Manof Chpt 66

Chapter 66

"It is no mirage my friend. These are all paintings. There are hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. Take one; any one. Tell me what you see."

Bruce carefully unrolled the canvass. He stared at it for some time then said, "My God. This is a Vermeer."

"Yes my friend. That is a Vermeer. These are all paintings stolen from Museums during the war. Hellstrom was telling the truth when he said he was buying stolen paintings. What he didn't say is how many he bought, who sold them to him and how much he paid. All this brought up another set of questions. Where could a man like Karl Hellstrom get the money to pay for all this and how did he get them out of France?"

They examined a number of Rubens figurers and many Dutch masters. There were paintings that Bruce could identify and others he could not. But he realized immediately that Hellstrom had collected enough to over-fill a museum, perhaps more. There were Cezannes, Courbets, Manets, Legers and many older paintings.
There were paintings that could bring fortunes to the owners. They went back outside. Drollet and Bruce went into Amboise by car. They walked down the main street next to the Castle. There, they found a small café and they sat outside under an umbrella and talked.

Bruce Almost Swooning

Bruce was almost swooning from what he saw. "What a collection. I've never seen so many paintings at one time, and to think they were all stolen."

"There are more in different locations. It took years just to transfer them here," Drollet explained.
To think that nobody knew what was happening, or at least told anyone else. We knew about Karl Hellstrom for some time. He told everyone he was Finnish but he was actually a Swede, working in Finland. He started as a food importer and during the war he even supplied the German army with many of their needs.

He was paid in gold which the Germans had stolen from banks and wealthy families. He supplied many of the things German officers would want but couldn't readily find, like liquor, women and so on. Then after he was already rich, he fell on a plan where the Germans were moving truckloads of art to a secret hiding place in France, near the German border in Alsace. There was furniture, sculpture jewelry and, of course, art taken by truckload from museums.

He befriended the officers who knew of the underground warehouse in France and helped them move the booty to this 'safe' location. Later, when the officers wanted to flee and Germany was about to fall, Karl Hellstrom traded their freedom for an unbelievable cache of works of art. He was a billionaire when the war ended, providing he could turn his newly acquired collection to cash. Since the collection was already in France and those who were responsible for placing it there were dead or in somewhere like Argentina, without hope of getting back to Europe, Hellstrom was home free. He moved it to Amboise."

Bruce Shakes His Head Over and Over

He paused while Bruce shook his head over and over. "I knew there were investigations going on all over the world about stolen or missing art. I know also that art was kept safe in America during the war. But this. When you stand in front of a collection this big whether stolen or not, your mind boggles."

"Yes, we have special investigators looking for 'missing art. About two years ago, something happened that put us on to Hellstrom and his scheme to live off these works of art forever. He was seen driving a foreign car that was unique. It was a huge Packard Clipper from the thirties. The man who saw it claimed that he had once owned the car but it was stolen.

The man couldn't prove ownership but by then we had opened a file on Karl Hellstrom and began our investigation. We knew of his background but could never put a finger on what he did exactly. He was a popular man in the community where he gave unstintingly of his time. His relationship with Emile Picard, obviously had to do with the paintings that Hellstrom was selling. Emile Picard was also known to us. He was a dabbler in stolen art and the collection that he was accumulating had come mostly from Hellstrom.

He also defended Carlos Reyes a few years ago in a case involving stolen furniture. Some of that furniture came from Hellstrom's contacts. They became friends of sorts and when Picard, already involved in purchasing art for himself, rationalized that if Hellstrom could sell good art to people who were eager to make a profit or enjoy these forbidden fruits, and if he knew so much about da Vinci, they should be on the team.

Biot Authenticates the Work

Biot was there strictly to authenticate the work. It was easy for Picard to add Biot to his co-conspirators as he knew of Biot's work with the Germans during the war."

Bruce tried to compute all the information. "What about Marina Alvarez. Did she have a part in this too?"

"No. On the contrary. She was blowing down Picard's house of cards by giving you a clue about Hellstrom so he, Picard, Reyes and the others would not be successful. She probably knew about the da Vinci but only as hearsay. She and Carlo Diaz were not directly involved. She is a very shrewd lady.
Anyone who tries to work around her gets cut down. If she was completely honest, she'd make a good executive or politician, if that's possible."

"So what happens now?'

"Well," Drollet explained. Biot has made a deal with the authorities. He was blackmailed, so to speak. The authorities are not interested in him. Besides, they knew about his workings with the Vichy Government all along. The French Government has files on all of the so
called collaborators. Their crimes will come back to haunt them in time."

"And the others?'

"The trials are not over. Picard will lose his license to practice law if found guilty of a felony. Carlos and his son are in jail and will be there for a long time. As for me, I will go back to my normal activities. Raymond Biot is in a home and will require twenty-four hour care. He sold his business and will live quietly and alone for whatever time he has left."

Bruce Feels Sorry for Comtesse Marie-Claude

Bruce shook his head. "I feel sorry for Comtesse Marie-Claude and the Comte. Once we got back the da Vinci, we hired experts to examine it. We still don't know if it really was done by Leonardo."

"But, said Drollet,"even if it wasn't done by him, it should have a certain value, especially since it is old."

"Yes," Bruce replied but proving its age may not be easy if it wasn't da Vinci's. We'll know soon enough. I'm returning to Lascaux again. The experts there might be able to tell us."

