Nothing Ventured

12

They sat together on the top deck of a bus heading for Notting Hill.

‘Do you have a plan, Detective Constable Warwick,’ asked Beth, ‘or are we just winging it?’

‘We’re winging it,’ admitted William. ‘But I’m hoping that by the time we get back on the bus I’ll know who painted the copy of the missing Rembrandt.’

‘Did you manage to dig up anything interesting about the gallery?’

‘It was founded twelve years ago by two brothers, Malcolm and Zac Knight. It started out as a portrait gallery, but they soon found there wasn’t a profit in that and moved on to producing unsigned copies of famous paintings for customers who couldn’t afford the real thing, but want a masterpiece on their wall for a thousandth of the price. That was when the business really took off. How about you?’

‘I asked around my arty friends. A lot of them don’t approve of the gallery, although one or two did admit that it’s given some struggling artists a reasonable living they wouldn’t otherwise have had. Apparently some of the copies are of exceptional quality. But I’d still rather have an original.’

‘Then you’re going to have to steal one. Or marry a very rich man.’

‘Neither will be necessary,’ said Beth. ‘I already live with some of the finest artists on earth, and my latest boyfriend is practically penniless, so that doesn’t look too promising.’

‘But most of those artists are dead Dutch men, so your boyfriend must be in with a chance.’

‘Not unless he finds my Rembrandt.’

‘Is that why you tried to pick me up?’

‘It was you who tried to pick me up, in case you’ve forgotten. And on our second date, you didn’t even show up.’

‘I’d already heard the lecture,’ said William, taking her hand.

‘Well, I hope you’re not thinking of leaving the Art and Antiques squad before you’ve found my Rembrandt.’

‘I won’t be moving for some time yet. But if I pass my sergeant’s exam, in a couple of years’ time they’ll probably move me to another department.’

‘You’re not going anywhere until my Rembrandt is back in its frame, otherwise I shall transfer my affections to whoever takes your place.’

‘Lucky man. But if we find out who copied The Syndics, we’ll be one step nearer to discovering what happened to the original.’

The bus came to a halt, and William stood aside to allow Beth to go ahead of him.

‘Not many men bother to do that nowadays,’ Beth commented as she made her way down the stairs. ‘I can’t wait to meet your father. He must be an old-fashioned gentleman.’

‘That’s something I’ve always taken for granted,’ admitted William, ‘and have only begun to appreciate recently.’

‘You’ll remember Mark Twain’s comment about his father,’ said Beth as they stepped off the bus. ‘“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he’d learned in seven years.”’ William laughed, and Beth asked, ‘Do you have any idea where you’re going?’

‘No,’ said William, ‘but I’ve seen someone who might.’ He stopped a passing bobby and asked him if he knew where Abbots Road was.

‘Second on the right, sir.’

‘Thank you,’ said William.

‘Were you ever in uniform?’ asked Beth.

‘I spent a couple of years on the beat in Lambeth.’

‘And are the public always as appreciative and polite as you?’

‘Not always,’ said William quietly, before bowing his head.

‘What did I say?’ asked Beth, suddenly anxious.

‘You brought back the memory of an old friend who should have been out on the beat this morning,’ said William as they turned the corner.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Beth. She took his hand, aware that they still had so much to learn about each other.

‘You weren’t to know,’ said William.

As they strolled into Abbots Road, William spotted a colourful sign swinging in the breeze.

‘Try not to sound like a policeman,’ whispered Beth as they entered the gallery.

A man dressed in an open-neck pink shirt, blazer, and jeans stepped forward to greet them. ‘Good morning,’ he said. ‘Zac Knight. I’m the proprietor of the gallery. May I ask if you were looking for anything in particular?’

Yes, thought William, but said nothing.

‘No,’ said Beth. ‘We were just passing, and thought we’d take a look around.’

‘Of course,’ he said, giving her a warm smile. ‘The gallery is on two floors. Here on the ground floor are some remarkable paintings in the style of the modern masters.’

‘I’m surprised that’s legal,’ said William.

Beth frowned as Knight gave William a closer look. He then lifted a picture off the wall and turned it around to reveal the word FAKE daubed on the back of the canvas in large black letters. ‘I can assure you, sir, that if you tried to remove the words, you would damage the painting beyond repair.’

William nodded, but as Beth was still scowling at him, he didn’t ask another question.

‘And in the basement,’ continued Knight, placing the picture back on the wall, ‘you’ll find copies of well-known masterpieces by some extremely talented artists.’

‘Is “fake” printed on the back of those as well?’

‘No, madam. However, the paintings are always unsigned, and are all either one inch smaller, or one inch larger than the original, so that no serious collector would be fooled. Please, enjoy both exhibitions, and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.’

‘Thank you, Zac,’ said Beth, returning his smile.

As they strolled around the ground floor, William was surprised by how convincing some of the fakes were. If you wanted to own a Picasso, a Matisse, or a Van Gogh, it could be yours for under a thousand pounds. Even Hockney’s A Bigger Splash was on display, a print of which hung on his bedroom wall. But as they stood in front of a Rothko that might even have fooled an expert, he told Beth that he’d still rather have a Mary Fedden, a Ken Howard, or an Anthony Green for about the same price.

‘Have you spotted your man?’ whispered Beth.

