The Forgotten Painting: A Historical Mystery Novella
Page 10
‘Little Sparrow in the Garden, still in pride of place, I see’, said Jack.
‘It is, but what do you think is next to it?’ asked Isis, pointing to another easel covered with a black velvet cloth.
‘No idea. Something new you’ve bought?’
‘No. I didn’t have to buy it. It was a gift.’
‘How interesting.’
‘Any ideas?’
‘No.’
‘What do you think, Lola; shall we put this poor wretch out of his misery and show him?’ asked Isis.
‘Might as well.’
Isis walked over to the easel and began to slowly lift the black cloth like a magician revealing the impossible. The only thing missing was the drumroll. As the cloth inched closer to the bottom of the frame, Isis quickly pulled it off with a flourish and stood back.
‘I don’t believe it!’ said Jack, completely taken by surprise. He walked up to the frame and looked at the familiar painting. ‘How … did … you …?
‘Fuchs left it to me.’
‘Incredible!’
‘I received a formal letter from his executors. Oh, and this is for you’, said Isis. She handed Jack a sealed envelope with ‘Jack Rogan’ written across the front in a spidery handwriting.
Jack opened the envelope, unfolded the piece of paper inside, and began to read:
Dear Jack
I enjoyed sparring with you during our recent interviews more than I like to admit. Facing the truth for someone like me is never easy, but you have always been fair and objective in your dealings with me, and for that I am grateful.
You have given me your word not to publish the story of the forged painting while I was alive, and you have honoured that pledge. By the time you receive this, you will have been released from that promise.
I have left my art collection to various galleries around the world. True works of art can never belong to just one person. We are but temporary custodians of other men’s genius, which must be shared with the world.
As for my forged ‘Little Sparrow in the Garden’, I have thought long and hard about what to do with it. I believe the right solution here is to reunite the two paintings, as both share a unique history and therefore belong together. That is why I have left my painting to Isis. I know she has great plans and will use her painting to raise money for charitable causes. If my ‘Little Sparrow in the Garden’ can in some small way contribute to this, perhaps as a curiosity, then I am content.
It has been a pleasure to get to know you, Jack. You have brought a little excitement and sunshine into an old man’s life.
Emil Fuchs
‘Come on, Jack, are you going to tell us what it says?’ asked Isis impatiently.
‘Sorry. Of course’, replied Jack, and then read the note out aloud, his voice solemn, as if he were reading out a will, which in a way of course it was. When he tried to slip the note back into the envelope, he noticed that there was something else inside. He pulled out another piece of paper, looked at it and smiled.
‘What’s that?’ asked Isis.
‘I’ll show you’, replied Jack, and held up the piece of paper. It was the receipt for the painting, reluctantly signed by Berenger Krakowski with a heavy heart in the Warsaw Ghetto on that fateful day in 1942.
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If you’ve enjoyed meeting some of the main characters in the Jack Rogan Mysteries and are not already familiar with my books, you may wish to find out more about Jack’s adventures.
To pique your interest, I have included excerpts from all three books for your enjoyment. You won’t be disappointed; promise!
Happy reading!
Gabriel Farago
MORE BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
The Empress Holds the Key
The Disappearance of Anna Popov
The Hidden Genes of Professor K
Professor K: The Final Quest
In 2013, I released my first adventure thriller–The Empress Holds the Key.
THE EMPRESS HOLDS THE KEY
A disturbing, edge-of-your-seat historical mystery thriller
Jack Rogan Mysteries Book 1
Journalist Jack Rogan knows a great story when he finds one. A charred old photograph found in the ruins of a burnt-out Blue Mountains cottage hints at dark secrets, and he unwittingly reignites an ancient and deadly quest for a holy relic mysteriously erased from the pages of history.
In pursuit of a suspected Nazi war criminal, Federal Police officer Jana Gonski joins forces with Rogan, barrister and amateur archaeologist Marcus Carrington QC, and celebrated composer Benjamin Krakowski. Together they uncover a murky web of intrigue and greed, hoards of Nazi gold, and hidden Swiss bank accounts. All of these implicate wealthy banker Sir Eric Newman. When Newman goes on trial, unexpected clues are discovered that point the way to a mystery that has haunted the Catholic Church for centuries.
