“Um, no. I’m sorry. I’ll slap myself later for even considering the stereotype.”
They laughed. Anthony pulled the keyboard closer, and began typing.
“I understand, Alex. I have to admit it took me a long time to break down and put everything on this blasted thing. Still don’t really like the sight of the thing, which is why I found a way to keep it locked up like I do.” He glanced at her. “Now, if they could make the things out of wood, I might be more inclined to enjoy them.”
Alex smiled at him. “It does sort of clash with the decor of your office.”
“Ah, here we are. Yes, TG, Telford Guignard. He worked in the south of France, and most of his pieces were of a religious nature. There are fourteen of his pieces known to exist.” He frowned at the screen. “Unfortunately, they’re all accounted for. Seven are in museums, three in churches, and the rest in privately held collections. And none of them have come up missing.”
“So, is this a fake?”
“Not possible, I’d stake my reputation on it. I suppose it is possible that another artist, who isn’t listed, had the same initials. But since the update last year, it’s become extremely rare to find any kind of artist, of any period, that isn’t listed.” He looked up at both of them. “I would have to assume then, that what you have is an undiscovered piece by Telford Guignard. And if that can be proven, it would be priceless.”
“Priceless?”
“Yes. The last time a Guignard piece was auctioned, it sold for half a million dollars.” The antiques dealer stood and motioned to her. “Here, come see for yourself.”
Alex moved around behind the desk and peered at the screen. It contained all the information Anthony had just related.
Tanner spoke up from his side of the desk. “Anthony, how would we prove whether the cup is or is not a piece by this Telford guy?”
“Well, that would take some doing, I’m afraid. You would have to find a panel of experts to look at it. Preferably one with experts on French silverworks in the seventeen hundreds. Then, you would have to present them with what you know of the piece’s history, how it was located, and why you believe what you believe. Then the panel will convene and examine the article and make its decision. Normally, for smaller pieces, a majority acceptance is good enough. However, because this is a major name, it would probably require a unanimous decision by the panel.”
“Sorry, Anthony, you lost me about halfway through.” Tanner and Leister chuckled, and then Leister resumed his lecture.
“As I was saying —”
“Um, Anthony,” Alex interrupted. “What is this section here, that’s marked as lost pieces?”
“Oh, that. Well, there were many pieces by many different artists that were lost during World War Two. It’s dreadful, how many just vanished. Many of them appeared on lists of items that the Nazi’s had confiscated, yet they were never located.”
“It says here that several pieces by Guignard disappeared.”
“Yes. If you click on that address it will take you to the web page that lists lost art works.” He paused for a moment, obviously considering. “You know, there have been several that have shown up on the market recently, with no record of how they were found.”
Alex clicked on the icon, and followed the link to the site. She then checked on the list of artists, finding Guignard, Telford, and clicking on his name. When the page came up, there was a list of items from the artist that were missing, including histories of each item and pictures if they had ever been taken. Alex scrolled down the page, coming to rest a third of the way down.
Anthony leaned over and examined the picture.
“Well, Alex. I do believe you found a missing relic.”
Chapter Sixteen
It was quarter to four by the time Alex caught up to her partner and Teren at a truck stop on the very north tip of Colorado Springs. They had been waiting for a few minutes, and seemed to be deep in conversation about something.
“Hey, guys. Is this private, or can anybody listen in?”
David slid a Coke towards her. “Well, right now, it’s public. We’ve been waiting for you before we made it personal.”
Alex forced a smile. “Well, then let’s go somewhere private, hm? Like, Tanner’s van.”
“Are you okay, Alex?” Teren asked.
“I’m fine. But if we’re going to have a chance to talk to Ann Seffren, we’d better get going. Besides, I have another surprise for you.”
“Oh, great,” David said as he stood, “I love your surprises, Alex. They make life so much more interesting.” He grinned at her, but stopped when she didn’t return the look.
Instead, Alex picked up her Coke and left, letting the other two trail behind her.
The first few minutes of the ride were taken up by Teren and David explaining what had taken place in their interview with Dawkins.
“He said he had been passing through the lobby of their building when a young man approached him with a copy of the book, and he had signed it. He didn’t know anything about the man, couldn’t even recall what color his hair was.”
“And what did he say about Derek White?”
“He met White at a prayer meeting somewhere, he couldn’t remember where. When we told him White had been observed at his offices, he said that perhaps he showed up a few months ago to take a tour of their facilities, but he didn’t know for sure, as he never sees the visitors’ logs.”
“So, we didn’t get an admission of guilt, is that what you’re telling me?”
“That’s about it,” David said.
“Teren, did you notice anything?” Alex didn’t turn around when she asked the question, but she could feel Teren’s attention shift to her.
“Yes. He was nervous.”
“Why do you say that?” David sounded surprised. “Personally, I thought he seemed very calm.”
“He was sweating. And his heartrate increased when you asked him about White and several others.”
“How could you tell?”
“I watched the pulse point in his neck, and the one near his temple. Trust me, the man was nervous.” She leaned forward and spoke to Alex directly. “And he recognized my name, Alex.”
That made the agent turn towards her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. David introduced me as an agent, not mentioning which agency I was from. A few minutes into the interview, he asked what the CIA was doing involving itself in the affairs of the FBI.”
“And he shouldn’t have known that you were CIA.”
“Right. Also, after the meeting, Dawkins mentioned we had a mutual friend, and said he’d tell Treville that he’d seen me.”
Alex sat very still. “Teren, if Treville knows that you’ve survived, will he come after you?”
“He already knows. He’s known for a long time. But he also knows the CIA won’t touch him because of his position.”
“And if he knows you’re involved with this investigation?”
Teren hesitated. “I don’t know.”
Alex covered her eyes and gave a huge sigh. “Great. Just what I need.” She didn’t say anything else for several minutes. Finally, she turned to face them both.
“Okay. We discovered where the goblet came from.”
“Really? Good work, Alex.”
“Thanks, Dave, but the praise belongs to Agent Tanner here. He’s the one who chose the right man to identify it. Also, in your thank you’s, don’t forget Mr. Anthony Liester. He’s the man that actually found the identification.”
Tanner shook his head. “Hey, Alex, don’t forget, you’re the one that first found the photo.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have without the help. I appreciate it, Andrew, and I won’t forget it.”
“Okay,” David said impatiently, “save the mutual admiration thing for later, and tell us.”
“Fine. Point blank. The goblet is a relic from an eighteenth century church in France. It was crafted by Telford Guignard, in 1743, who gave it to the Church of St. Theresa in Rodez, France. It was used to celebrate Mass for almost two hundred years, surviving both the French Revolution and the First World War, only to be seized by the Nazi’s when France was overrun. It was sent to the Reich, and was listed as one of those objects to be ‘protected.’ At the end of the war, it disappeared, along with thousands of other works of art that were never recovered from the Nazi’s.”