Harlequin's Shadow

Chapter 31: A Sword Is Like a Bird

Castle in the Matra Mountains north of Budapest.

Klaus mounted the oak staircase to his brother's quarters on the third floor of the castle. Anya had given him the second-best suite in the building with magnificent views of the surrounding forest and mountains.

The castle had been built in the nineteenth century by a prince who admired King Ludwig's castles in Bavaria. Rolf's study was typical—a pastiche of Gothic and contemporary. Oak paneling, oriental rugs, and Tudor-style furniture shared the space with an array of computers worthy of a university think tank.

Jacek Kolar often worked with Rolf in his office rather than the computer lab on the fourth floor, but Jacek had been absent for three weeks. After his recent plastic surgery, Anya granted him permission to recover in Italy. It was for the best. Marta was staying in Rolf's bedroom, enjoying her return to freedom. Although she and Jacek were married in name only, there could be lingering resentment on Jacek's part. His focus needed to remain on the upcoming assignment in New York.

Klaus found Rolf sitting at his desk. Vermeer's painting of The Astronomer hung on the wall to his right. Displayed underneath it was Rolf's collection of Renaissance astronomical devices. Klaus thought of it as a shrine to Azathoth.

Rolf waved him to the side chair beside his desk. "You saw the news, I assume?"

Klaus nodded. The reports of the spectacular art discovery in France had been carried on both the internet and the dark web. "Our agents have been unable to learn how they discovered the location of the cave. The authorities only released a few details. They described the site as a previously unreported cave near Osselle."

"The list of recovered paintings is intriguing, is it not?"

Klaus smiled. "The Braque? Did the lion cub sneak it in?"

"I bet Peter did. It was well played. The painting Adler bought must have been a forgery Neal had painted to trap him. Nowhere in any of the reports are fractals mentioned. Was Huber's sheet of equations meaningless?"

Klaus shrugged. "I suppose a homing beacon could have been in the cave. Perhaps there was a hidden message in the painting. When Neal and I stole it, we didn't test it for invisible inks. Once he's working for us, we'll find out how they managed it."

Rolf nodded absently and swiveled to study the Vermeer painting. "Did Peter pull the same stunt with The Astronomer?"

"What do you mean?"

Rolf turned to face him. "Was the painting you stole in Paris the original or a forgery?"

Klaus stared at the painting with fresh eyes. He'd never considered the possibility.

"Peter's known about my interest in Renaissance astronomy for almost a year," Rolf continued. "The armillary sphere in the Arkham Files stories is a reference to the spheres I'd used in that house in New Jersey. They were the key to unlock a trap I'd set for him and Neal. What if Peter decided to challenge me with my own methods? I'd had a Galileo manuscript forged."

"So his answer was to have Neal make a forgery of The Astronomer?"

"Exactly. You hired Neal to forge Vermeer's The Woman in Blue. This painting would make an ideal counterattack."

Could Rolf be right? The Louvre had placed The Astronomer off-exhibit in May. Was that because the museum had agreed to have the original replaced by a forgery? Klaus stood up to examine the painting. Was this Neal's handiwork?

"You told me that Neal's forgery of The Woman in Blue was so masterful, it would have been nearly impossible to distinguish the original from the forgery," Rolf said. "Neal would have had the original of The Astronomer to consult. This one would have been even better."