The Inspection of a Curator
DISCLAIMER: All rights belong to Deborah Harkness. Just borrowing the characters for an alternate universe fan fiction story.
SUMMARY: A 1940's Police Inspector gets caught up in the world of rare books when a valuable manuscript is stolen and a murder occurs. Together, with a book curator, this Detective will face obstacles as they traverse the secret world of asylum's, wealth and mystery as well as their blossoming romance.
CREDIT: A huge thank you to Shawna! I wouldn't be the author I am without your editing help, suggestions and ideas!
Chapter ELEVEN: "Criminal Collectives, Secrets & Aunts?"
By: Goode Girl
~TIOAC~
It was late and the precinct was pretty much empty, save for a few people still working late.
Chief Inspector Hamish Osborne pushed back from his desk and stood to retrieve his porcelain mug from the sideboard. After hanging up the telephone, he wasn't sure if he felt relieved at the news he'd just received or concerned. He'd not heard a word for almost six days, so that was something at least.
Running a hand over his tired face he ambled out of his office, intent on getting some fresh coffee and was surprised to still see one of his Detective Inspector's working this late. Usually, it was just constables stirring about.
"Inspector Montclair?" He called across the room.
"Chief," He replied, moving to stand from his desk.
"No, no, don't stand." Hamish stated as he got closer. "No formality needed." He smiled. Baldwin sat back down and turned to face him. "What are you working on, so late?" Hamish prodded, leaning his tired body against a nearby desk.
"Going over these auction bids from Kelley's collection." He explained.
"Right, anything standing out?"
"That's the thing, I think there is something…" Baldwin trailed off.
"What is it?"
"Well… I would like to bring it to Matthew first and see if he sees what could be a possible theory. If that's alright with you?" Baldwin relayed.
"Of course. Go with your gut. If you come across a lead, just keep me in the loop." Hamish agreed before leaving Baldwin to his auction logs.
Baldwin knew it was late, but he was sure this was a solid theory and wanted to share it with Matthew as soon as he could. He debated for a few moments if he should call him at home or not but then threw caution to the wind.
"Screw it," He mumbled, dialing the number.
~TIOAC~
Matthew helped to settle Diana into bed before he headed to the kitchen for some water and checked that the house was all locked up for the night.
Diana's recovery was slow going and it had been six days since Gallowglass had miraculously returned her to the manor. While her memory of events seemed to come back in flashes, she's seemingly remembered everything now. But her physical body needs to heal. The beating she took from her kidnapping was still apparent in the various bruises that littered her body.
After finishing his water, he moved to head back to the bedroom when the phone started its shrill ringing.
"Hello?" Matthew answered quietly, interrupting the second ring so as not to disturb Diana.
"It's Montclair. I'm sorry to call so late, but I think I've found something from the auction." He rushed out.
"What?" Matthew prodded, yawning in the process.
"Matthew, if I'm right about this theory that is literally in black and white…." He trailed off. ", it could be huge." He detailed. "I'd like to come by and show you first thing in the morning."
Matthew agreed and the call ended shortly thereafter.
Diana was asleep in the second bed in his bedroom and he could see her turn over as he headed back to bed.
"Who called so late?" She questioned tiredly, tugging the blanket around herself a bit more.
"Inspector Montclair. He thinks he might have something from the auction bids, so he's coming by first thing in the morning." He confirmed, crawling back into his own bed.
Diana nodded in reply as she succumbed to sleep once more.
The following morning there was a chill in the air as Matthew put on a pot of coffee. Diana's appetite was slow to return, so most mornings she just had some toast. Today however, Matthew was hopeful that her appetite might be better, so he proceeded to scramble some eggs, along with her usual preference of toast.
"Thank you," Diana smiled, as she sat at the table and consumed all of what he'd made her.
"Seems your appetite is better." He grinned, sipping some coffee.
"It is, I woke up feeling famished." She smiled sweetly at him.
"Good, you need to build up your strength." He stated, kissing the top of her head as he went to add his eggs to the warm skillet.
~TIOAC~
"I saw something in these bids last night, and before I share my theory I want to know if you see it too." Baldwin relayed, as Diana handed him a cup of coffee before sitting next to Matthew. "Thank you," He added, sipping from the cup.
Matthew moved the list of bidders between them so they could equally see and peruse.
"Oh my god!" Diana suddenly announced, pulling the list closer.
