with the case that has the entire world at the edge of their seats. Art History not being his area of expertise, Dr. Reid is willing to get all the help he can take. That includes the quirky young woman who wrote the book that might steer the entire investigation in the right direction.

1. Prologue

In early December 2012, a man known as Sir Arthur Webber was found dead in his home in Sheffield, England. Simultaneously an exact replica of the painting 'The Infant Jupiter' by Sir Joshua Reynolds that had been allegedly destroyed back in 1816 at the Belvoir Castle Fire, resurfaced in the same city of Sheffield.

Certainly, it seemed like and odd coincidence, however not odd enough for law enforcement to dig in.

January 2013, Gianna Conti from Turin, Italy was found dead in similar circumstances to Sir Arthur Webber. The long missing, presumed destroyed at the Great War, 'Groupe de Trois Femmes' was found also in Turin.

Two people dead in the same fashion. Two missing pieces of artwork found.

First week of February 2013 the painting 'Poppy Flowers' by Van Gogh was recovered carefully placed over a small bed of the same flowers in Utrecht, Netherlands. Mika Vakker was found dead near the recovering site of the artwork.

The Dutch authorities ruled her decease to be a murder after finding foul play in her address, leading to the beginning of a humongous investigation that would involve the Interpol.

The victims seemed to have little to nothing in common except for the fact that they were murdered the same day a missing work of art reappeared.

During the investigation, in early March 2013, a fourth victim and a painting surfaced, this time not in European territory. In Annapolis, Maryland; Bernard Adams and 'A Lady and a Gentlemen in Black' from Rembrandt. The painting had been missing since 1990 after the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft.

The most recent murder and recovered art piece taking place in U.S.A. soil meant one thing: The Federal Bureau of Investigation could get their hands on the case as well.

Interpol did not hesitate in accepting all the help they could get, especially since it came from the elite division of the FBI: The Behavioral Analysis Unit.

This deaths, art reappearances and the Interpol/FBI alliance caught the media's eye, turning them into one big scandal known by the public as the 'Masterpiece Murders'.