“And so it may be,” said Joanna. “But now, let us turn to more joyful news. It appears that King Edward himself is mesmerized by the da Vinci portrait of the original Mona Lisa and has directed his treasury to issue a check for two hundred and fifty pounds as a reward to us for this most welcome discovery. But I instructed Lady Katherine to intercede on our behalf and see to it that the check is sent to James Blackstone’s widow, for it was he who found the masterpiece and was instrumental in its return to the Crown.”
“Well done, Joanna,” I approved.
“You might also be interested to learn that Lestrade granted Giuseppe Delvecchio permission to return to Italy, for his testimony will not be required at the trial of Simon Hawke,” Joanna reported. “Apparently, Delvecchio is being recognized throughout the art world as the restorer who uncovered the original Mona Lisa and has been offered a coveted position at the Uffizi in Florence.”
“Well deserved,” said my father.
“And now the very best present we could ever ask for,” Joanna went on. “The Cromwell lad has regained consciousness and he is conversing with his overjoyed parents at this very moment. And when told of the reason for the home invasion, he immediately asked that he be allowed to see the da Vinci.”
“I assume it can be arranged,” said my father.
“It will be indeed,” Joanna assured. “It is being seen to by the Countess of Wessex who we have learned never accepts the word no for an answer. Once the lad is up and about, he will be given a private showing.”
“I should like so much to see it as well, Mother,” Johnny requested earnestly.
“So you shall,” Joanna promised. “And perhaps at the same time the da Vinci is shown to the Cromwells.”
“The name da Vinci rings such a magical bell, does it not?” my father mused aloud.
“Indeed it does, Dr. Watson, for he was a true genius,” Johnny said and reached for the volume of renowned Italian Renaissance painters, in which he had marked off a page. “Leonardo was not only a great artist, he was a scientist, anatomist, engineer, architect, and inventor. He was such a remarkably multitalented man that it makes one wonder why God did not create more like him.”
“That is a question we should leave up to Watson, for wisdom is his forte, not mine,” said Joanna.
Johnny turned to my father and asked, “Why did God not give us more Leonardo da Vincis, Dr. Watson?”
With a gentle smile, my father replied, “Because they were so difficult to make, I suspect.”
“Hear! Hear!” we all shouted, and raised our glasses to toast the wisest of statements and the merriest of seasons.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Peter Wolverton, for being an editor par excellence, and to Scott Mendel, for being such an extraordinary agent. And a tip of the hat to Danielle Prielipp and Hector DeJean, my superb publicists, and to David Rotstein, for his wonderful cover designs.
ALSO BY LEONARD GOLDBERG
Transplant
Deadly Medicine
A Deadly Practice
Deadly Care
Deadly Harvest
Deadly Exposure
Lethal Measures
Fatal Care
Brainwaves
Fever Cell
The Cure
Patient One
Plague Ship
The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes
A Study in Treason
The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LEONARD GOLDBERG is the USA Today bestselling author of the Joanna Blalock medical thrillers. His novels have been translated into a dozen languages and were selections of the Book of the Month Club, French and Czech book clubs, and The Mystery Guild. They were featured as People’s “Page-Turner of the Week” and at the International Book Fair. After a long career affiliated with the UCLA Medical Center as a clinical professor of Medicine, he now lives on an island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
1. The Vandal
2. Hawke and Evans
3. Felix Dubose
4. Johnny
5. Albert Dubose
6. The Art Historian
7. Cholera
8. The Countess
9. Strange Symptoms
10. The Rumor
11. The Lockpicks
12. Delvecchio
13. Scotland Yard
14. Wormwood Scrubs
15. Two Vandals
16. The Exhumation
17. The Stewart Gallery
18. The Hiding Place
19. Dubious Identification
20. An Unexpected Visitor
21. A Near Miss
22. The Wife
23. An Unseemly Source
24. A Violent Break-In
25. Setting a Trap
26. The National Gallery
27. The Masterpiece
28. All the Evidence
Closure
Acknowledgments
Also by Leonard Goldberg
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE ART OF DECEPTION. Copyright © 2020 by Leonard Goldberg. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover illustration by Liam Peters
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Goldberg, Leonard S., author.
Title: The art of deception: a daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery / Leonard Goldberg.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2020. | Series: The daughter of Sherlock Holmes mysteries; 4
Identifiers: LCCN 2020001300 | ISBN 9781250224200 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250224217 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3557.O35775 A78 2020 | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020001300
eISBN 9781250224217
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2020