"You see it, don't you?" Baldwin prodded, setting his coffee cup down.
"Okay I'm slow this morning, clearly so can one of you please share what it is you're seeing?"
Baldwin smiled before speaking, "Everyone who bid on Ashmole 782 are listed right here," He began, pointing a third down the list. "Now what do those names have in common?" He asked rhetorically.
"It's almost as if they all bid on the manuscript to ensure Philippe would raise his own bids." Diana interjected. "They wanted Philippe to win the bidding." She added.
"Exactly." Baldwin smiled.
Matthew looked at the names of the bidders more closely, "Peter Knox, Gerbert D'Aurillac, Gillian Chamberlain, Mathieu Beny, Satu Järvinen and Andrew Hubbard" he listed off. "They were all in it together." Matthew deduced. "You think that they bid higher and higher because they knew Philippe wanted the manuscript and they wanted him to pay more?" Matthew queried. "Forgive me, but why would they do that? It doesn't make sense."
"It does if you look at the bidding records from one of those names." Baldwin explained, handing over another document.
"Andrew Hubbard," Diana murmured as her eyes scanned the page. "He caps his bidding at the same amount each time, like he can't afford to pay more than that. I just thought it was a safe place to end as most don't go that high." She stated as Baldwin nodded. "Hubbard had me make these bids for him, so why use me?" Diana posed.
"And, why the focus on Diana and her office then? The listening devices, ransacking the place." Matthew spoke. "Do we still think there is a 'third' suspect?" He added.
"I'm not sure yet and that may have nothing to do with the manuscript like we thought." Baldwin replied. "Then again it could have everything to do with it." He added. "Diana, you made these specific bids in Hubbard's name?" Baldwin asked for confirmation.
"Yes. If you look next to his name, that small red mark is to indicate that someone was bidding on his behalf." She stated with finality. "He always had the same cap but that is not low either." She replied.
"So, does that mean that Hubbard wasn't actually at the auction?" He urged.
"Correct. I was there in his stead." She communicated as something dawned on her. "Meaning they all had to know I was there bidding for Hubbard in order to keep raising it, but how!?" She called in alarm.
"The day I met you, Diana and retrieved the manuscript, I felt like we were being watched." Matthew added.
"I remember." She nodded, blushing slightly at the memory of their shared first kiss.
"Maybe they had been following Hubbard and when they saw him at your business it piqued their interest." Baldwin interjected.
"One or all of them could have placed those bugs in my office then." Diana replied dejectedly.
Matthew stood and gathered his thoughts before speaking, "So, the others kept bidding past Hubbard's final bid even though he wasn't present and you were bidding on his behalf knowing they couldn't afford it. Ensuring that Philippe would win and that the manuscript would be at the manor in Philippe's library leaving them free and clear to use the tunnels below the asylum to steal it." Matthew theorized.
Baldwin nodded at Matthew's conclusions. "That is the theory I'd arrived at last night," he matched.
"This is crazy," Diana added, standing and shaking her head in disbelief. "There must be something else about the manuscript we don't know, some kind of secret." She announced. "Otherwise, why go through all this trouble?" She offered, waiting for one of them to respond.
"What do you mean?" Baldwin questioned.
"There's no way that all of these people who are not that simple minded may I add," She started, ", would be stupid enough to think they can turn lead into gold or find the formula for 'immortality'," She ranted, using air quotes. "Knox and Gerbert are in the medical field; they think with science and facts and wouldn't believe this." She relayed. "I think," She paused. "I think there is something else to the manuscript." She offered.
"But what?" Matthew urged.
Diana looked at Matthew, "I think Kelley knew it too." She responded. ", and I'm starting to wonder if the missing pages were ever really missing in the first place. I mean the formula was still in the book just harder to find…" she trailed on before Baldwin interjected.
"The missing pages… they were a diversion from something else." He suggested.
"Yes." Diana replied firmly. "But there's something else that's bothering me about those missing pages." She added.
"What?" Baldwin prodded.
"Well, if there is in fact another secret within the manuscript, why cut out the pages in the first place?" She posed. "I mean Kelley would have to have known it would be studied to understand why." She clarified.
"What if he cut them out so it would be inspected?" Baldwin offered.
"We need to study that manuscript again." Matthew finalized.
~TIOAC~
Marthe was in the middle of clearing the dining table from Philippe and Ysabeau's breakfast when the bell for the front door echoed through the corridor. She set the dishes back down and bustled into the foyer to answer the door.
