Send in the Clowns Ch. 03

"Because we DO think Aurus is involved!" Lange yelled back.

"Good luck proving that." I said. "And don't expect me to help you in any way." I began moving towards the door.

"When are you going to find the Lost Greuze?" Owen Lange. "You said last night at the Museum that you thought it exists."

"I'll find it when I'm good and God damn ready." I said with considerable asperity. "And no Federal Agents are invited to the party. Except my wife." I looked hard at Muscone and said "NO Federal Agents."

"I hear you." said Jack. With that, I left the room. Teresa followed a moment later...

Part 14 - The Lost Greuze Found

Ruth Heidelmann Baker lived southwest of Hillside, the seat of Nextdoor County, on the road towards Buford, the seat of Coltrane County. The house was a nice old 2-story home with an old-style porch, with former farm fields behind it and a big old oak tree to the left of the driveway. In my mind's eye, I envisioned a tire swing hanging from that big tree. Where did simple times like that go, I wondered to myself.

We had driven down in a small convoy. In my Police SUV were me driving, Teresa riding shotgun, and Carole and Marie in the backseat. Carole was wearing her badge on its necklace over her 'Sunday best' dress. In the car behind ours was a van owned by the University Museum, which contained Dr. Alsteens, Dr. Haven, Dr. Laura Fredricson, and several pieces of equipment. The third vehicle was a Town & County Sheriff's Department SUV, with Cindy Ross driving, Sheriff Griswold riding shotgun, and Deputies Bailey and Krush in the backseat.

When we got there, we found Nextdoor County Police Chief Molly Evans and NCPD Detective John German already there, talking to Mrs. Baker. They greeted us enthusiastically. Laura introduced her professorial colleagues, and I introduced the LEOs, including the seven-year-old Detective and her BFF.

"Yes, I heard that the Greuze was a forgery." said Mrs. Baker after the introductions were done. "I'm disappointed, but not overly surprised."

I said "The word 'forgery' has such a negative connotation, ma'am. Perhaps 'imitation' is a better word. May we look at the other paintings that were sent to you?"

"Certainly." the old woman said. She guided us to a back room that was a combination study and bedroom. "I don't go upstairs anymore; they're just too hard to climb. So I sleep down here and guests can stay upstairs. I'm probably going to sell the house very soon, and move into that new retirement community on the lake near Buford."

She pointed at some of the paintings on the wall, and said "The six framed portraits were all sent to me some years ago. My father's art shop and address were on the back of them. I'm told they were not worth much."

Dr. Nicole Haven said "Ma'am, did your father paint any of these?"

"He may have." said Ruth. "He liked painting, but just as a hobby. He always said he was not very good, but I liked his paintings."

Dr. Haven said "Some of these are very similar in style to the... 'imitation' Greuze."

I said "Mrs. Baker, is it possible that your father painted the imitation Greuze? As a way to deceive the Nazis?"

"That is very possible, Commander." said Mrs. Baker. "I was sent away before the Nazis occupied The Netherlands, but he was anticipating that they would defeat the British Expeditionary Force and the French Army. The clown picture he gave me at the train station... I know he painted that one. He painted it just for me, because I liked circus clowns. It was in my room, and he gave it to me at the train station as I was leaving for England."

I looked at the rather crude painting of three clowns in a pose that reminded me of the Three Stooges. The painting was a rectangle in dimensions of the 'Golden Ratio' (1.618 to 1), the same as the Lost Greuze had been. "Ma'am, would you permit these art experts to evaluate this painting?"

"Yes, please do." said Mrs. Baker. As Dr. Haven and Dr. Alsteens examined the painting, Mrs. Baker occupied the moments by speaking to the young girls.

Marie said "Carole said your dad was a really good painter, Mrs. Baker. And I'm going to be a great artist, too."

Carole said "Marie is a very good artist already. She's going to be famous one day." Laura was looking less than pleased that Carole was talking.

"Why that's wonderful." said Mrs. Baker. "I see that imitation badge you're wearing, Carole. Are you being a Police Officer like your dad?"

I said "That is not an imitation badge, ma'am. It's very real. And Carole is already a very real Detective. And a very good one." Laura looked less than pleased at my words, as well.

"That is amazing!" said Mrs. Baker. "I'm so glad both you young ladies are using your talents so well."

