Page 45 of Portrait of an Unknown Woman

“Why?”

“Because that painting is a forgery. And I have a funny feeling the one you sold to Phillip Somerset for six and a half million pounds is a fake as well.”

“Oh, hell,” said Sarah. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

Gabrieldrew his mobile phone and retrieved the photograph of the painting he had seen in Valerie Bérrangar’s villa in Saint-André-du-Bois.Portrait of an Unknown Woman, oil on canvas, 115 by 92 centimeters, attributed to a follower of the Flemish Baroque painter Anthony van Dyck.

“That would explain the letter she wrote to Julian.”

“Only partially.”

“Meaning?”

“She called Georges Fleury first.”

“Why?”

“She wanted to know whether her version of the painting was a valuable Van Dyck as well.”

“And what did Monsieur Fleury tell her?”

“Given my limited experience with him, I can assure you it bore no resemblance to the truth. But whatever he said made her suspicious enough to contact the art crime unit of the Police Nationale.”

Sarah swore softly as she pulled the cork from the bottle of Sancerre.

“Don’t worry, I’m all but certain the police told Madame Bérrangar that they had no interest in pursuing the matter. Which is why she asked Julian to come to Bordeaux.” Gabriel paused. “And why she is now dead.”

“Was she—”

“Murdered?” Gabriel nodded. “And her killers took her mobile phone for good measure.”

“Who were they?”

“I’m still working on that. I’m quite certain, however, that they were professionals.”

Sarah poured two glasses of the wine and handed one to Gabriel. “What kind of art dealer hires professional assassins to kill someone in a dispute over a painting?”

“The kind who’s involved in a lucrative criminal enterprise.”

Sarah took up Gabriel’s phone and enlarged the image. “Is Madame Bérrangar’s painting a forgery, too?”

“In my opinion,” replied Gabriel, “it is the work of a later follower of Van Dyck. Forty-eight hours ago, I told Valerie Bérrangar’s daughter that I thought it was a copy of the painting you sold to Phillip Somerset. But I’m now convinced it’s the other way around. Whichwould explain why the picture doesn’t appear in Van Dyck’s catalogue raisonné.”

“The forger copied the follower?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. And in the process, he made marked improvements. He’s quite amazing. He truly paints like Anthony van Dyck. It’s no wonder your five experts were deceived.”

“How do you explain the paint losses and retouching that showed up when we examined the painting under ultraviolet light?”

“The forger artificially ages and damages his paintings. Then he restores them using modern pigments and medium in order to make them appear authentic.”

Sarah glanced at the canvas lying on the countertop. “This one, too?”

“Absolutely.”

Gabriel removed the painting’s condition report from the envelope. Attached were three accompanying photographs. The first depicted the canvas in its present state: retouched, with a fresh coat of unsoiled varnish. The second photo, made with ultraviolet light, revealed the paint losses as an archipelago of small black islands. The last photograph presented the painting in its truest state, without retouching or varnish. The losses appeared as white blotches.

“It looks exactly like a four-hundred-year-old painting should look,” said Gabriel. “I hate to admit it, but it’s possible even I might have been fooled.”