Chasing Mona Lisa (29 page)

Epilogue

Present Day at the Louvre Museum

A group of California high school students broke into spontaneous applause as their tour guide, Caroline Tanvier, finished the tale of the
Mona Lisa
’s return to her place of honor.

“So, did Eric and Gabi get married?” asked one of the teen girls.

Caroline smiled as she led her tour group out of the Salle des Etats, where the
Mona Lisa
welcomes thousands of visitors each day.

“Yes, they had the ceremony the following May at a fourteenth-century castle outside of Zurich. Very romantic.”

“Whatever happened to Reichsmarschall Göring?” asked another student.

“Even though an organization known as ODESSA smuggled Nazi war criminals to Latin America, Göring was never able to escape following the war. You see, Göring was the highest-ranking Nazi still alive after Germany’s surrender. When capture was inevitable, he made sure that he was taken prisoner by the Americans since he feared the Russians would kill him out of hand. He was tried at the Nuremburg Trials and sentenced to death by hanging. The Americans were reputed for not using enough rope at the gallows, so instead of their necks snapping after the trap door opened, several Nazi generals slowly strangled for many minutes before dying. Göring asked to be shot, but he was refused. Two hours before his execution, while on suicide watch in his cell, he bit into a cyanide capsule and died. How he was able to poison himself remains a great mystery, but he cheated the hangman’s noose.”

“What about all his art?” another student asked.

Caroline gathered herself for a moment. “In the closing months of World War II, with the Russians bearing down on Berlin, Göring knew he had to evacuate his beloved Carinhall. He ordered his art collection to be loaded onto a succession of private railway trains and delivered to Burg Veldenstein, another one of his properties deep in the Bavarian heartland. Then Göring dynamited Carinhall, and the country lodge burned to the ground.”

Gasps escaped the lips of the enthralled students who hung on her every word.

“As the Allies closed in on Burg Veldenstein, Göring’s trains reassembled and moved his art even farther from the front lines to Berchtesgaden, a small German town on the Austrian border. Göring was captured nearby, and his collection of paintings was secured and inventoried by the Allied Forces. More than 1,800 paintings were recovered, and his collection would be worth several hundred million dollars today.”

Caroline looked down at her watch. “Listen, we’re losing daylight, so we better keep moving. Next up, the Venus de Milo in the Sully Wing.”

A blonde-haired teen raised her hand. “How did you know this story?”

“Because . . .” Caroline paused. A smile tipped her lips. “Because Gabi and Eric were my grandparents.”

Looks of astonishment greeted her.

“Are your grandparents still alive?” asked another student.

“No, they are no longer with us. Eric passed away four years ago, and Gabi just last year.” Caroline paused for a moment, a bit overcome with emotion.

“Growing up, I always wondered why my grandmother liked to take us for long walks in the mountains overlooking Lucerne. Later, when she told me this story, I understood. I think those hikes were a reminder of her adventures and most important, of saving Kristina. She was most proud of that.”

“What became of Kristina?” another student asked.

“Well, she’s in her late seventies now and still lives at the Chateau de Dampierre with her son and his family. For many years, she would come to visit the
Mona Lisa
, right at closing. She was always allowed to have a private audience, just as Colette promised. I think that was her way of dealing with those awful events as a young girl.

“Kristina once described
La Joconde
’s smile as a knowing expression, like she understood her and the way she felt. In recent years, though, she wasn’t able to travel to the Louvre because of failing health, so the museum sent her the actual reproduction painted in 1932 by Gilles Simon—on loan of course—but for her to keep as long as she wished.

“I’m told the
Mona Lisa
still hangs over her bed today.”

Acknowledgments

We (Tricia and Mike) are thankful for all those who’ve supported our efforts and cheered us on while writing this book. Tricia thanks her wonderful husband, John, and her houseful: Cory, Katie, Leslie, Nathan, and Alyssa. Mike thanks his patient Swiss-born wife, Nicole, who read and reread chapters as they were written. We also appreciate our wonderful agent, Janet Grant, and our editors, Vicki Crumpton and Barb Barnes—three of the best people in the business!

