Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs Page A

said Carmela. “That’s why I think there’s a chance he didn’t steal it.”
    â€œWhat are you saying?” said Jekyl. “That Joubert bought the mask at auction? Or from a private individual? And that he was just hanging on to the mask for safekeeping until he could resell it to some rich pigeon?” Jekyl let loose a derisive hoot. “A two-bit dealer like him? Never happen.”
    â€œHe could have bought it on the up-and-up,” said Carmela. “You never know.”
    â€œIt’s more likely that Joubert had coconspirators,” said Jekyl. “That he didn’t act alone.”
    â€œMaybe Joubert’s accomplice turned on him and killed him!” said Ava.
    â€œYou watch too much TV,” said Carmela.
    Jekyl lifted an eyebrow. “Okay, how’s this for a theory? What if Joubert had help on the inside? That’s how art heists are often carried out these days. There’s an inside man who has a spare key, or looks the other way, or knows a glitch in the security system.”
    â€œI suppose,” said Carmela.
    â€œSure,” said Jekyl. “Look at that big heist at the Gardner Museum in Boston, where they stole the Vermeer, a couple of Rembrandts, and a Manet right off the walls. The police still think there was an inside man, someone who gave the thieves the right kind of information.”
    â€œWhat’s so special about that mask?” asked Ava.
    Jekyl looked startled. “Are you serious? It’s a magnificent, historical piece. It’s Napoleon’s death mask! It was created by skilled artisans just hours after he died. If you look at a depiction or photo of one of those masks, you can see that Napoleon’s eyes are closed, his lips are parted, and his head is resting on a tasseled pillow. And that Gallic nose!” Jekyl thumped a hand excitedly against the counter. “All humped and bumped. Such a work of art.”
    â€œHis nose?” said Ava.
    â€œYes,” said Jekyl.
    â€œWhat would a mask like that sell for?” Carmela asked.
    Jekyl’s eyes grew large. “On the open market, at a prestigious auction house like Sotheby’s in New York, I think it could easily top one million dollars.”
    â€œAre you serious?” said Carmela. “For a death mask?”
    â€œ
Napoleon’s
death mask,” said Jekyl. “An emperor who was one of the greatest military minds in the history of Western civilization. A man who not only conquered Europe, but employed military tactics that were decades ahead of his time.”
    Carmela took all this in and was trying to process it. “Let’s be serious here,” she said. “Was Marcus Joubert really stupid enough to steal a mask from a private collector and then try to sell it for a million dollars? I mean, once rumors swirled that the mask was stolen, could he even
find
a willing buyer? I mean, have you seen the man’s shop? He had
bug
collections, for gosh sakes. There are flea-bitten monkeys and weird medical devices on his shelves. I just don’t see Joubert picking up the phone and talking to a primo crop of high-end customers. Most of his customers in the past have been tourists and a few fringe Goth types.”
    â€œWatch it,” said Ava as she fingered her Goth-style necklace and skull earrings.
    â€œPerhaps Joubert was desperate for cash,” said Jekyl. “Or he had a buyer who tasked him with
finding
a death mask.”
    â€œThere’s another plausible scenario,” said Ava. “Maybe his buyer set him up.”
    â€œHow so?” asked Carmela. She was open to any theory at the moment. Anything that would hold water, that is.
    â€œIf Joubert was trying to fill an order,” said Ava, “like Jekyl suggests, then maybe once he had the mask in his possession, the
buyer
killed him and stole the mask.”
    â€œI’m getting confused,” said Jekyl.
    â€œSo am I,” said