"Matthew!" She called in delight. "Diana!" She echoed embracing them each warmly. "You are looking so much better, please, please come in." She invited, gesturing for them to enter.
"Inspector Montclair." Baldwin announced, removing his hat.
"Welcome," She smiled again. "Mr. and Mrs. De Clermont are about somewhere." She related. "Please, take a seat in the parlour and I'll fetch them for you." She stated, tottering off before they could offer any kind of response.
"You want to examine the manuscript again; see what other secrets it may have." Philippe surmised after they'd laid out their discovery.
"If it's not too much trouble, yes." Matthew intoned.
"Very well." He nodded. "Let me open the library for you and then I'll fetch it." He informed.
Diana walked the perimeter of the library, admiring Philippe's collection while Matthew and Baldwin seated themselves at the central table.
"What do we look for, Diana?" Baldwin questioned as she headed back in their direction.
"That's a good question. I've been through it page by page and cover…," Diana trailed off. ", to cover…" She finished in a murmur.
"Diana?" Matthew prodded, seeing the perplexed look on her face. "What is it?"
"Something must be secreted within the bindings." She stated.
"If you have to remove the binding, it won't damage the pages, will it?" Philippe interjected, over hearing her statement.
"No, not at all. I know how to carefully extract the pages from the cover and binding." She reassured. "I just wonder what could possibly be hidden within." She added as Philippe placed the manuscript before her on the table.
"Could you get Marthe to clean the table in the kitchen and ask her to boil some water?" Diana posed.
"Whatever for?" Philippe asked.
"The bindings will be easier to free if I can steam the adhesive from each cover." She explained. "We will need to do this in the kitchen I'm afraid."
Philippe acquiesced to Diana's odd request because he was more intrigued than concerned for his beloved manuscript.
Ysabeau joined them in the kitchen then and as they waited for the water to boil, Diana detailed some things about manuscripts. She explained that the current bindings on the manuscript were newer. Books, like Ashmole that were bound in the 16th century typically had full vellum binding over boards with clasps. Over time, the vellum would become too fragile and the book would be rebound in leather.
What made Ashmole different was that it had been rebound in leather more recently. Something Diana noticed during her initial examinations of the manuscript. This rebinding must have happened in the last five years. "There is a more modern adhesive used on this binding, than was used in the 16th or 17th century." She explained. "This binding is too pristine to be part of the original first rebinding." She continued. "In fact, it may very well have been done by the Nazis." She informed.
"The Nazis!?" Baldwin exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, well prior to Kelley owning the manuscript, it was seized by the Nazi's somewhere in Poland. It was then lost before turning up in London where Edward Kelley purchased it from some private owner." She informed.
"Water's just about ready." Marthe interjected.
"Thank you," Diana smiled as she stood from the table, manuscript in hand.
Carefully, she held the back cover over the steam but made sure it was not too close; to soften the adhesive.
"Marthe, can you find me the sharpest but smallest knife you have please?" Diana asked.
"Of course," She nodded, moving to a drawer a few feet away.
The room was thick with tension and no one spoke as they watched Diana work. After a few more moments, Diana lay the manuscript on the white sheet laid out on the table. Using the knife, she gently slipped the tip under the back corner to pry it from the boards.
Twenty minutes later, she'd released the perimeter of the binding from the back cover and lifted the board to inspect it. The second leather binding was still there as well.
"Do you have some tweezers?" Diana questioned. Without a word Marthe rushed from the room and returned moments later, handing Diana the requested item.
"Thank you," She nodded, turning her attention back to the secret that lay within.
The board looked like it had been finely split and something inserted. The second leather binding after the vellum was helping to protect the hidden content. With care and ease, Diana used the tweezers to gently pry the object from its hiding spot. As the item slowly emerged, an image took shape before them. An oil painting; a portrait.
"Oh! My word!" Ysabeau exclaimed.
"Do you know what this is?" Philippe asked, turning to Ysabeau.
"No, sorry. Art is not my forte. I just think it's beautiful." She replied with a small blush.
"I think I know what this is." Diana stated as everyone quieted around her. "But we need an expert." She added.
~TIOAC~
Phoebe Taylor had just finished a guided tour of select paintings as part of a new collection at the Royal British Museum when her co-worker approached.
"There's a small party asking for you." Wilf informed. "It seems rather important." He added.
