“We allow the thieves to think they’ve gotten away with the greatest art heist since the theft of theMona Lisa.”
Veronica took a first bite of the pasta. “He was an Italian, you know.”
“Who?”
“The man who stole theMona Lisafrom the Louvre.”
“It was an inside job.”
“They always are,” said Veronica. “But an inside job at the Vatican, well, that could be quite messy indeed.”
15
Musei Vaticani
Antonio Calvesi met Gabriel at the public entrance of the Vatican Museums at ten the following morning. Inside, they headed down the corkscrew Bramante Staircase and through a locked doorway, into a half-lit room where four earnest-looking technicians sat staring at a wall of video screens. The stampede had commenced. On average, more than twenty thousand people visited the museum each day. Only the Louvre was busier.
The man responsible for protecting the priceless treasures of the papacy was a former corporate security specialist named Alessio Tomassini. He extended a hand warily toward Gabriel.
“Welcome back to the Vatican Museums, Signore Allon. It’s been a while.”
“Did you miss me, Alessio?”
“I’ll let you know in a few minutes.” The security chief escorted Gabriel and Calvesi into a side office and sat down behind a desktop computer. “Storage room number four?”
“How did you know?” asked Calvesi.
“I saw you and Signore Allon in there yesterday afternoon.” Tomassini tapped a few keys, and a shot of the room appeared on the screen. “Are you looking for something in particular?”
“You might say that,” remarked Gabriel.
“Is something missing?”
“Misplaced,” interjected Calvesi.
“When was the last time it was removed from storage?”
Calvesi recited a date, and Alessio Tomassini entered it into the computer.
“Approximate time?”
“I believe it was about eleven thirty.”
Tomassini started the playback at eleven, at three times the normal speed. He hitpauseat 11:42 a.m., when Antonio Calvesi entered the room, accompanied by a young woman.
“Signorina Radcliff?”
Greeted by silence, Tomassini set the scene in motion with a click of his mouse. Antonio Calvesi and the promising young art conservator searching for a painting in need of restoration. Something of little monetary value. Something long forgotten. The pullout rack labeled 27 had fifteen works from which to choose. Eight on one side of the wire mesh, seven on the other. They choseMadonna and Child with John the Baptist, oil on walnut panel, 78 by 56 centimeters, perhaps eighteenth century, perhaps by an imitator of Raphael.
Tomassini clickedpauseand looked at Calvesi. “I assume you and Signorina Radcliff transported the painting to the lab?”
“We did.”
“Shall we watch the video?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“When was it returned to storage?”
