Read Online Lost & found by Jayne Ann Krentz - Free Book Online
Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
Tags: Contemporary Romance
Ads: Link
grip of an icy rage that had been directed as much at himself as it was at Cady. The sight of her rental car parked outside the gate at the foot of the fog-bound drive had changed everything in an instant. Some part of him had known immediately that something was terribly wrong. That was when the fear kicked in.
"Incredible." Ambrose studied the helmet Cady held. "Absolutely incredible. Hard to believe that all these years it was just stashed in a box in the back room of that little museum in Vegas."
"Ignorance was bliss in this case." Cady examined the engraved steel piece with an expression of reluctant appreciation. "Just look at the workmanship on this helmet. The shape is so elegant. The gilding on the tracery motifs is exquisite. See how it makes the design stand out against the background? Imagine spending so much time and artistic vision on an object made for the practice of warfare."
"Cool, huh?" Ambrose said cheerfully. "Wonder how it ended up in the Military World collection."
"I found a record of it in an early twentieth-century military museum catalog. There was a note that it had been removed to be sold at auction in New York in 1925. No record of the buyer, however. It simply disappeared."
"Maybe that guy Belford, the one you said opened Military World, bought it and just kept it in storage all those years."
Cady shrugged. "Possible. We'll probably never know for sure. How did it get into your collection, Ambrose?"
The inquiry attracted Mack's attention. He roused himself from his reverie long enough to look at Ambrose. "Good question. How did you get it, Vandyke? I've got a program that, among other things, tracks on-line auctions and sales, public and private, legal and not-so-legal. I didn't see any trace of that helmet."
"Which is why he called me in to consult," Cady explained. "I specialize in the rumor mills of the art world, the kind his program can't track. Given your background in the software business, I'd expect you to be an on-line kind of collector, Ambrose."
"I didn't locate the helmet through an on-line contact," he said. "I was approached by a private dealer who told me he knew someone who wanted to broker a very quiet sale. I told him I was interested. He brought the helmet here and I paid for it in cash."
"You didn't question the provenance?" Mack asked.
Ambrose looked abashed. "I admit that I didn't ask too many questions."
"Right," Mack said. "And now we know where that gets you."
ABC Amber Text Converter Trial vers ion, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.html
Ambrose turned red. "Okay, okay. But as it happened, the paperwork that I did see actually looked clean."
"Aside from the fact that the auction receipts were phony," Cady murmured.
"Yeah." Ambrose made a face. "Aside from that. But how was I to know the papers were fake?"
"You should have checked with Tim or someone else who knows arms and armor before you acquired the piece," Cady said.
"You're right." He gazed sadly at the helmet. "But I wanted it really bad and I didn't want there to be a problem, if you know what I mean."
Mack was surprised to feel a pang of genuine sympathy for Ambrose. Vandyke might be a retired software multimillionaire, but he was only twenty-three years old.
"Speaking of problems," Mack said, "how did you meet that pair that you ended up entertaining here tonight?"
"They just appeared on my doorstep. I don't know how they found out that I had the helmet."
"You were probably set up the day you bought the piece," Mack said. "I think it's a safe bet that those two were working with the so-called art consultant who arranged for the theft of the helmet and then sold it to you. When I get back to my computer, I may be able to pull up some names for the cops."
"I don't get it. Why sell the helmet to me and then steal it?"
Mack smiled humorlessly. "So that they can resell it to another collector. And steal it from him and sell it again. And again."
"You've got to hand it to them," Cady said.
"Incredible." Ambrose studied the helmet Cady held. "Absolutely incredible. Hard to believe that all these years it was just stashed in a box in the back room of that little museum in Vegas."
"Ignorance was bliss in this case." Cady examined the engraved steel piece with an expression of reluctant appreciation. "Just look at the workmanship on this helmet. The shape is so elegant. The gilding on the tracery motifs is exquisite. See how it makes the design stand out against the background? Imagine spending so much time and artistic vision on an object made for the practice of warfare."
"Cool, huh?" Ambrose said cheerfully. "Wonder how it ended up in the Military World collection."
"I found a record of it in an early twentieth-century military museum catalog. There was a note that it had been removed to be sold at auction in New York in 1925. No record of the buyer, however. It simply disappeared."
"Maybe that guy Belford, the one you said opened Military World, bought it and just kept it in storage all those years."
Cady shrugged. "Possible. We'll probably never know for sure. How did it get into your collection, Ambrose?"
The inquiry attracted Mack's attention. He roused himself from his reverie long enough to look at Ambrose. "Good question. How did you get it, Vandyke? I've got a program that, among other things, tracks on-line auctions and sales, public and private, legal and not-so-legal. I didn't see any trace of that helmet."
"Which is why he called me in to consult," Cady explained. "I specialize in the rumor mills of the art world, the kind his program can't track. Given your background in the software business, I'd expect you to be an on-line kind of collector, Ambrose."
"I didn't locate the helmet through an on-line contact," he said. "I was approached by a private dealer who told me he knew someone who wanted to broker a very quiet sale. I told him I was interested. He brought the helmet here and I paid for it in cash."
"You didn't question the provenance?" Mack asked.
Ambrose looked abashed. "I admit that I didn't ask too many questions."
"Right," Mack said. "And now we know where that gets you."
ABC Amber Text Converter Trial vers ion, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.html
Ambrose turned red. "Okay, okay. But as it happened, the paperwork that I did see actually looked clean."
"Aside from the fact that the auction receipts were phony," Cady murmured.
"Yeah." Ambrose made a face. "Aside from that. But how was I to know the papers were fake?"
"You should have checked with Tim or someone else who knows arms and armor before you acquired the piece," Cady said.
"You're right." He gazed sadly at the helmet. "But I wanted it really bad and I didn't want there to be a problem, if you know what I mean."
Mack was surprised to feel a pang of genuine sympathy for Ambrose. Vandyke might be a retired software multimillionaire, but he was only twenty-three years old.
"Speaking of problems," Mack said, "how did you meet that pair that you ended up entertaining here tonight?"
"They just appeared on my doorstep. I don't know how they found out that I had the helmet."
"You were probably set up the day you bought the piece," Mack said. "I think it's a safe bet that those two were working with the so-called art consultant who arranged for the theft of the helmet and then sold it to you. When I get back to my computer, I may be able to pull up some names for the cops."
"I don't get it. Why sell the helmet to me and then steal it?"
Mack smiled humorlessly. "So that they can resell it to another collector. And steal it from him and sell it again. And again."
"You've got to hand it to them," Cady said.
Similar Books
