The Lake Murray Murders by Steven Jacobs

Author:Steven Jacobs [Jacobs, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Stone and Clayton entered the University of South Carolina art department one hour after printing the art pictures on Anna's phone. Chief Boone had called ahead and arranged a meeting with the head of the department, Dr. William Peterson.

Once the detectives finally found his office, they found that the door was open and an older gentleman with grey hair, and round wire-rimmed glasses seated behind a messy desk.

“Are you Dr. William Peterson?” Clayton asked.

Looking up from the papers he was grading, the older man smiled and said, “Ah, yes. You two must be the detectives I received the phone call about. Come on in. How can I help you?”

Once they shook hands, Dr. Peterson motioned for them to have a seat and asked, “What can I do for you two today?”

Clayton said, “We are looking into a case that possibly involves art. We want to show you some photographs and see if you recognize any of the art, but before we do that, I must tell you that this is an ongoing case, and you are not to talk to anyone else about what we discuss.”

“That will not be a problem,” Peterson said.

Clayton handed Dr. Peterson a form and said, “I must insist that you sign this confidentiality agreement stating that you will not talk about what we discuss because of the sensitive nature of this investigation. I have to make it absolutely clear … if you discuss anything we talk about, we will come back, and we will charge you with impeding our investigation. Is that understood?”

“Detective Clayton, I understand and would gladly lend my expertise with whatever you require,” Dr. Peterson replied.

Stone handed Peterson the photos, and as he went through the pictures one by one, his eyes widened with surprise and shock. After repeatedly reviewing the pictures, Peterson asked, “How… where did you get these?”

Stone replied, “They are part of an investigation. What can you tell us about them?”

Admiring the pieces again, Peterson said, “I can tell you these appear to be artwork painted by masters of their time. I see a Renoir and van Gogh, at the very least. Neither of which I recognize. With that being said, of course, I can’t tell if they’re original or not, but if they are, they could be worth millions.”

“For all of them?” Stone asked.

“No … each,” Peterson replied, smiling, “and if one happens to be an unknown or a quote-unquote lost work, it could be in the hundreds of millions.”

“How would it affect the value of the paintings if they were stolen?” Stone asked.

“It depends. There is a black market for art, but you have to know who to go to and realize that the prices would be reduced. However, if you get the right bidders in the right place, at the right time, and they are bidding against each other, a piece of art could go very high, especially these days.”

Dr. Peterson got up, walked over to a shelf full of books, and slowly started thumbing

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