Dr. Nicole Haven came up to us. "Mrs. Baker, the imitation Greuze was very likely painted by your father. The artistic style and the paints are virtually identical with the clown painting, which I suspect was done crudely on purpose. Like these girls were saying, your father was a wonderful painter, and I wish we had more of his works."

I said "Can y'all do some kind of analysis to see if there is something beneath the clown painting?"

"Yes, we can." said Dr. Alsteens. "We have a device that is similar to a fluoroscope, or an x-ray machine. I'll go get it out of the car now."

"Go with him, Cindy." I said to Cindy. She did not argue, and went with the art expert.

As we were waiting, I said "Mrs. Baker, it appears the Nazis took many of the paintings from your father's art dealership. If he was creating an imitation Greuze, then logically he must've known he had a real one, and knew the Nazis would find out he had it and would come and get it. And they did... but they were fooled by his imitation."

"And what happened to the real one?" Mrs. Baker asked.

I said: "I suspect he smuggled it out of Europe under the Nazis's noses... by giving it to his ten-year-old daughter he was sending to England and then America for her safety. He was prescient about many things."

A moment later Dr. Alsteens came back, and he and Cindy were bringing in components of what looked like a small, portable x-ray machine. Dr. Alsteens quickly assembled it, then attached the clown painting to it, pressed up against the machine. On the machine's other side was the monitor screen.

"When I turn on the visible spectrum," Dr. Alsteens said, "you can see the clown painting, including some iridescence in spots." We all looked and saw the features of the clown painting on the monitor. Dr. Alsteens said "I'll turn on the fluoroscope, and if there's anything beneath it, we should see something." He flipped the switch...

... and what looked like a negative of the Lost Greuze suddenly appeared!

Everyone gasped, then as they realized what they were seeing, they all applauded. "You found it, Commander Troy!" Teresa said. "You found the Lost Greuze!"

"It's underneath the clown painting." said Dr. Nicole Haven. "We can bring it back out, but unfortunately, Mrs. Baker, the clown painting covering it cannot be preserved."

"I understand." said Mrs. Baker. "And my father would understand, especially if the Lost Greuze brings in money for the Jewish Holocaust Museum to tell our People's stories. But I will be sad to lose it. My last memory of my father is him giving me that painting at the train station."

I noticed Carole peering at Mrs. Baker for a moment. Then she whispered something into Marie's ear.

Marie nodded, then said "Mrs. Baker, I can paint you another one, just like it!"

"Yeah!" said Carole. "Daddy, can I borrow your Po-leece iPhone?"

"Sure." I said, unlocking my Police iPhone and handing it to her. We needed the photos for evidence, anyway. Carole took a photo of the Greuze image on the monitor, then Dr. Alsteens shut it down and took the painting off. Carole took photos of it, too.

And my daughter was not done. "Ma'am," she said, "is that a photo of you with your mom and dad?" She was pointing at a very old black and white portrait in a frame on the side table.

"Yes, my dear." said Mrs. Baker. "It was in my suitcase when I was sent to England. It's the only photo of my parents that I have." Carole went over and took a photo of it. And I began to realize that she had some purpose in mind...

"I'll paint it as fast as I can, ma'am." Marie promised.

"Take your time, my dear." said Mrs. Baker. "And it is very kind of you to do that for me."

We said goodbye to Ruth Heidelmann Baker, taking the painting with us. It would be restored by the University Art Department, under Dr. Dodd's watchful supervision. And in a few weeks the real Lost Greuze would find itself in the secure alcove where Mr. Heidelmann's original imitation of it had been before.

As we were driving back to the University Museum, I noticed that Carole was busy at work, sketching something on her notepad. She was concentrating, and I sensed a fierce determination in her to get something done...

Part 15 - Cleanup on Aisle 5

7:00pm, Sunday, March 21st. We were having a celebratory dinner at The Cabin. Me, Laura, Paulina, Molly, Teresa, Todd, Cindy, Callie, and Sheriff Griswold were the adult supervision for Betsy, Baby Ben, Pete Feeley, Carole, Marie, Jim, Ross, Ian, Tasha, Doug, Mike, and Jack Burke. Bowser and Buddy were the supervision for the adults.

Edward and Stephanie Steele were there, and Tanya had 'dragged' Jack Muscone and his daughters over, too. Tiffany and Jennifer didn't mind so much when they saw that Baby Ben was there, and a lovefest was soon in progress.

Tanya said "After you and Teresa left to go see Mrs. Baker, Chief Moynahan ripped EAD Lange and Jack new ones, especially Lange."

