Rogue Angel 49: The Devil's Chord by Alex Archer

Author:Alex Archer [Archer, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Worldwide Library
Published: 2014-07-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The driver didn’t show for hours. Annja considered taking a train, but the guy was also meant to be delivering a few necessities, which she had to admit she would appreciate. So she had opted for sleep and found a comfortable bench until she was eventually woken by an apologetic guy in a crisp black suit. She yawned and followed the driver to the limo.

The ride from Venice to Milan would have proven a shorter trip; however, the autostrada was a slow go. She estimated it would be a while before they got to Milan.

Browsing through her own brand-new backpack that had been waiting for her in the backseat of the limo, Annja found a laptop—fully charged and all accounts to be billed to Roux—as well as an iPod and earbuds, and a top-of-the-line digital camera. A change of clothing was, naturally, the right size and her style: cargo pants and a sleeveless T-shirt, along with some lightweight running shoes. There was a notebook and pens, latex gloves, tweezers and small plastic bags.

The man had thought of everything. As well, a note informed her that her things at the hotel were being shipped home. If she’d known the wait for the limo was going to be so long, she could have swung by the hotel and claimed her stuff.

Oh, well.

Annja settled back, put in the earbuds, found some favorite tunes and was thankful for Wi-Fi so she could do some additional research on da Vinci.

The fascinating thing about Leonardo was his range of skills and interests, and that for a man who was known to have put out an amazing quantity of sketches, ideas and models, it was believed there were many more of his works still to be discovered.

It was no surprise to Annja when someone stepped forth claiming to have found a work believed to have been created by a famous artist, although disappointment often followed. Authentication processes could be long and arduous, and many times the excitement over finding a supposed masterpiece turned into a letdown when it was learned it had been done by a student, for example, instead of the master himself.

She glanced over a story that featured a restorer who used to authenticate famous lost paintings, such as by Picasso, Rembrandt and da Vinci. Seemed the person had a successful business in validating—or not—discovered lost works. The only thing wrong was the works that were authenticated were also tampered with—by the authenticator. Fingerprints claiming to match the great artists had been created by the authenticator, so when comparing a found print on a painting, the match was perfect. But since the original fingerprint had been a forgery...

The lengths some people would go to for fame and a small fortune never ceased to amaze Annja.

The driver called back that he was stopping at the Autogrill, a restaurant and gas station that arched over the busy highway, for gas. It was a midpoint between Venice and Milan. Annja used the opportunity to run inside and

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