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Her grandmother and Anna exchanged a look, and then Anna began to talk, which was normally the way the two women operated.Her grandmother was just as strong as Anna, but when the two of them were together, it was usually Anna who led the conversation.
As Anna recounted the events at the museum, Isabella grew more concerned.She could picture them hiding in the shadow of a statue, praying they wouldn't be shot, and that image brought forth the realization that she could have lost her grandmother yesterday, which was an unspeakably horrible thought.Her grandmother had saved her life when she was sixteen, and she couldn't stand the thought of losing her.
"You both must have been terrified," she said when Anna took a breath.
"So scared," Anna admitted."Especially when I heard my name.But we're all right, and we're sorry that you both had to leave your jobs and your lives to come here."
"You don't have to apologize," she said."I'm just grateful you weren't hurt.I assume you spoke to the police yesterday."
"Inspector Vincenzo from the Polizia di Stato, and then Captain Lavezzo from the Carabinieri T.P.C.," Anna replied."Captain Lavezzo said his team would investigate the theft, as their unit is dedicated to protecting cultural heritage.They specialize in robberies like this."
"Well, not exactly like this," Gloria interrupted."Captain Lavezzo was very curious as to why the three paintings were the only ones taken when there were many items of greater value in the museum.Of course, we couldn't tell him why.He didn't seem confident that we'd get the paintings back, either."
"Who painted the third one?"she asked.
"Frederico Germain," her grandmother answered."He was a friend of Lucinda's.He ran the art school that Anna and I attended when we first came to Rome as college students.And Lucinda taught there as well."
"Is he still alive?"Nick asked.
"No, he died years ago," her grandmother replied."Louisa Del Vecchio donated the painting to the exhibition.She's Frederico's granddaughter, and she runs the school now.But I don't believe Frederico's painting was any more valuable than the ones by Tomas or Lucinda.He was talented, but he wasn't particularly commercial or successful."
"It doesn't make sense," Anna agreed."The worst thing is that the paintings that we were entrusted to protect are gone now."
"I don't think that's the worst part," Nick said dryly."But I understand why you're upset about it."
"Because Marcus put his father's painting in a vault a long time ago, and I should have left it there," Anna said."I just thought it was such a shame no one would ever see his talent, and it had been so long.I didn’t think it would matter.I was wrong."
"This is not just on you, Anna," Gloria said, reassuring her friend."I put Lucinda's painting in the exhibit as well.And it had also been tucked away for a long time."
"Where was Lucinda's painting, Grandma?"she asked curiously.
"It was unframed, a loose canvas rolled up and tucked among the paintings your mother did when she was a young girl.I think Sylvie might have taken it to study at some point.I found it hidden deep in a closet when I moved out of my apartment."Gloria gave her a questioning look."Is that important?"
"It might be," she replied."You mentioned that one thief said something about someone waiting to get their hands on these paintings for a long time.If both paintings were with you and Anna all these years, I wonder why no one tried to get them before.Tomas's painting was in a vault, but it sounds like Lucinda's was in your house at some point, and then here, Grandma.I just wonder why no one would have looked for either painting in the homes of their descendants."
"We had a break-in a long time ago," Anna said slowly."It was a few months after Tomas died.Vandals tore up our home.Marcus thought it was a team of thieves working the neighborhood, because several other houses were broken into as well, including Gloria's."
"That's right.I'd forgotten about that," Gloria said."It was such a difficult time after Tomas and Lucinda died that while the break-in was disturbing, it was just another awful moment in a terrible year.I was so worried about Paolo's emotional state after losing his mother that I was just glad nothing of value had been taken from our home."
"Wait a second," Nick interrupted, drawing everyone's attention to him."Lucinda and Tomas died at the same time?"
"They died together," her grandmother confirmed."In a fire at Tomas's house.They often painted together in the evenings.It was late when they finished, so Lucinda stayed in the guest room.Apparently, one of them had been smoking and dropped some hot ashes onto the sofa and started a fire."
"I don't think I ever heard how Lucinda died," Isabella said as she considered that part of the story.
"It happened long before you were born," her grandmother replied.
"I remember hearing Tomas died in a fire, but not that anyone was with him," Nick muttered."Was there something going on between him and Lucinda?"
"No, of course not," her grandmother said firmly."They were dear friends, but Lucinda was married.She would not have cheated on her husband.She was not that kind of woman.She was passionate and loyal."
"But she was staying at the home of a man who wasn't her husband," Isabella interjected."And I can't imagine that didn't create gossip."
Her grandmother waved a dismissive hand."They were artists.Tomas ran classes out of his home studio.There were often other artists there, and they would paint for hours on end.Lucinda's husband, Eduardo, understood that she had to express herself through art, and he trusted her and Tomas.They had been friends for years."She paused."Eduardo also traveled a great deal, so much so that he and Lucinda gave up their house and lived with us that last year.That was another reason Lucinda needed a place to paint."
"That makes sense," she said, but she still thought it was a bit odd.
"Eduardo was out of town when the fire occurred," her grandmother continued."He was devastated when he returned.His sorrow at Lucinda's funeral broke my heart.And my husband, Paolo, was so upset; he wouldn't even talk about his mother after she was gone.Neither he nor Eduardo would speak her name.I thought it was wrong, but if I had said anything, it would have caused an upset."