"That explains why the Chief is not here." I said.

"Partly, anyway." Tanya said. "And Jack noticed what you guys did, that the Chief has really been on edge the last week or so, especially during this case."

A moment later Jack Muscone came up to me. "Hey Dog, you did a great job finding the real Lost Greuze, and I'm grateful for that." he said. "And I'm sorry about earlier today. Owen Lange is not used to being talked to like you did, and he really is not used to what Chief Moynahan said and did."

"Any idea why he was like that?" I asked.

Muscone said "This is just a guess, but I think he's reacting badly to you giving up your FBI Consultant credentials. You've complained about becoming a crutch for your Detectives, and Tanya admits they do that sometimes. Maybe Lange is realizing what he's lost, but he's not going the right way about fixing it."

"No doubt about that." I said. "It also occurred to me that he was embarrassed that he believed that intel report, which I think we can now say was a total fabrication."

Muscone said "That's being looked at as part of our after-action review. And it's causing internal turmoil. We should be able to trust those reports. Now?" He shrugged his shoulders.

I said "Where is Lange now? Laura did invite him to come over."

Muscone said "I think he flew back to Washington. Anyway, the good news is that the two FBI Agents Karina recruited, Steven Gable and Christy Cassidy, are going to join our team even though Karina retired. Steven was a cop for two years until he got into Quantico, and Julius says he's still 'moldable'. Christy was an undercover DEA Agent, and I suspect she has more-than-friends in the CIA, but she's really good and Karina worked her ass off to get Christy onto our team. I think you're going to like her."

"I think I will." I said... already knowing who Christy was. But I digress...

Supper was a catered barbeque (the noun) and sides. I'd gotten extra macaroni and cheese, and it still disappeared before anything else did. Police Dog Bowser's investigation revealed the culprits to be hungry boys with hollow legs. They also bribed Police Dog Bowser with food to look the other way... until Carole stopped that, knowing human food was not in Bowser's nutritional best interests.

After supper, the boys went upstairs to work on New Lego City and the mighty Troy Transcontinental Railroad. We adults all gathered in the greatroom. Some people brought chairs over, and I claimed my hardback rocking chair that did well with my back. With Baby Ben fed and changed and sleeping peacefully in Tiffany Muscone's arms, Cindy did Cindy things and tapped spoon to glass.

"I know a lot of people are still amazed at the entire series of events involving the Lost Greuze." Cindy said. "So Don... the floor is yours." Everyone applauded encouragingly.

I said "First of all, let's give credit where due. This case would not have been solved without the excellent observations of Detective Carole Troy, who was not fooled even by a smoke grenade." Everyone applauded Carole strongly.

"Daddy would've solved it anyway." my eldest daughter replied as she looked up from her notepad.

"Good asskissing skills." said Sheriff Griswold. "But Carole, you did see it, and you helped a great deal. So give yourself credit and celebrate your win."

"Yes sir, Grandpa Grizz." Carole said, accepting the life lesson. She then went right back to work on her sketch. She was totally into that, I thought to myself.

I continued: "When this all began, there were two concurrent themes. First was the threat to steal the Greuze. And second was the incessant reporting at the Federal level that George Aurus was in the area, that George Aurus was the threat to the painting. We were being constantly Aurus-bombed."

Cindy interrupted the narrative by asking "You ignored the Aurus angle from the beginning, and you called it 'fake news' from the start. Why were you so sure it wasn't him? Or did you at least consider it was him that was the threat?"

"For the most part," I replied, "I completely discounted Aurus as the threat to the Greuze. Ohhh, he might have been in the area, and for all I know he might still be. But that original FBI intel report had more red flags than a Communist May Day parade, and I'm still stunned that anyone gave any credence to it at all." Jack Muscone grimaced, but rolled with it.

"But how could you be so certain?" Cindy persisted. "I don't understand why you so persistently and completely discounted it."

"Because I studied George Aurus when I was pursuing him as the Black Velvet Killer." I said. "Look, Laura is a psychiatrist, and she's forgotten more about psychology than most of us will ever know. But I've also studied the psychological aspects of the criminals we've faced. Westboro's ego brought him down. Mitt Willis's arrogance contributed heavily to his downfall."

"And will be his son Matthew Willis's downfall, too." said Carole loudly, though not looking up from her sketch work.

