Over the next couple of months, Andy took the kids to see my parents every week. While they visited, he studied and photographed the painting and, after he began working on the forgery, he made notes to himself about changes to make at his studio. He’d selected a Renoir to forge. He’d studied that artist in depth when he was in art school and was confident in his ability to create a forgery that could pass for the real thing.
I researched how to sell a painting on the black market and what I thought we could get for it. Thank God for the Internet. You could watch porn twenty-four hours a day, learn how to build a bomb, and as I found out, get access to people willing to buy stolen art with no questions asked.
When Andy finished painting the forgery, we were ready to make the switch. Andy took the kids for their regular visit. I showed up ten minutes later with the forgery in my car. If I were caught, I wanted distance between Andy and me. No one would know his role in the theft.
The canvass was small -- about two feet by eighteen inches. I’d taped it to the inside lining of my coat and laid my coat on the back seat of my car. When I arrived at my parent’s house, I removed the coat and put it on carefully. My heart thumped as I made my way up the walk. Before I rang the doorbell, I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Terrified of getting caught, but I couldn’t turn back. I had to do this for Rita.
When George, the houseman, answered the door, I told him I needed to talk to my brother-in-law. He showed me to the library and left us alone. I turned to Andy and saw the fear in his eyes. “You can leave if you want, bro. I can make the switch and then go find my parents and tell them I came to pick up my kids. You don’t have to stay here.”
“No. I told you I’d help you and I will. Switching the paintings will go faster with two of us. Plus, I’m the expert, not you. The forgery has to be set into the frame perfectly. That’s as important as the painting itself.”
“But if someone walks in---”
Andy held up his hand. “I’m not leaving. I’m doing this for my sister. End of discussion.”
I felt a rush of gratitude for having someone to share my burden. “All right. Then let’s do it.”
I took off my coat and hung it carefully on the back of a chair, the forgery hidden from view. I walked toward Andy who stood next to the original, his arms outstretched, ready to remove the Renoir from the wall. I heard the click of the library door open and spun around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Andy lower his arms seconds before he would have had the painting in his hands.
George walked in and I breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t one of my parents. I knew I could get rid of him; that wouldn’t have been so easy if it was my mother or father.
“Excuse me, sir,” George said. “Would you like me to bring you something to eat or drink? I apologize that I didn’t ask before.”
“No. We’re fine.” I nodded toward a cabinet. “I assume my father still keeps a well-stocked bar in there.”
George smiled. “Yes, indeed. And I guess you’re old enough now to help yourself to whatever is in there.”
“I don’t think we’ll want anything, but if we do, I’ll get it myself. Thank you, though. I’ll call you if we need you.”
I watched as the houseman turned to leave. “One more thing, George. Please don’t tell my parents I’m here. I just came to talk to Andy about something, and I’m not sure they’d be too excited to see me.”
“Of course, sir. I understand.” George raised his hand to his chest. “I know it’s not my place to say anything, but I’m truly sorry for how your parents have treated you.”
“Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me.” And it did. If anyone knew all the ins and outs of my family, it was George. Having him in my corner was meaningful.
I waited until the houseman left the room and then turned to Andy. “That was close. We need to move fast.”
It took about twenty minutes for us to make the switch, and I was sweating bullets the whole time. We removed the original from the frame, replaced it with the forgery, and hung the painting back in its place. Then we carefully taped the original to my coat lining. When we were finished, I slipped my coat on immediately so that if anyone came in, they wouldn’t see the painting.
I grabbed Andy and gave him a hug. “Thanks for doing this for Rita.”
“Hey, she’s my sister. I’d do anything for her,” he said.
I couldn’t have asked for a better brother-in-law. “I’m going to get out of here before my parents show up.”
I opened the door and heard footsteps. I flew out of the library and walked as fast as I could down the hall, grateful I had on rubber-soled shoes. When I rounded the corner to the foyer, I stole a quick glance back and saw a shadow at the other end of the hallway. I didn’t stop to see who it was. I got out of the house, drove away, and never looked back.