Chapter 2: All Our Yesterdays
Winston-Winslow. Wednesday, February 20, 2008.
"We located another forgery," Klaus told Neal over the phone. "I know you're not surprised. After discovering a gem in the Louvre collection had been switched, we were both convinced it wasn't the sole example. But I had the devil of a time convincing the gemologists at the French National Museum of Natural History to check."
Klaus's call came through shortly after Neal arrived at work. It was early afternoon in Paris. If anyone needed proof of the necessity of the Red Diamonds con, this was it. "Which gem was it?" Neal already suspected he knew.
"Only the most valuable piece in their collection—the Grand Sapphire of Louis XIV."
Nodding at the confirmation, Neal asked "Do they have any idea when the switch was made?"
"We had a bit of luck there. The sapphire had undergone a thorough analysis two years ago. That puts the theft at approximately the same time as the McNally Solitaire. We were alerted this morning. Marcel has already contacted John Hobhouse in London."
Marcel Jauffret was Klaus's handler as well as the French member of Interpol Art Crimes. Last year Klaus negotiated his release into a work-release program under Marcel's supervision. The relationship had blossomed into a true friendship with their styles complementing each other well.
"Does the Museum employ the same security software as the Louvre?" Neal asked.
"No, we couldn't persuade them to upgrade their software. I don't expect we'll have any problem convincing them now."
Neal had considered bringing Klaus and Marcel in on the Red Diamonds con but so far their services weren't required. As a general rule the fewer who knew about a con, the better. But his inner voice was already insisting that Klaus's special talents could come in handy.
"I also have good news to report," Klaus continued, unaware of Neal's inner debate. "Marcel approved my proposal!"
"Congratulations! Did he agree to my participation?"
"That was never in doubt, especially since I have you to thank for the idea."
"I didn't suggest this," Neal protested.
"I'll grant you had an intermediary."
"I'm not following you."
"Hey, you're not the only one who holds conversations with paintings. A certain Cubist work wouldn't let me rest until I made the offer. That violin was haunting my dreams."
Klaus didn't name the painting, but he could only be talking about one work—Braque's Violin and Candlestick. Klaus was calling from his office at police headquarters. He and Neal worked on the assumption that all of Klaus's conversations were recorded. The convoluted history of the Cubist work was largely still a secret. For months, it had haunted Neal's dreams as well. At the time he'd suspected it was a curse, but thanks to it, they'd discovered a cache of masterpieces plundered by the Nazis.
#
Peter stopped in the hallway outside Neal's office. The door was open and he could hear Neal speaking French, meaning he was probably on the phone. Peter's beginner's level knowledge of the language prevented him from understanding anything.
It wasn't uncommon to hear Neal speaking a foreign language, particularly French, German, and Italian. His job with Interpol Art Crimes required frequent consultations with his fellow members. Peter was gradually picking up a smattering of the languages—if only to identify them.
Neal waved him inside while switching to German on the phone. That meant he was most likely speaking with Klaus. The two usually spoke French to make it easier for any police agent monitoring the call, but a few expressions in German occasionally snuck in.
"How's Klaus?" Peter asked when Neal had ended the call.
"Excited, in a word," Neal said. "Marcel green-lighted his proposal."
"Which one is that?"
Neal flashed a grin. "To become a Monuments Man. I'll be one too."
The Monuments Men were specialists recruited by the U.S. Army during World War II to recover art plundered by the Nazis. "You're going after looted art?"
Neal nodded. "And you're welcome to join us whenever you have the time. Klaus has a lead from his former life. One of his buyers bragged about knowing about plundered masterpieces. Supposedly, he'd found a World War II document containing the names of German soldiers who'd lifted some of the works meant for Hitler. Our mission is to track them down."
"Will this interfere with your plans for the Red Diamonds?"
"I don't think so. The Red Diamonds is quiescent for now since our reputation can't be established overnight. As for the Monuments Men gig, Klaus will first have to solve a mystery before we can begin."
"Which is?"
"The owner of the document has disappeared. Klaus is convinced he's still alive but living under a different identity. Finding him—and more importantly, that list—could take a while."
"You said this was Klaus's proposal," Peter said. "Was that helped along by a nudge on your part?" He stood up to close the door, hoping that would make Neal more forthcoming. "This is quite a reversal from someone who didn't use to appear bothered by the ethics of profiting off plundered art."
"I agree but I didn't know anything about the idea until after Klaus had discussed it with Marcel. He's being very careful about how he proceeds on any case these days. Klaus recognizes what a sweet deal he has and doesn't want to do anything to make Marcel regret his decision."
"From what I've heard, Marcel could easily say the same thing." Peter continued to get reports from Marcel about Klaus. The former thief worked behind the scenes with Marcel's team to upgrade museum security and recover paintings. The fact many of the works could have been initially stolen by him was something best not discussed.
"In the case of the current project, Klaus told me Violin and Candlestick insisted on him taking up the cause."
Klaus and Neal's complicated association with that looted masterpiece now included Peter as well. Klaus had initially hidden from Neal his knowledge about the painting. It was a promising sign that he felt guilty about it. "If you ever need my assistance, I'll gladly join your team."