‘No. But he’s far more likely to be downstairs.’

‘Why don’t you pop down and take a look? If Mr. Knight reappears, I’ll keep him occupied.’

‘Good thinking,’ said William and disappeared downstairs to find another large gallery filled with paintings, many of which he recognized. Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire for two thousand pounds, and van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, which hung alongside a familiar nude by Goya.

But it was when he saw A Dance to the Music of Time by Poussin that he had to catch his breath. He had seen the original in the Wallace Collection, and could only marvel at how the artist had created such a likeness. A rare talent that shone in the presence of rude mechanicals. Some of the other copies were excellent, but none of them in this class. William wasn’t in any doubt that he’d found his man, but there was no clue to the identity of the artist on the accompanying label.

After standing in front of the canvas for some time, he reluctantly returned upstairs, where he found Beth deep in conversation with the proprietor.

‘I think you’ll find Renoir’s The Umbrellas rather proves my point,’ Knight was saying when William joined them. He gave Beth a nod.

‘Perhaps you’d be kind enough to show me, Zac,’ she purred.

‘Follow me,’ said Knight, ignoring William.

As Beth passed him, William whispered ‘Poussin,’ before she followed the proprietor downstairs. He walked slowly around the upstairs gallery for a second time, but his mind was elsewhere.

Jez had gone off to Shropshire for the weekend, and William had wanted to tell Beth how he felt about her, but he was worried that she might not be ready to consider a commitment after such a short time, though when his father had proposed to his mother after only three weeks, she was famously reported as replying, ‘What took you so long?’

Beth and Knight had been downstairs for about twenty minutes when William began to wonder if he should join them, but he somehow restrained himself. Twenty-five minutes. Thirty minutes. Just as he was heading for the stairs, Beth reappeared with the proprietor following closely behind.

‘Thank you, Zac,’ she said. ‘That was fascinating, and I look forward to attending the private view on Wednesday. By the way, this is my brother, Peter.’

Zac shook hands with William.

‘Well, we ought to get moving, Sis,’ said William, ‘if we’re not going to be late for lunch with Mother.’

‘I must admit,’ said Beth, ‘that I’ve been enjoying myself so much, I’d quite forgotten about dear mama.’

‘You have my number, Barbara,’ said Zac. ‘Give me a call any time.’

William pretended not to notice as Knight opened the door and gave her a flirtatious smile.

‘See you on Wednesday, Zac,’ said Beth.

Once they were back on the street, William said, ‘Keep walking, and try to look like my sister, not my girlfriend, because Zac’s staring at us through the window.’

Beth kept a sisterly distance, and didn’t say a word until they’d turned the corner. When they reached a coffee shop she walked in and headed straight for a booth in the far corner, well hidden from the street.

‘Nell Gwynne,’ said William, as he took the seat opposite her.

‘More like Catherine the Great,’ suggested Beth, as she turned her back to the window.

‘Reveal all.’

‘Zac is also a fake,’ she began, ‘who imagines that he’s irresistible to women. I played along, until his hands began to wander.’

‘I’ll kill him,’ said William, rising from his place.

‘Not after what I have to tell you, you won’t. Once I told him you were my brother, he couldn’t resist making a move.’

‘Peter?’

‘No, Peter Paul. Our mother named you after Rubens and me after Hepworth, which I felt was appropriate.’

‘You’re a wicked woman.’

‘Cunning, I admit.’

‘So what did you find out?’

‘All in good time,’ said Beth as a waiter appeared by their side.

‘A cappuccino, please.’

‘Me too,’ said William.

‘When I asked Zac who’d painted A Dance to the Music of Time he was cagey at first. Told me the gallery was careful not to reveal the identity of its artists, otherwise customers might try to deal with the artist direct, and cut them out.’

‘So how did you get over that hurdle?’

‘I told him I was an impoverished secretary, and couldn’t afford any of his wonderful paintings even if they were half the price. He then let slip that the artist wasn’t available at the moment. “Oh, I’m so sorry, has he left you for another gallery?” I asked, looking sympathetic. He told me it was a little more complicated than that.’

‘You’re enjoying yourself, you hussy.’

‘Any more remarks like that, Detective Constable Warwick, and I might just forget what else my new friend Zac told me. Now, where was I before you interrupted me?’

‘It’s more complicated than that...’

‘Ah yes. “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” I said. “But if you can’t tell me, I quite understand.” He then admitted, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he’s in jail.”’

‘I adore you.’

‘Shh.’

‘What’s he in jail for?’

‘It seems he tried to sell a West End art dealer a long-lost Vermeer and got caught red-handed. “How?” I asked. Apparently he didn’t ask for enough money, which made the dealer suspicious, so he reported it to the police.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘I didn’t ask.’

‘Why not?’

‘Zac was beginning to sound suspicious, so I moved on to the Renoir, which is why it took so long to escape. In any case, it shouldn’t be too difficult for one of the nation’s leading detectives to track down someone who’s in jail for faking a Vermeer.’

‘True, but Zac still thinks you’re going to his opening on Wednesday?’

‘Sadly Barbara won’t be able to make it, or take up his kind offer to join him for the after-dinner party at the Mirabelle.’

‘But you gave him your number.’

‘01 730 1234.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Harrods Food Hall.’

‘I adore you.’