"Yes." I said. "As for Aurus... I knew that it was very unlikely that he would pursue art objects either here or in Tennessee or San Francisco. And those two incidents were very minor thefts that I now suspect were committed just to have something to report in that bogus intel report, and maybe to practice for the Greuze theft."

YIC: "So just because the lousiest psychology team in the world, that being the Bob Rovers BAU team, put together a totally bogus report about Aurus, it didn't mean I had to believe it. And I didn't. And I was right not to."

"Can't argue with that." Teresa said, in just a wee tiny dig at Cindy.

Cindy gave Teresa a withering look, then said "Okay, what about that video Aurus sent you? It appears to be authentic. Why didn't that make you think it was him behind it all? And why did he send it?"

I said "I've already told you why he was not part of the theft of the painting. As to why he sent that video? I strongly suspect it was because he was tired of the Swamp Frogs taking his name in vain. In any case, I didn't let it distract me."

I said "So now let's move to the day of the exhibition and auction of the Greuze. It struck me that Dr. Nadler was brought in to verify it and re-verify it... and no one else was. Teresa's little jab about 'experts' put a seed in my mind, and I considered Nadler's veracity. I also remembered that Dr. Nicole Haven of the University's Art School is at least as renowned as Nadler, and she's right here but was not contacted to verify the Greuze. while Nadler was flown in from Swamp Frog Heaven...Washington, D.C."

"And why?" I continued. "Because Nadler was the glue that was holding the entire plot together. HE was the one who verified the painting. HE was the one who re-verified the painting. And more crucially, HE was the one who said the painting in the Gift Shop wasn't the painting, enabling the thief to leave the painting there until it could be safely extracted. And when I found that huge payment to him, it confirmed my suspicions, at least in my own mind."

I went on: "And I was right to be very worried that the Swamp Frogs would use our own security evaluations against us. Jack, you did as I asked, and only spoke of the timing of the theft on a landline. Owen Lange called FBI Deputy Director Lawrence Lance on a landline, but didn't tell Lance to take the landline precaution."

YIC: "It turns out that Lance took the call on his cellphone, then discussed it with others on his cellphone. And Teresa, on my behalf, asked about the possibility of a smoke or tear gas grenade being thrown, which was overheard by Bob Rovers. And what happened? They went after the Greuze during the exhibition, and they threw a smoke grenade as part of it."

"Okay, okay." Jack Muscone said. "Point taken. But how did you know Lance took the call on his cell phone?"

Laura said "I called Lance and asked him, and he admitted it. And I think it's opened his and Owen Lange's eyes to what they were and are truly up against."

I nodded vigorously in agreement, then continued: "Unfortunately for the perps, astute seven-year-old Detectives were not fooled, and Carole saw the guard exchange the paintings and Diane Langdon spirit it away into the Gift Shop. She handed it to the Gift Shop employee Walter Corning, who put it on the wall and put the red 'SOLD' tag on it."

"Not a bad plan." said Molly Evans. "It had a chance of succeeding, if not for Carole and Don."

I said "I'm surprised how effective it was, and that more people didn't see the whole thing. And to your point, it was almost as if the Greuze theft was more to see if they could fool us than for any real desire to steal valuable artwork... which they knew wasn't a real Greuze because Dr. Nadler would've told them after the first examination of the painting."

"Good point." Teresa said.

"Anyhoo," I went on, "the security had been disabled, and I suspect a Secret Service Agent, or someone pretending to be one, disabled it. He then almost got himself killed when he attempted to grab Carole, which was meant to get me out of there. I don't think he expected Our Sheriff to go all 'Klingon' on him, though. And I am grateful to you, Sheriff."

"Meeeeeee, too." Carole said, again not looking up from her sketch, making several people chuckle.

"You damn right I did that." growled the Sheriff. "I love your kids as if they were my grandkids."

"Awwww!" chorused my three Angels.

I picked up the narrative again: "So we were left wondering what happened to the Greuze, and also what happened to the woman that had taken it. And just to rub it in, they created and left a painting of a bunch of clowns with our faces on it. And some very, very ugly things on it, for no other reason than to induce our pain and anger."

"And maybe to reinforce the notion of George Aurus's involvement?" Jack Muscone asked.

"Could be." I said. "Anyway, that was just a bit too cute of the Enemy, and I was already discounting that painting's importance. And even as we were processing the scene, I was realizing that one of those paintings behind the Gift Shop counter was the stolen painting, even though Dr. Nadler had declared them fakes."