The Cain Heresy — the Saga Continues
Here’s Chapter Two of my long-delayed historical fiction
I incline to Cain’s heresy. I let my brother go to the devil in his own way — Gabriel Utterson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Saturday, January 31, 1976
Hall of the Great Chapel, Palais du Papes, Avignon, France
Jean Malterre finished his final security round of the Great Chapel exhibition, and headed for the doors leading to the stairs. He stopped for a minute and checked his watch, which showed him he had more than enough time for a cigarette before heading downstairs to admit his relief, Jacques.
He removed his sidearm and laid it on the table near the door, again thinking how stupid that regulation was, and unlocked and passed through the stairway door, relocking it behind him. On the landing he lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, throwing his head back a little and blowing the smoke upwards. Then the lights went out for him — his brain registered only the briefest of impressions of movement behind him before the lights blinked out.
He was only out for a moment, coming to as he was being hauled to his feet, a voice whispering in his ear in quite good French, with something of an odd accent, “That was just a love tap, and can be the last one instead of just the first. Just do as you’re told, and everything will be just fine. Understand?
Jean nodded, then said “Oui.”
“Good. We’re going downstairs to meet your relief. Do everything straight, get him inside without trouble, and nobody gets hurt too bad. Understand?”
“Oui.”
Associated Press, Avignon, February 2, 1976
Three hooded gunmen beat and bound three guards and made off with 119 works of Pablo Picasso from an exhibit in the 14th century papal palace here, police reported Sunday. The thieves apparently had inside information and acted with split-second timing. Art experts said the untested market for unsigned Picassos made it impossible to estimate the full value of the paintings, which were loaded into a van in the palace courtyard Saturday night. They were part of an exhibition of 201 Picassos insured for $2.47 million, but police said the paintings were worth more than that. “In the end they are probably worth nothing (to the thieves) because they are catalogued, photographed, inventoried and indexed, and the information has long been distributed worldwide,” said Paul Puaux, director of the Avignon Art Festival who set up the show. “What can the thieves do with them? In my opinion the paintings cannot be sold,” he said. “They have above all a sentimental value.” French police also reported the theft of a painting Sunday from the Louvre in Paris, by a man who walked off with a small 14th Century oil on wood after asking another visitor what was worth taking. In sheer volume, the Picasso theft appeared to be one of the biggest art heists of all time.
Police said the unidentified gunmen were probably professional art thieves, but in their haste to get away they left 17 other Picassos stacked near the foot of a stairway. Authorities said they had two “very thin” leads. One of the robbers was reported to have a Spanish accent, and a tourist reported seeing a rented white van in the vicinity of the palace about the time of the theft. The paintings had been exhibited in the Hall of the Great Chapel in the Palace of the Popes, from which papal legates once ruled the surrounding area of southern France, since Picasso’s death in April 1973 at age 91. The Avignon cultural council was in charge of the paintings pending the end of litigation among Picasso’s heirs. Puaux said the thieves “took the paintings hung low down on the wall and left behind those hung near the ceiling.” They also broke one case housing valuable items in the hall, and took a sketchbook known as “The Catalan Notebook.” It contained drawings by Picasso when he was 12. Jacqueline Picasso, the painter’s widow, briefly visited the scene of the theft Sunday but declined to comment on it. Picasso produced the stolen works between September 1970 and June 1972. Puaux explained that the artists did not sign them because he put his name on a canvas only when he was ready to part with it.
End of Chapter Two
This chapter shows the real Associated Press release regarding this theft. It was audacious, to say the least. I hope you are enjoying the story so far, and will soon publish the next chapter…though in a few chapters I’ll be getting into only partial completeness.