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Besides, what good would it do? At best, he could delay the discovery that his grandfather had been the officer in charge of the art-collection depot while Thompson was there.
The truth will out.
That was both the good news and the bad.
Truth was also supposed to set you free, so something to look forward to, right?
If he did truly believe his grandfather was innocent—and he did—why would he try to suppress the facts?
For the first time since he had spotted Emerson Harley’s name in de Haan’s report, Jason asked himself what his grandfather would have wanted. What would he have done in Jason’s position?
And the answer was so obvious, it felt like a slap upside the head—something Jason’s grandfather had never delivered in real life.
Emerson Harley had never ducked a fight in his life. He would have challenged any and all allegations directly, dragging them out into the light and knocking them down, one by one. And if he knew the moral compromises Jason was making to “defend” his honor, he’d have been appalled.
I don’t need you to defend my good name. My good name is my defense. That’s what Emerson Harley would have said.
And he’d have been right.
His cell phone rang, the moment of epiphany ended like a burst bubble, and Jason answered automatically.
J.J. said, “To start with, it turns out I was right. Thompson was gay. I told you so.”
“Uh, yes. You did.”
“But that’s not why he couldn’t get his old teaching job back after the war. Nobody knew about it back then.”
“Why couldn’t he get his job back?” Jason asked.
“Because he’d received a dishonorable discharge in December 1945. He was court-martialed and fined $600 for the theft of valuable silverware and gold-decorated china from the villa of the Marquise of St. Carlos in Biarritz, France.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“That’s good work. Yours, I mean.”
“I thought so,” J.J. said with his usual modesty. “What do you think the family is trying to hide? The fact that he was gay, or the fact that he was a known thief?”
“Both? I’m not sure. I’m not sure those are the only things they’re trying to hide.”
“Well, the treasures, of course, but it looks like Thompson had less time to steal things from Engelshofen Castle than we realized.”
“Yes.” And more time to steal things elsewhere.
“Maybe it was just the two paintings and the altar piece. I sure can’t come up with anyone who admits to seeing any of the other items.”
“Did you find someone who had seen the two paintings and the altar piece?”
“No.”
“Then I’d say that doesn’t prove anything.” Jason considered. “Who do we have left to talk to?”
“Nobody.”
“What about the first husband?”
“We had this conversation this morning, West. He said he never saw any treasures.”