"Thank you. Klaus will be happy to hear it as well." Neal grew silent for a moment. "We've both seen the change in him. Chantal deserves much of the credit. The baby she carries is also a big factor. Klaus told me he wants the baby to be proud of him. I can relate."
So could Peter, but he was surprised to hear Neal voice the same sentiment. It made him wonder how much he and Sara had discussed an addition to their family and that brought him to the purpose of his visit.
"What did you want to see me about?" Neal asked.
"In a way, it's related to what you told me about Klaus." Peter had pondered over the weekend whether he should make an issue of it, but Neal just made the decision for him. "Have you and Sara discussed the possible repercussions of the Red Diamonds con?"
"Which ones have you concerned?" Neal asked, his brow furrowing in puzzlement.
Clearly they hadn't. "A few months ago, you expressed relief that the long con to unmask Phoenix was finally over. Only last month, we discussed the Anastasia con you pulled against Adrian Tulane and the lingering distaste you still have about it. Now you're about to plunge into another long con. Are you prepared to go the distance?"
"I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think it will be a problem in this case. Planting fictitious stories about lost treasures is more like a game of make-believe. The situation's not that different from the stories Mozzie spins for scripts."
"Yeah, but what happens when you get a bite?"
"From Diamond Lil? Then it will be up to us to con her into believing us. But that part shouldn't last long." Neal frowned. "Playing free and loose is something Henry and I have already had a lot of experience with. We did something similar for the U-boat con and didn't suffer any repercussions. Sara was a member of that con. She had to defame my character for Phil Kramer's benefit. Not something she enjoyed, I'm happy to report, but we were able to laugh about it."
"All right. I'll rest my case. Maybe running a long con for you is so natural, you'd feel out of phase without one."
"And we don't have any kids to shelter," Neal added, looking pointedly at him. "If you ever have any reservations about your role, don't hesitate to speak up." He chuckled. "Not something I probably need to tell you. I trust you will continue to remind me of looming pitfalls. You bring a much-appreciated perspective on problems I might overlook."
That was nice of Neal to say, but was Peter adding genuine value? Or was he simply guilty of overworking the complications that could arise?
#
Neal left work early to head for his appointment with Vanya at Columbia. This wasn't a simple matter of turning in an outline. Instead, he would need to defend it as if he were undergoing orals. The subject of his dissertation was "Through the Artist's Eye." It was a new approach to teaching art history based on the master workshops he'd held for the past three years.
Vanya was smart to require an outline at what Neal initially thought was far too early a stage. Now he realized the enormity of the task ahead. He vowed to spend his upcoming plane flights on writing. Diana took advantage of her travel to work on her fiction. He should adopt her strategy.
The meeting went well with Vanya only making a few tweaks to the outline. On the way home, Neal stopped off at the Aloha Emporium, where those famous honey wine merchants Mozzie and Billy Feng had invited him to a tasting. They'd prepared a special mead in honor of the upcoming Yellowface movie. It would be sold at the convention and later at promotional events.
Neal was pleased to see that cases had been set aside for the musketeers. They'd all been involved in the first short video that propelled the yellow-face bee into a global phenomenon. The movie chronicling their mini-superhero's latest adventures would be released around the time of Comic-Con next July, and it was a given that they'd all attend the convention in San Diego.
"We decided to release the Yellowface mead in a non-alcoholic variety," Billy said, holding the glass of amber-colored liquid to the light. "Many of the bee's fans are children. We're calling it Yellowface's Zero Proof Nectar."
"That will please the families at Tac-Con," Neal said, delighted with the idea.
"And Vulcans everywhere," Mozzie declared. "Several of the kids from the telescope workshop want to be transformed into Vulcans for the convention. They're well-versed in Vulcan abstinence. We'll also have Yellowface's original mead available for those who don't have green blood."
During the walk home, Mozzie asked Neal about the artists he'd selected for his dissertation. The list was a lengthy one. The choices all had special significance to him or his friends. Sara picked Vermeer as a secret tribute to liberating the artist from Rolf's clutches. Peter liked Caravaggio. Klaus chose Whistler. Matisse was a personal favorite. El wanted Renoir. Mozzie selected Van Gogh. June requested Georgia O'Keeffe.
"Who did you pick for Henry?" Mozzie asked as they waited at a crosswalk for the light to change.
"I was sure he'd opt out, but instead he went for Rembrandt."
Mozzie shrugged. "Not a surprise, given your joint extracurricular activity. I regret I wasn't available—"
"—Watch out!" Neal grabbed Mozzie and shoved him back on the curb just as a van raced through the intersection.
"I wish I'd gotten the license number," a passerby said, glaring at the fleeing vehicle. "You could have been killed!"
A simple case of reckless driving? Neal wasn't so sure. He'd been watching the traffic and that van sped up at precisely the same moment they stepped off the curb.
Notes: The Braque painting was featured in several of my stories. Neal stole what he thought was a copy when he was a member of Klaus's crew. He later discovered it was an original work that had been seized by the Nazis.