"Thank you." She nodded. "But there's not another tour for -, "Wilf cut her off.
"They're police, Phoebe. I don't think they're looking for a tour. But an expert." He informed.
"Oh, right. Thank you, I'll go meet them now then." She nodded, heading to the main lobby of the museum.
"Do you have any idea what you've got here!?" Phoebe questioned in shock and astonishment.
Matthew, Baldwin and Diana all stared back at her, blank-faced.
"We wouldn't be here if we did, no disrespect." Baldwin stated.
"Let me give you a little history lesson then." She smiled.
"The oil portrait that you have here was painted around 1513 to 1514 by the Italian High Renaissance Old Master painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino; simply known as Raphael. In 1939 at the onset of the Nazi German invasion of Poland, the family patriarch Prince Augustyn Jósef Czartoryski rescued numerous pieces from the Czartoryski Museum. Including works from Leonardo DaVinci and Rembrandt." Phoebe explained.
The portrait they had found in Ashmole was one of those rescued and was titled, 'Portrait of a Young Man" by Raphael measuring 25 centimetres by 17 centimetres.
"The portrait you have here is depicting a well-dressed young man in an early Mannerist style." Phoebe continued. "Although this portrait had been rescued along with others, that collection was discovered by the Gestapo. Where it was sent to Berlin and then Dresden to become part of the Führer's Collection at Linz." Phoebe paused before continuing. "The last known sighting of this work was in Kraków, Poland when it was placed in Wawel Castle. The last rumoured sighting was London, but it was never confirmed until now…" She trailed off.
"Until now, what?" Diana urged.
"Until now, we thought this was lost or destroyed."
"What is this particular portrait worth?" Matthew questioned.
"Around 100 million. At least." She informed.
~TIOAC~
Hamish was getting ready to get some lunch, when an urgent knocking, hammered against his office door.
"Yes, yes come in." He called.
The door swung open and Matthew, Diana and Baldwin entered with Philippe and Ysabeau.
"What's this?" He asked in confusion.
After everyone got situated in seats around the office, some on the couch by the window and some at the small round table to the side, Matthew presented their case.
"We know why they did it, and how." He informed.
"The manuscript was not stolen because of the alchemical formulas but because of what secret lay beyond it." Matthew started as he laid out all of their discoveries.
"They all bid together, ensuring it would end up at Mr. De Clermont's so they could infiltrate and steal it." Matthew added.
When he'd concluded his detailing of the events and the worth of the missing painting, Hamish looked perplexed.
"What are you thinking?" Diana was the first to question.
"There are a few odd ducks that don't line up in all of this" He started. "Number one is why outbid Hubbard and not bring him into the scheming? Number two, why was Ms. Bishop's office treated as it was? And three, who is the corpse found at the De Clermont's?"
"Those are things we need to get to the bottom of, but for now, because it was in their possession and technically, they discovered it, the De Clermont's have handed the portrait over where it is being held in the secure vault of the British Royal Museum." Matthew informed.
~TIOAC~
It had been a long day full of discoveries and surprises but Diana was feeling well enough to return to her apartment. She was sure there must be rotten food in the fridge at this point.
"I'll walk you up, just to be safe." Matthew pressed, opening the car door for her.
"Thank you. Maybe you want to stay for dinner?" She offered. He smiled flirtatiously in reply as he followed her into the building.
"I can make pasta, that at least won't be rotten." She joked as they climbed the stairs.
Diana was halted in her tracks when she saw who was waiting outside her apartment door.
"What are you doing here?" She called in surprise and glee as she rushed over to welcome them.
"Oh Diana! I've missed you so much." Emily revealed, hugging her tightly.
"We both have." Her aunt Sarah added, opening her arms for a welcome hug.
"This is Detective Inspector Matthew Roydon, I'm helping on a case." Diana introduced.
Sarah and Emily both shook his outstretched hand as he smiled at their kind greeting.
"It's been a long day for the case with some huge discoveries. I was going to make some dinner for us, so why don't you join us and you can tell me why you're here!" She invited.
Matthew removed his hat and helped them with their luggage as Diana ushered all of them into the apartment.
~TIOAC~
Author's Note: The Raphael painting mentioned in this chapter is real, the details of its whereabouts, except being in London are real. The only thing changed about the portrait is its size. The original measures 72cm x 56cm, but for fiction's sake, I wanted it to fit in Ashmole!