Ch 17

Dan put in a voicemail to Jonah's cell that evening. He knew Jonah was on stage in Milan but he'd get back to Dan in the morning. He also wanted to spend some time on the internet researching Theo Burger, Isabella Stewart Gardner and anything that might be helpful from 125 years ago. He and Atticus hunkered down in the living room, laptops open, pens and paper at the ready. Dan was especially grateful for Atticus as research was normally Amy's specialty. I'm turning into my sister, he thought. Oh well, he could have worse role models he figured.

Jake and Amy went upstairs to find Mark Rosenbloom. They had quickly discussed how they'd approach the subject with him without giving away too much. They finally figured they needed to just be honest with him about Anne Hawley approaching them and wondering if he knew anything about Bianca's notes.

"Dad?" Jake said poking his head around the office door. "Can we come in?"

"Sure! What's up Jake?" Dr. Rosenbloom said.

Amy followed him inside. They both had to clean off chairs opposite Mark's desk. Amy looked around for a place to put her stack of books and papers. Finding nothing, she finally just put them back on her lap as she sat.

"Dad, Amy and I had a strange experience a few days ago. We were approached on campus by Dr. Anne Hawley." Jake let that name linger in the air a moment, watching his father's face for recognition.

At first, there was a blank expression, then a slow dawning as the name sank in. A reflective look took over his handsome features, "I haven't heard that name in a long time." Mark said. "Do you two know who she is?"

"We do now" Amy said.

"Jake, your mother used to work for her at the Gardner museum back before you were born."

"I know, Anne filled us in." Jake said.

"What did she want?" Mark continued, frowning.

"She wanted our help. She thinks mom might have had notes and information about the robbery somewhere." Jake was careful to leave out the part about hiring them to find the works.

"She's going to try and find the works one last time before she retires," Amy added.

"How in the world did she know you were Bianca's son?" Mark asked, "You were just a baby at the funeral!" genuine curiosity on his face.

Amy looked sheepish, "Well, that wasn't too hard as our faces have been in the tabloids in recent months." Amy hated that she had been the subject of Pierce's attacks. She hated it even more that Jake had been dragged into things.

Mark scowled. He had just stared to warm to Amy and now he looked like he hated her again.

"That's not important dad, in a way, it was good because Anne Hawley had no idea how to reach us anymore. I really think we should help her if we can. What do you remember about mom and the Gardner museum?" Jake asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Mark took a long breath and leaned back in his chair, fixing his eyes on a spot on the opposite wall thinking. He didn't respond right away. Jake and Amy exchanged a quick glance. It looked like Mark was lost in his memories, remembering his first wife who had died so many years earlier.

"Your mother was an extraordinary woman." He began. "We met in Portugal and fell in love. She moved over to the US to be with me and the easiest way for her to stay was for us to get married. So, we did. We were young and foolish," he shot a meaningful glance at both Jake and Amy.

He continued, "we lived in a dump right off the Peabody. She took classes in art history while I finished up my undergrad. She was a few years older than I was. Her father had some pull and she was able to start grad school at Harvard while I finished. She got her master's in Renaissance Art History specializing in the Golden era; the Dutch masters. She started traveling to visit these works while I was traveling to start my Ph.D."

He sighed as he remembered. "We'd meet up all over the globe for quick weekends together". He gave a quick laugh at the memory. "it seems like a lifetime ago now."

Amy looked over a Jake. He was smiling, soaking in every memory he could get of his mother.

"In '89 I graduated with my doctorate and she was more than ready to start a family." Jake smiled, thinking how much his mother had wanted him. "She was hired at the Gardner museum as director of collections and I took up lecturing here when I wasn't in the field. She had only been at the museum a few months when it was robbed. She was devastated." Mark frowned, remembering,

"B became singularly-focused on finding those works." He said, referring to her nickname. Amy smiled thinking of Jake's mother as B. He continued, "She'd go to work in the morning, then she'd come home at night and continue to research for hours. Eventually falling asleep at her desk. I was worried about her. She barely slept anymore."

"Did she ever find anything?" Jake asked

"I'm not sure. She found out she was pregnant with you a year after the robbery and her focus shifted. After you were born, I don't remember her ever talking about it. Then, she got sick and was gone by the time you were a year old."

Mark's face grew somber, remembering that difficult time in his life. Amy could imagine trying to raise an infant and no mother to help. At least she and Dan had been out of diapers when their parents died. She looked over at Jake, he looked as somber as his father, no doubt thinking about the same thing.

"How did you do it dad? I mean, take care of me after she died?" he asked searchingly.

"It wasn't easy. I eventually found a nanny who would come to the house and take care of you while I worked, but it meant I couldn't do any field work for quite a while. In a way though, it was good. I was on campus all the time," he smiled, and continued "and that's where I met Astrid."

He gave a small smile, thinking of his second wife; Atticus' mother. "I got a chance to watch you grow and you looked so much like B when you were little. It was comforting to me."

Jake smiled warmly at his father. He could imagine the heartache Mark Rosenbloom had been through in his life. Amy could too. Losing one woman you loved would be hard enough, but losing two…that had to be catastrophic.

"Dad, do you know if you have anything of mom's anymore?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Probably, I wouldn't have wanted to throw a single thing away after she died and as scholars, neither Astrid nor I would have wanted to part with any sort of research." Mark said with conviction.

Jake lit up, "Where do you think you would have kept her things?"

"My best guess would be the attic. You're welcome to go dig around up there. Just be careful, who knows what's up there after all these years." Mark said with a twinkle in his eye.