Page 107 of Kate and Clara's Curious Cornish Craft Shop
‘Sorry I couldn’t be of more help with the paintings though,’ George says. He looks down at Maggie again. ‘I sees you coming and going a lot into Wilfred’s. I know he always appreciated your visits.’
Maggie looks like she might cry at any moment.
‘Why they disappeared is anyone’s guess …’ George adds, shaking his head. ‘Must have been taken at night though, as someone would have seen them in the day. It’s a mystery, it is.’
‘A mystery that I’m going to solve,’ Arty says with determination. ‘An artist as good as Freddie, no, Wilfred—What was his surname?’
‘Jones,’ George says. ‘Wilfred Jones, his full name was.’
‘… as good as Wilfred Jones is not going to be forgotten. I’m going to make sure of it.’
The pictures swirl together and begin to fade.
‘Oh no, another sad one,’ I say, turning to Jack. ‘I wonder what happened to the paintings?’
‘Stolen, obviously,’ Jack answers, still staring at the easel.
‘Who would want to steal some old man’s paintings though? Everyone described them as childlike – they can’t have been all that good …’ My voice fades out as I stare at the pictures in front of us.
‘What’s wrong?’ Jack asks. ‘You’ve gone a bit pale all of a sudden.’
‘Childlike,’ I repeat. ‘Everyone described them as childlike.’
‘And so?’
‘The last time I saw paintings like that was at the Lyle Gallery – at the Winston James exhibition. The art world uses the terms like “naive” and “innocent” to describe that sort of painting. But there’s something more to it apparently that not everyone, including myself, always gets.’
‘I’m really not following you, Kate.’
I stare at Jack. ‘It couldn’t be, could it?’
‘Couldn’t be what?’ Jack asks, looking bewildered. ‘Whatareyou talking about?’
‘Wilfred Jones. Winston James,’ I say. ‘Same initials too.’
Jack stares at me again, about to say something, but then suddenly he understands. ‘Wait a minute, are you saying you think that this Winston James stole Freddie’s paintings?’
‘I can’t be sure, but Julian said his father bought Freddie’s cottage around that time. It’s a huge coincidence, don’t you think?’
‘But why would he do that? Wasn’t he an artist in his own right? Why steal someone else’s paintings?’
‘I don’t know.’ My forehead wrinkles as I try to recall the conversations I’d had with Julian about his father. ‘I’m not sure he was all that successful back then. Perhaps he saw Freddie’s paintings and thought he could make some money with them. Arty seemed to think they were pretty good.’
‘If he wasn’t successful, how could he possibly afford to buy the cottage?’
‘Oh, I don’t know!’ I snap in frustration. ‘But,’ I continue, sounding as determined as Arty had just now, ‘I’m damn well going to find out. This might be it,’ I say to an astonished-looking Jack. ‘The reason we’ve been seeing all this. This could be the reason the St Felix magic has chosen us to help.’
Thirty-two
‘I’m so glad you called, Kate,’ Julian says, when I meet him for coffee in one of the many cafés in St Felix a couple of days later. ‘I desperately want to apologise for the other night. I’m truly sorry for what happened.’
‘It’s fine, Julian. Water under the bridge and all that. And actually you did me a favour,’ I say, trying to remain calm and composed. I had to find out more about Julian’s father and his possible connection to the missing paintings.
Jack and I had visited the Winston James exhibition at the Lyle Gallery the previous day, and we’d looked carefully at each and every painting in great detail. They were all in the same simplistic style with the same harsh lines and bold brush strokes, and they all had the initialsWJetched into the bottom right-hand corner. What I hadn’t noticed previously though was that some of the images had been created on pieces of wood and metal as well as on artist’s canvases, just like Freddie’s had been.
‘WJ,’ I’d whispered to Jack as we’d examined the pictures. ‘Everyone assumes it’s Winston James’ initials, but what if they stand for Wilfred Jones instead?’
‘It doesn’t prove anything though,’ Jack had whispered back. ‘Lots of people have the same initials.’
