“Legal counsel,” Lloyd said.
“Why do they need a legal counsel?” Quirk said.
Lloyd smiled and clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his swivel chair.
“Everyone needs a legal counsel, Captain,” he said.
Quirk nodded.
“Everybody I meet,” Quirk said. “How did you get to be legal counsel to the Herzberg Foundation?”
“It’s a tad circuitous,” Lloyd said. “I am on the board at the Hammond Museum. Through that position, I came to know Ashton Prince. And it was through Ashton that I met Ariel Herzberg.”
“What did you counsel him about,” Quirk said.
“The mission of the Herzberg Foundation,” Lloyd said, “is to locate objets d’art confiscated by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and to restore them to their rightful owners. As you might imagine, the question of rightful ownership, after all this time, is complex. I was asked to research the legality of possession and advise them of their rights in this matter.”
“What if they can’t find the rightful owner?” Quirk said.
“I believe in that case, once all possibilities are exhausted, they donate it to a museum or another appropriate entity.”
“You on retainer?” Quirk said.
“No, this was pro bono,” Lloyd said.
“Why?”
“Why pro bono?”
Quirk nodded.
“You’re not known for it,” he said.
“I’m Jewish,” Lloyd said.
“I could tell by the name,” Quirk said.
Lloyd smiled.
“My grandfather’s name was Loydjeviche,” Lloyd said. “When he got to Ellis Island, the immigration officers Americanized it.”
“And you worked pro bono because you believed in the cause?” Quirk said.
“You’re Irish,” Lloyd said.
Quirk nodded.
“My grandfather’s name was Quirk,” he said.
“You cannot, probably, know what the Holocaust means to a person of Jewish heritage.”
“I can learn,” Quirk said.
It was always a pleasure to watch Quirk do an interview. He was pleasant, calm, implacable, and patient. One had the feeling he’d be perfectly happy to sit there and ask you questions until Flag Day. He showed emotion only when it served his interest to show it. And when he did, its contrast to the patience-of-Job posture was very effective. He was one of the two best I knew. If it weren’t that I had the edge in charm and physical beauty, he’d have been as good as I was.
“My grandfather was lucky. He got out with his family,” Lloyd said. “And I am here. And I am lucky. I feel that way quite keenly,” he said. “Every day.”
“You religious?” Quirk said.
“No,” Lloyd said. “But I’m Jewish.”
Quirk was silent for a moment.
Then he said, “Were you able to help them?”
“I amassed a considerable precedent file, and I was prepared to litigate for them if it came to that.”
“How many art pieces have they rescued,” Quirk said.
Lloyd sat still for a moment.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “
“Do you know where that is?” Quirk said.
“If it is not blown up, no,” Lloyd said.
“Have they always been here?” Quirk said.
“No,” Lloyd said. “When Ashton introduced me, he told me they’d just moved here from New Jersey and rented the place in Brighton.”
“He say why they moved?”
“No, but I always assumed it was about