This book could not have been written without Jon Shafqat, who devoted untold hours to reading chapters, offering plot ideas, and making editing suggestions along the way. Jon—a friend of Mike’s from Encinitas, California—had some amazing twists that are woven throughout the story. A doff of the chapeau, as the French say, and this is why the book is dedicated to him.

When I (Mike) was in Paris doing research, John-Paul Fortney, who conducted a World War II walking tour of Paris for Classic Walks, was a fount of information regarding the Gaullists’ takeover of the Préfecture de Police during the insurrection leading up to Libération. John-Paul, an American from St. Louis, had conducted more than two hundred World War II tours since 2008, but he patiently listened as I peppered him with questions about the Resistance and the Nazi occupation. He has since left Classic Walks to form his own tour guide company called Culinary Tours of Paris (www.culinarytoursofparis.com).

Bob Weimann, a retired United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel living in Raleigh, North Carolina, provided much of the background for tank scenes in Paris during Libération. He also advised us on the story’s military details.

Keith and Karen Cunningham of Birmingham, Alabama, were super-sleuths for pesky typos. Keith, a corrections officer, said he loves correcting manuscripts. Karen’s mother, Judy Doyle, grew up in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the 1950s. The Cunninghams hope to take their three children on a family vacation in the Swiss Alps someday.

Swiss residents Carol Bieri of Geneva and Philip Djaferis of La Conversion helped make sure the Swiss sections of
Chasing Mona Lisa
were up to Swiss precision regarding landmarks. Stephan Stücklin of Basel proved to have a real editor’s eye for French history during World War II as well as Switzerland’s role in that conflict. The Turrian family of Villars, Switzerland, as well as Nicole Yorkey, helped with the French and German dialogue.

Nate Dickinson, who owned an art gallery in Portland, Oregon, helped with the description of how the
Mona Lisa
was packed in a wooden crate. Nate grew up with Mike in La Jolla, California. Keith Proctor, a friend from Mike’s church who reads one hundred novels a year, offered some great insights. We also loved the ideas shared by Debbie Lambert of Buda, Texas, and Kari Benirschke of Del Mar, California, both early readers. Mike’s aunt, Sandy Smith of La Jolla, proofed the final galleys with eagle eyes.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge several books that were instrumental to our understanding of what Paris was like during Libération as well as the Nazis’ plundering of art.
Is Paris Burning?
, written in 1966 by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, is considered the quintessential book on the topic and was made into a popular ’60s movie with the same title.
The Rape of Europa
(1994) by Lynn H. Nicholas described how the Louvre took steps to keep their treasures out of Nazi hands during the dark days of Occupation as well as what happened to the
Mona Lisa
from 1939 to 1944. The documentary movie of the same name is also well worth viewing.

Göring: A Biography
(1989) by David Irving was a fount of information about the German Reichsmarschall.
Liberation of Paris 1944: Patton’s Race for the Seine
(2008) by Steven Zaloga described how the various Resistance organizations maneuvered for position in the weeks leading up to the liberation of Paris.

And last,
Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa
(2009) by R. A. Scotti told the fascinating story of how the
Mona Lisa
vanished from the Louvre on August 21, 1911, which shocked the world until the most familiar and lasting portrait of all time was returned to the Louvre.

So, yes, that century-old story of how authorities were chasing
Mona Lisa
was completely true.

Tricia Goyer
is the author of twenty-eight books, including CBA bestseller
Beside Still Waters
and
Remembering You
. She lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with her husband, John, and they are the parents of four children. She loves talking with World War II veterans, doing drama in children’s church, and mentoring teenage mothers. Visit Tricia’s website at
www.triciagoyer.com
.

M
ike Yorkey
is a veteran author or coauthor of more than seventy-five books, including the
Every Man’s Battle
series and
The Swiss Courier
, the prequel to
Chasing Mona Lisa.
He lives in Encinitas, California, with his wife, Nicole, and they spend part of the year in her native Switzerland. They are the parents of two adult children. Visit Mike’s website at
www.mikeyorkey.com
.

Books by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey

The Swiss Courier

Chasing Mona Lisa

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