the first meeting in Pierre's office, isn't that right?" Gaylord said, looking to Poste and Friedrichs for confirmation.
"Yes," Friedrichs answered. "It was after that point he designated Katrina to work on the project and pick the exhibits that might be included from the Cloisters, which he runs."
"Mr. Bellinger specializes in delegating assignments, Miss Cooper," Erik Poste said, crossing his legs as he laughed aloud. "Pierre made it clear that even those of us who ran major departments in the museum --well, Timothy here, and me--had to sit on this show ourselves. It was a serious investment of our time and energy, but I knew Pierre would make it worthwhile for us with the money the exhibition could raise."
"Bellinger himself is like a throwback to medieval times," Gaylord said. "Sits up there as though he's a monk in his own monastery, studying illuminated manuscripts. He doesn't seem to realize that if we don't make the money to support the museum, he'll be taking the vow of poverty himself. Unfortunately, a lot of our scholars, like Hiram, have nothing but contempt for Thibodaux and his entrepreneurial vision."
"And you?"
"I quite admire Pierre. I think all three of us do. There's no other way to compete against the other great museums of the world if we don't have the financial means to buy the pieces that come on the market. It can't be any simpler than that."
"Is it in these meetings where you first met Ms. Grooten?" I asked Gaylord.
"It's the only place. Pierre put me in charge of the Met's role in the joint exhibit. I chaired several of the planning sessions." "Was Mr. Thibodaux himself present for those?"
Gaylord took a moment to think. "Maybe one or two. Once he turned it over to me, I don't remember that he came to many of them."
"And Ms. Grooten?"
"As I said, she wasn't at the first one."
"But were they ever in meetings together?"
The three curators exchanged glances. "Hard to say," Poste answered. "Thibodaux would occasionally stick his head in the room, when he wasn't traveling abroad. Just to make the point that the program was his baby, a directive straight from the top."
"Does he travel often?"
"All the time. Some middleman calls and says there's a krater in the hands of a private owner in Athens who needs some cash, or a Caillebotte coming up for auction for the first time in Geneva, or a rich old dame who's thinking about leaving her Stradivarius to whichever museum will give it the most prominent placement. That's the way the game is played."
"Did any of you ever socialize with Ms. Grooten, apart from these sessions?" "We both did," Anna Friedrichs said, pointing from herself to Erik Poste.
"What did you know about her? How well did you know her?"
"I was very fond of Katrina," Friedrichs said. "We had dinner together on occasion, after work; sometimes lunch. She was about ten years younger than I. Twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Studied in England. Oxford, I believe. Got a master's in medieval art before she came to the States three years ago to work with us."
"Single?"
"Yes. Lived alone. Rented a studio apartment in Washington Heights so she'd be close to the Cloisters. She liked to bike to work."
"Did she have any relatives here?"
"None that she spoke of. Her mother had died while she was at university. And I believe her father was quite ill, at home in South Africa."
Erik Poste knew more about that. "It was one of the reasons she was torn about her work here. Her father was failing, and despite how much she loved her job, she talked about going home to care for him."
"Any men in her life? People she dated?" "Not that she spoke about. Like Anna, I had lunch with Katrina from time to time, if I happened to be working at the bestiary office when she was there. I believe we had dinner one time, with another one of the museum fellows, because they had business they wanted to discuss with me."
"Did you and she ever--?"
"Not what you're thinking, Detective. I'm
"Yes," Friedrichs answered. "It was after that point he designated Katrina to work on the project and pick the exhibits that might be included from the Cloisters, which he runs."
"Mr. Bellinger specializes in delegating assignments, Miss Cooper," Erik Poste said, crossing his legs as he laughed aloud. "Pierre made it clear that even those of us who ran major departments in the museum --well, Timothy here, and me--had to sit on this show ourselves. It was a serious investment of our time and energy, but I knew Pierre would make it worthwhile for us with the money the exhibition could raise."
"Bellinger himself is like a throwback to medieval times," Gaylord said. "Sits up there as though he's a monk in his own monastery, studying illuminated manuscripts. He doesn't seem to realize that if we don't make the money to support the museum, he'll be taking the vow of poverty himself. Unfortunately, a lot of our scholars, like Hiram, have nothing but contempt for Thibodaux and his entrepreneurial vision."
"And you?"
"I quite admire Pierre. I think all three of us do. There's no other way to compete against the other great museums of the world if we don't have the financial means to buy the pieces that come on the market. It can't be any simpler than that."
"Is it in these meetings where you first met Ms. Grooten?" I asked Gaylord.
"It's the only place. Pierre put me in charge of the Met's role in the joint exhibit. I chaired several of the planning sessions." "Was Mr. Thibodaux himself present for those?"
Gaylord took a moment to think. "Maybe one or two. Once he turned it over to me, I don't remember that he came to many of them."
"And Ms. Grooten?"
"As I said, she wasn't at the first one."
"But were they ever in meetings together?"
The three curators exchanged glances. "Hard to say," Poste answered. "Thibodaux would occasionally stick his head in the room, when he wasn't traveling abroad. Just to make the point that the program was his baby, a directive straight from the top."
"Does he travel often?"
"All the time. Some middleman calls and says there's a krater in the hands of a private owner in Athens who needs some cash, or a Caillebotte coming up for auction for the first time in Geneva, or a rich old dame who's thinking about leaving her Stradivarius to whichever museum will give it the most prominent placement. That's the way the game is played."
"Did any of you ever socialize with Ms. Grooten, apart from these sessions?" "We both did," Anna Friedrichs said, pointing from herself to Erik Poste.
"What did you know about her? How well did you know her?"
"I was very fond of Katrina," Friedrichs said. "We had dinner together on occasion, after work; sometimes lunch. She was about ten years younger than I. Twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Studied in England. Oxford, I believe. Got a master's in medieval art before she came to the States three years ago to work with us."
"Single?"
"Yes. Lived alone. Rented a studio apartment in Washington Heights so she'd be close to the Cloisters. She liked to bike to work."
"Did she have any relatives here?"
"None that she spoke of. Her mother had died while she was at university. And I believe her father was quite ill, at home in South Africa."
Erik Poste knew more about that. "It was one of the reasons she was torn about her work here. Her father was failing, and despite how much she loved her job, she talked about going home to care for him."
"Any men in her life? People she dated?" "Not that she spoke about. Like Anna, I had lunch with Katrina from time to time, if I happened to be working at the bestiary office when she was there. I believe we had dinner one time, with another one of the museum fellows, because they had business they wanted to discuss with me."
"Did you and she ever--?"
"Not what you're thinking, Detective. I'm
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