The Body in Bodega Bay: A Nora Barnes and Toby Sandler Mystery

Epilogue

214 Epilogue SIX MONTHS LATER, we were all standing in the lobby of the UC–Berkeley Museum, attending the reception for the world debut of Andrei Rublev’s restored masterpiece, The Old Testament Trinity Triptych. Al Miller had organized the exhibition. The place was packed, as the publicity had been tremendous. Angie had taken a vacation from her “sojourn” to join us for the big event. She looked a little different, with her hair cut short and her face without makeup. But Angie could never be anything but beautiful. She wore roomy black pants topped by a white embroidered blouse. I was surprised she was allowed embroidery. Observing me looking over her clothes, she winked and said, “I haven’t taken the plunge yet. But even the nuns wear street clothes, you know.” “You look happy,” I said. “I’m glad you could be here for the opening.” “I am happy,” she replied. “And I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” The museum was only a temporary home for the newly acclaimed artwork, pending resolution of the multiple lawsuits that already had 215 been filed. Let me see if I can get this right. As the holders of two of the panels, Toby and I were being sued by Andrew Federenco, Tom Keogh, Charlie’s brother, the University of California–Davis, and the Russian government. Of course, each had a different claim. Federenco wanted the entire triptych, which he claimed had been stolen by his cousin. That meant he was also suing Sophie for the panel that Peter had given her. Tom Keogh argued that Charlie had bought the Michael panel for purposes of resale while legally still his business partner, so Keogh was entitled to half the proceeds from any sale. Charlie’s brother claimed ownership of the same panel, citing Charlie’s will, which named him as the heir. The University of California–Davis had dibs on the central panel, which, they pointed out, had been dug up on their land. And the Russian government was suing everybody, including the museum, on grounds that the triptych was a national treasure that had been spirited out of the country illegally. It was shaping up to be another epic case like Jarndyce v. Jarndyce in that Dickens novel, a dispute that dragged on for generations until everything had been eaten up by legal costs. “All I want out of this,” said Toby, “is a finder’s fee, a modest finder’s fee, that’s all I want. They can have the icons.” The problem was, “they” was an indefinite pronoun. Toby was talking to a lawyer. I told him not to. There had been other developments. Rose and Sophie, who had recovered nicely from her attack, did meet, shortly after Sophie got out of the hospital. By counting months on her fingers, Rose deduced that Peter had fallen in love with her after he unwittingly had gotten Sophie pregnant. She was convinced that Peter, had he lived, would have broken off with Sophie, whose only claim on him was guilt, and that in the end he surely would have married her. Hence, Rose was disposed to behave magnanimously toward Sophie, extending a victor’s olive branch. She went so far as to allow Sophie to believe the contrary scenario—that Peter had met Rose first and that he surely would have left her for the woman who was carrying his child, but for his fatal accident. I’ll say this 216 for Peter, he certainly was a charmer. The very thought of him fifty years later could make each woman believe what she wanted to. It worked out well enough for Sophie. It seems her opinion of the angel Gabriel had lost its luster as a result of Peter’s affair with Rose. In any event, she was persuaded to let her icon be cleaned for the exhibition , even if that meant expunging Gabriel forever. Her son had something to do with persuading her. The potential value of the restored Rublev was a factor in his enlistment in that cause. He had come over from London to attend the opening. Joe the security guard was fired by the marine lab for giving us the go-ahead to dig up their property without first checking with his superiors. We were sorry for his trouble, but he too landed on his feet. He and Tom Keogh were now an...