A Cruise to Die For (An Alix London Mystery) (36 page)

For answer, he went to a file cabinet in the outer part of the workroom, came back with a glossy, fold-over pamphlet, and put it in her hand. Cautiously, suspiciously, wary of being hoodwinked, she began to read.

G
ENUINE
F
AKES

from

Geoffrey London

A “much-respected museum conservator” (
New York Times
), a “gifted forger” (
ArtNews
), and an “utterly delightful man” (
People
),
Geoffrey London spent years in prison for concocting and executing “the most brilliant string of forgeries of the decade, perhaps of the century” (
The Atlantic
). Having paid his debt to society, he is now on the right side of the law and is putting to happy and legitimate use his extraordinary ability to meticulously bring to life the styles—and actual methods and (to the extent possible) materials—of the world’s great artists from Jan van Eyck to Jasper Johns.

Whether you would like to own your own scrupulously reproduced favorite painting by Renoir or Picasso, or a “new” one specially painted for you, Genuine Fakes will be happy to provide it. Or how about a portrait of your spouse “done by” van Gogh or Modigliani?

All paintings are signed by Mr. London and are framed in a manner appropriate to the artist and the time. If you prefer your older paintings aged and crackled, this can be done for a small additional fee.

Costs vary depending on the work involved, but are generally in the $5,000 to $15,000 range, averaging about $8,000. Turn the page for images of sample paintings and their costs. More information can be found at http://masterforger.com.

Alix looked up, shaky with relief, but not sure whether to believe it. “This is really true? This is your ‘new venture’?”

“This is it.”

“I thought… I thought…”

“I can see what you thought, but being the forbearing person that I have learned to be when it comes to you, I choose not to take offense.”

“But Geoff, do you think people are really going to pay you ten or fifteen thousand dollars for a fake?”

“Not only going to but already have. Alix, dear, I’ve been open for business less than two months, and already I’ve fulfilled two commissions, with three more in progress or waiting to be started. This painting here, the Corot? Fifteen thousand five hundred, since she’s ordered the
craquelure
. I have the boys helping me with things, and they are having the time of
their lives. Making an honest living by forging paintings, what could be better? It’s almost as if I’m running a seventeenth-century workshop, just like—well, modesty forbids.”

“I don’t recall it forbidding you before,” Alix said, laughing. “Geoff, this is wonderful. I admit I’m amazed that you’re actually getting customers, but I couldn’t be more pleased.”

“Ah, but you could, and I’m about to prove it. Come with me.”

They went back out to the living room, and on a low glass table near the fireplace was a small porcelain flower vase with a single fresh rose, against which now leaned an ordinary white business-size envelope.
For my darling daughter
was written on its face.

Alix didn’t know whether it was the words or her relief or her pleasure in the new outlook for Geoff’s future, but she was suddenly close to tears.

“Open it,” he said. “Sit down first.”

What now?
She sat. She tore open the envelope and took out a check. “Pay to the order of Alix London,” it said, “$35,368.75.”

“I don’t… what—?”

“First installment,” he said, looking happier and somehow lighter, more buoyant, than she’d seen him since before he’d gone to jail.

She was utterly at a loss. “Of what?”

“Of the four that you have coming to you for the sixty thousand dollars—your entire remaining college fund—that you gave up to help me through my time of tribulation. Assuming ten percent interest over nine years, it comes to a total of $141,475—four payments of $35,368.75 each, although of course the next three will be recalculated to reflect additional interest.”

“Geoff… you
knew
? Leonard swore to me you’d never find out where that money came from.” Leonard Arliss had been the family attorney at the time of Geoff’s ‘tribulation,’ and had assured Alix that there was no way that her father could possibly learn that she had been the source.

“Oh, don’t blame Leonard; it didn’t come from him.”

“Then how—Geoff, I… this is wonderful of you, but, really, I can’t—” She held the check out to him.

He put his hands behind his back. “Of course you can. Now stop being silly.”

“But—”

“Now you listen to me. That is your money, not mine. Please don’t deny me the pleasure of repaying you for what had to have been a tremendous sacrifice on your part. A simple thank-you and a gracious acceptance would be nice but not required. And if you force me, I can be just as tricky as you are and see to it that it comes to you some other way.” That familiar twinkle glimmered in his eyes. “Although I really would prefer to take credit for it, if it’s all the same to you.”

The tears that had been building turned to laughter and she sank weakly down into the armchair. “Thank you, Geoff… Dad.”

A signal beeped in the kitchen. “Dinner is served,” he said and went to get it. In a few seconds he returned with a tray that held everything and carefully placed it on the low table.

He looked doubtfully at it. “Fish fingers… chocolate milk,” he said uneasily. “I’m not sure this was such a good idea. After the meals you must have had aboard the
Artemis
, this must seem rather, well…”

She reached up to grasp his wrist. “Geoff, this has got to be the most wonderful dinner I’ve ever had or ever will have.”

Our thanks to Bill Campbell, retired San Diego Police Department Detective Sergeant and former security consultant, for cheerfully filling us in on the ins and outs of day-to-day security operations on a world-class superyacht. Our thanks as well to Dr. David L. Black, founder and CEO of Aegis Sciences and clinical assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at Vanderbilt University, for setting us straight on a key question of toxicology.

With their backgrounds in art scholarship, forensic anthropology, and psychology, Charlotte and Aaron Elkins were destined to be mystery writers. Between them, they’ve written thirty mysteries since 1982, garnering such awards as the Agatha Award for the best short story of the year, the Edgar Award for the year’s best mystery, and the Nero Wolfe Award for Literary Excellence. The pair revels in creating intensively researched works that are as accessible and absorbing as they are sophisticated and stylish. Charlotte was born in Houston, Texas; Aaron in New York City. They live on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.