(Click here for Chapter 67)


	Chapter 66 "It is no mirage my friend. These are all paintings. There are hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. Take one; any one. Tell me what you see." Bruce carefully unrolled the canvass. He stared at it for some time then said, "My God. This is a Vermeer." "Yes my friend. That is a Vermeer. These are all paintings stolen from Museums during the war. Hellstrom was telling the truth when he said he was buying stolen paintings. What he didn't say is how many he bought, who sold them to him and how much he paid. All this brought up another set of questions. Where could a man like Karl Hellstrom get the money to pay for all this and how did he get them out of France?" They examined a number of Rubens figurers and many Dutch masters. There were paintings that Bruce could identify and others he could not. But he realized immediately that Hellstrom had collected enough to over-fill a museum, perhaps more. There were Cezannes, Courbets, Manets, Legers and many older paintings. There were paintings that could bring fortunes to the owners. They went back outside. Drollet and Bruce went into Amboise by car. They walked down the main street next to the Castle. There, they found a small café and they sat outside under an umbrella and talked. Bruce Almost Swooning Bruce was almost swooning from what he saw. "What a collection. I've never seen so many paintings at one time, and to think they were all stolen." "There are more in different locations. It took years just to transfer them here," Drollet explained. To think that nobody knew what was happening, or at least told anyone else. We knew about Karl Hellstrom for some time. He told everyone he was Finnish but he was actually a Swede, working in Finland. He started as a food importer and during the war he even supplied the German army with many of their needs. He was paid in gold which the Germans had stolen from banks and wealthy families. He supplied many of the things German officers would want but couldn't readily find, like liquor, women and so on. Then after he was already rich, he fell on a plan where the Germans were moving truckloads of art to a secret hiding place in France, near the German border in Alsace. There was furniture, sculpture jewelry and, of course, art taken by truckload from museums. He befriended the officers who knew of the underground warehouse in France and helped them move the booty to this 'safe' location. Later, when the officers wanted to flee and Germany was about to fall, Karl Hellstrom traded their freedom for an unbelievable cache of works of art. He was a billionaire when the war ended, providing he could turn his newly acquired collection to cash. Since the collection was already in France and those who were responsible for placing it there were dead or in somewhere like Argentina, without hope of getting back to Europe, Hellstrom was home free. He moved it to Amboise." Bruce Shakes His Head Over and Over He paused while Bruce shook his head over and over. "I knew there were investigations going on all over the world about stolen or missing art. I know also that art was kept safe in America during the war. But this. When you stand in front of a collection this big whether stolen or not, your mind boggles." "Yes, we have special investigators looking for 'missing art. About two years ago, something happened that put us on to Hellstrom and his scheme to live off these works of art forever. He was seen driving a foreign car that was unique. It was a huge Packard Clipper from the thirties. The man who saw it claimed that he had once owned the car but it was stolen. The man couldn't prove ownership but by then we had opened a file on Karl Hellstrom and began our investigation. We knew of his background but could never put a finger on what he did exactly. He was a popular man in the community where he gave unstintingly of his time. His relationship with Emile Picard, obviously had to do with the paintings that Hellstrom was selling. Emile Picard was also known to us. He was a dabbler in stolen art and the collection that he was accumulating had come mostly from Hellstrom. He also defended Carlos Reyes a few years ago in a case involving stolen furniture. Some of that furniture came from Hellstrom's contacts. They became friends of sorts and when Picard, already involved in purchasing art for himself, rationalized that if Hellstrom could sell good art to people who were eager to make a profit or enjoy these forbidden fruits, and if he knew so much about da Vinci, they should be on the team. Biot Authenticates the Work Biot was there strictly to authenticate the work. It was easy for Picard to add Biot to his co-conspirators as he knew of Biot's work with the Germans during the war." Bruce tried to compute all the information. "What about Marina Alvarez. Did she have a part in this too?" "No. On the contrary. She was blowing down Picard's house of cards by giving you a clue about Hellstrom so he, Picard, Reyes and the others would not be successful. She probably knew about the da Vinci but only as hearsay. She and Carlo Diaz were not directly involved. She is a very shrewd lady. Anyone who tries to work around her gets cut down. If she was completely honest, she'd make a good executive or politician, if that's possible." "So what happens now?' "Well," Drollet explained. Biot has made a deal with the authorities. He was blackmailed, so to speak. The authorities are not interested in him. Besides, they knew about his workings with the Vichy Government all along. The French Government has files on all of the so called collaborators. Their crimes will come back to haunt them in time." "And the others?' "The trials are not over. Picard will lose his license to practice law if found guilty of a felony. Carlos and his son are in jail and will be there for a long time. As for me, I will go back to my normal activities. Raymond Biot is in a home and will require twenty-four hour care. He sold his business and will live quietly and alone for whatever time he has left." Bruce Feels Sorry for Comtesse Marie-Claude Bruce shook his head. "I feel sorry for Comtesse Marie-Claude and the Comte. Once we got back the da Vinci, we hired experts to examine it. We still don't know if it really was done by Leonardo." "But, said Drollet,"even if it wasn't done by him, it should have a certain value, especially since it is old." "Yes," Bruce replied but proving its age may not be easy if it wasn't da Vinci's. We'll know soon enough. I'm returning to Lascaux again. The experts there might be able to tell us." (Click here for Chapter 67)