Elizabeth Peters: Street of the Five Moons

One of the folders was interesting, but I don’t suppose I would have noticed it if I hadn’t been groping desperately for some clue. It was a thin folder, with only a dozen pieces of paper inside, and unlike the other things in the file drawer it was comparatively new and clean. The papers consisted of a list of names – very distinguished names. Practically all of them had titles, and a few of them were familiar to me.

For reasons which will become evident as this narrative proceeds, I am going to change those names – to protect the innocent, as they say. ‘The innocent’ is me. I have enough trouble getting along in life, I don’t need lawsuits. The point is that the names I recognized were those of men who owned rare and beautiful art objects. The title of the Graf von––, to select just one example, went back to the tenth century, and so did some of the contents of his castle in the Bavarian Alps. One of his possessions, a saltcellar that was attributed to Cellini, had been reproduced in a dozen art books.

I looked over the names with considerable interest. Were these men potential victims of a master thief? The prizes would be well worth the effort, and a private home, however grand, is a lot easier to rob than a museum. But it was only a theory. I could hardly call on these ladies and gentlemen and ask to look over their collections. I had no proof of anything yet. Besides, if the Charlemagne talisman was a representative example of the forger’s work, I wouldn’t be able to identify a fake.

The dog had become bored with the rug, although, from the stains on it, I imagine it had an interesting variety of flavours. He was lying with his head on my foot, which had gone numb from his weight. I was feeling ridiculously relaxed by that time – there is nothing more soothing than a dog at one’s feet – and I began to get a little peckish. So I went to the pantry to get some biscuits. I was tempted to make myself a cup of tea, and went so far as to take the lid off the tin. The box was almost full.

The box of biscuits had been almost full too. That probably proved something, but I couldn’t believe it was anything important. I decided not to bother with the tea, but I ate the rest of the biscuits, with considerable help from the dog. What the hell, there was no way I could conceal the fact that someone had broken into the shop. Whatever else the dog might have done, he could not have opened the cans of smoked oysters.

I dusted the crumbs off my hands and returned to the office for a final look around. There was nothing in the wastebasket, nothing behind the filing cabinet. I decided I might as well go. I hated to leave the dog, but I could hardly take him to my hotel. When I bent down to pat his massive head and apologize for deserting him, I saw he had found something else to nibble. The design on the paper caught my eye, and I pulled it out of the dog’s jaws.

He had eaten one corner of the paper, but enough remained. It was a drawing – a detailed, scale drawing – of a crown. Not one of those big, fat, plushy crowns modern monarchs wear when they are opening Parliament; this was a diadem of twisted gold wire and tiny enamelled flowers. The flower petals were made of turquoise and lapis lazuli and carnelian. The colours weren’t indicated on the drawing; but I knew that crown. Talk about antique jewellery – this piece was four thousand years old. It had come from the tomb of an Egyptian princess. The Metropolitan Museum has one like it. This one had been found early in the nineteenth century, before governments established regulations about removing antiquities from the country in which they were discovered. Like the Elgin Marbles, it had been taken to England by the wealthy excavator. Unlike the Marbles, it was still in a private collection.

I put the drawing in my pocket and headed for the back door. I had to talk to the dog for quite a while before he would let me out. I had refilled his water dish, but I still felt guilty; the last thing I saw before I switched off my flashlight was his mournful look. I didn’t bother locking the door. Why should I protect the premises of a gang of crooks?

The shop was one of the hangouts of the people I was after. I was sure of that now. The drawing might not be proof for a court of law, but it was good enough for me. The detailed measurements and scale sketch were precisely what a craftsman would need in order to copy a piece, and this particular piece of jewellery was made to order for the man who had produced the copy of the Charlemagne talisman. The value of the crown lay in the design and the workmanship and the rarity. It could be duplicated at a fairly reasonable cost.

I got back to the hotel about 3 a.m. having divested myself of my coat and scarf along the way. The desk clerk smiled slyly as I went through the lobby, and I thanked God for dirty minds. It never would have occurred to that man that I was late because I had been breaking into an antique shop.

I had breakfast in bed next morning, and very good it was, too, except for the coffee. I cannot imagine why the people who invented espresso have never learned to produce decent coffee of any other variety.

It was a gorgeous morning, like practically every morning in Rome. The fountains in the Piazza d’Esedra sparkled in the sunlight. I was wearing my brightest tourist costume, all red-and-white stripes and big sunglasses. I wanted to be noticed. There was no way the shop people could know I was their nocturnal visitor. I strolled along the Via dei Coronari in a leisurely fashion, and went into a couple of the shops. It was almost noon before I reached number 37.

There were two German tourists in the shop. At least they were speaking that language, in loud, forceful voices. They had the solid look of prosperous merchants, and the woman was wearing slacks, which was a mistake on her part. I listened for a while, my back turned, pretending to examine the objects in a glass case near the door. The lady was a collector of Chinese snuff bottles, and her comments on the one that had been shown to her were not flattering. The price was too high, the carving was poor . . . The usual comments made by a buyer who hopes to knock the price down.

The proprietor responded in a voice so soft I could scarcely make out the words. It was obvious from his tone that he didn’t give a damn whether the gnddige Frau bought the bottle or not. After a while this became obvious to the Frau as well; with an irritated exclamation she stamped out of the shop, followed by her husband.

I turned and stared interestedly at a Baroque lamp, dripping with gilded bobbles and bangles. I didn’t expect the clerk to approach me; he did not impress me as a supersalesman. My assumption was correct. He sat perfectly still, behind a desk at the back, and I wended my way towards him, looking at the merchandise like any casual shopper. Then I looked at him and smiled.

‘ Buon giorno ,’ I said.

‘Good morning,’ he answered.

I waited for him to add something, like ‘May I help you?’ but he didn’t. He just sat there, leaning back in his chair and studying me with a supercilious smile.

I didn’t need the clipped, characteristic accent to tell me he was English. The tea and biscuits I had found the night before had led me to expect that the present manager of the shop was of that nation, and his appearance was unmistakable. He reminded me of Lord Peter Wimsey – not only the fair hair and the skin scarcely darkened by the Roman sun, but the air of mild contempt. You couldn’t say his nose was big, but it seemed to dominate his face, and although he was sitting down and I was standing, he gave the impression of looking down his nose at me.