The Forger by Michele Hauf

Author:Michele Hauf [Hauf, Michele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-07T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Olivia leaned over the damaged Rossetti painting, which had been placed on the stainless steel lab table in forensics. She’d managed to secure the evidence collected from the Wexler incident, but only after her superintendent had spoken with the irate gallery owner and promised they would not release this information to the press. Ethan had confirmed the tabloid slip, but he had no clue how it had occurred. His unit did not deal with the press, ever.

Weird. It had to be an employee of the gallery, but she wouldn’t fret about it now. The evidence demanded she look it over. She wore latex gloves and had pulled her hair back in a twist as she looked over the original Beata Beatrix.

Or what was, allegedly, an original. If the vandal had been targeting forgeries, she shouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that this one was. And Ethan seemed quite positive it was a work done by his father. If it was a forgery, it must be proven without doubt. She had the gallery catalog and copies of the provenance, which were attached to the investigation files, for comparison.

Howard had made a sweep of both paintings, taking samples of paint, the canvas, the frame varnish, and dusting for fingerprints. Due to Scotland Yard’s work with art crimes, forensics had a few instruments able to detect fluorescing resins, which would signal retouches, but often they had to send items out for further testing.

Olivia was more interested in the details of the original painting. The craquelure was intact, and there was dust in those cracks, both signs of an original. She pressed her fingernail into a corner where the paint had not been damaged from the blast. It was hard. And while an expert forger could harden the paint, not many took the time to do so.

Why did Ethan believe it was a forgery? There were many more details that would give that proof. Dating the paint would be key. Tests would determine if the paint samples contained minerals or chemicals that had been in use around the time the original had been painted. If newer chemical compounds showed, that proved forgery. All those tests required advanced lab work, some that could be done here. She had her work cut out for her.

Her phone buzzed, and she glanced to the screen: Denise. “Yes?”

“I have minimal info on Christopher Maxwell, ma’am. Suspected forger. Age fifty-two. Lived in East London most of his life. Wife left him.”

She knew all that.

“I was able to uncover what the prison sentence was for. He was convicted for murdering a police officer two years ago.”

“What?”

“That’s what I have, ma’am.”

Ethan hadn’t mentioned murder. Only that his father had died a few years ago. “Does it say he died in prison?”

“No details, ma’am. Sorry.”

“Thanks, Denise. Forward me a copy of the report.”

“Already sent to your e-mail.”

Olivia hung up and opened the report. Murder? She should have asked Ethan to tell her more about his father. She’d pressed him on giving her information about the Elite Crimes Unit.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.