Page 69 of The Collector
“In the Amalfi villa of a wealthy South African shipper and art collector named Lukas van Damme.”
Magnus nodded.
“If Coetzee wanted it so badly, why didn’t he steal it himself?”
“He implied that he was a close friend of Van Damme’s from the old days, that Van Damme would automatically suspect him if the painting disappeared. For that reason, there could be no South African connection to the theft.”
“And when you told your SVR controller about the demand?”
“He gave me my next assignment.”
“Commission the theft ofThe Concertby Johannes Vermeer?”
Magnus nodded.
“Thus providing the Kremlin the ability to claim with a straight face that it had nothing at all to do with any aspect of this wretched deal.”
“I’m not a professional like you, Allon, but I believe the term of art isplausible deniability.”
“But why would Konstantin Gromov think that you, a respected European energy executive, had the means to steal the world’s most valuable missing painting?”
“Because Gromov is aware of the fact that I suffer from a condition known as bibliomania. He also knows that I have utilized the services of a Copenhagen antiquarian to acquire books that I could not otherwise obtain legally.”
“An antiquarian,” said Gabriel, “named Peter Nielsen.”
“I think Peter was more shocked than I was,” said Magnus. “He was also reluctant to take the commission. He said it was one thing to pinch a copy of Hemingway or Heller, quite another to get involved in an art heist on Italian soil.”
“How did you convince him to change his mind?”
“Thirty million euros. Half up front, half on delivery. I told Peter to hire the best thief he could find, that there could be absolutely no mistakes.” He glanced at Ingrid. “He said he knew someone who was up to the job.”
“When was the next time you spoke to him?”
“The night he called to say the painting was in Denmark.”
“I assume you knew that Van Damme was dead.”
“Yes, of course.”
“You must have been somewhat alarmed.”
“That’s one way of putting it. As you might imagine, I was quite anxious to complete the transaction.”
“How were you planning to take delivery of the painting?”
“I wasn’t. I told Peter that a courier would collect it at his shop.”
“And where was the courier going to take it?”
“The Russian Embassy. From there, it was supposed to make its way to South Africa by diplomatic pouch.”
“And when you learned that Peter had been murdered?”
“I knew that Konstantin Gromov and the SVR were killing anyone connected to that painting.”
“And why would they do a thing like that?”
“I’m not a professional but...” He looked down at the copy ofThe Beautiful andDamned.