On a dangerous journey to find the relic, Rogan and his companions trace links back as far as the reign of Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh of ancient Egypt, and King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. What is this dark secret guarded by the Knights Templar, and so feared by the Vatican? Will religious fanatics foil the quest, which could destroy the very foundations of their Church and challenge Christianity itself?
Download Free Chapters Here
The Empress Holds the Key is now available on Amazon at this link
Amazon US, UK, AUS, CA
Encouraged by the reception of The Empress Holds the Key, I released my next thriller–The Disappearance of Anna Popov—in 2014.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANNA POPOV
A dark, page-turning psychological thriller
Jack Rogan Mysteries Book 2
When Jack Rogan, celebrated author and journalist, stumbles on a mysterious clue pointing to the tragic disappearance of two girls from Alice Springs, he can’t resist investigating.
Rogan is joined by three friends: Rebecca Armstrong, his New York literary agent; Andrew Simpson, a retired Aboriginal police officer; and Cassandra, an enigmatic psychic, as he follows the trail of the missing girls into the remote Dreamtime wilderness of outback Australia.
Soon past the point of no return, they enter a dark web of superstition and are drawn into the upside-down-world of an outlaw bikie gang where the ruler is an evil master, outcasts are heroes, and cruelty and violence is admired and rewarded.
Cassandra, though, has a secret agenda of her own. Using her occult powers to avenge an old, deep wrong, she sets the scene for an epic showdown where the stakes are high and the loser faces death and oblivion.
Will Rogan succeed? Will a desperate mother’s prayers be answered? Will a lost daughter be found? Or will the forces of evil crush all their hopes and dreams?
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The Disappearance of Anna Popov is now available on Amazon at this link
Amazon US, UK, AUS, CA
My next book, The Hidden Genes of Professor K, was released in 2016. Here’s a short sample to pique your interest:
THE HIDDEN GENES OF PROFESSOR K
A gripping and nail-biting medical thriller
Jack Rogan Mysteries Book 3
World-renowned scientist, Professor K knows he’s close to a groundbreaking discovery. He also knows he’s dying. With his last breath he anoints Dr Alexandra Delacroix as his successor and pleads with her to carry on his work. Delacroix unwittingly enters a dangerous world of unbridled ambition and greed that threatens to destroy her. Desperate and alone, she turns to celebrated author and journalist, Jack Rogan.
Alistair Macbeth, self-made billionaire and enigmatic founder of Blackburn Pharmaceuticals, has a murky past. He knows he must secure Professor K’s discovery for his empire, or perish. Powerful and ruthless, he will stop at nothing to achieve his black and deep desires.
Meanwhile, when the parents of a famous rock star, Isis, are brutally murdered, Jack Rogan is asked to investigate.
On a perilous journey of discovery that takes them around the globe, Jack and
Lola Rodriguez—Isis’ resourceful PA—join forces with Jana Gonski, a former police officer; Dr Bettany Rosen, a tireless campaigner for the destitute and forgotten; and Tristan, a gifted boy with psychic powers. Together, they expose a complex web of fiercely guarded secrets and heinous crimes of the past that can ruin them all, and change history.
Will Rogan succeed? Will the dreams of a visionary scientist with the power to change the future of medicine fall into the wrong hands, or will his genius benefit mankind and prevent untold misery and suffering for generations to come?
Download Free Chapters Here
The Hidden Genes of Professor K is now available on Amazon at this link
Amazon US, UK, AUS, CA
The Jack Rogan Mysteries Box Set is now available on Amazon at this link
Amazon US, UK, AUS, CA
Coming soon:
PROFESSOR K: THE FINAL QUEST
An action-packed historical medical mystery
Jack Rogan Mysteries Book 4
Author’s Note
Istanbul. Sparkling gem on the Bosporus, where East and West collide and Europe meets Asia. I can think of no other metropolis where diverse cultures, religions, and thousands of years of history intersect in such a dramatic way. The name alone conjures up images of bloody conquests, fallen empires, armies marching into battle and stupendous buildings reaching to the heavens, where the muezzin’s haunting call echoes through ancient squares, calling the faithful to prayer.
Our guide—a Turkish archaeologist—had just taken us through the Topkapi Palace and the Hagia Sophia, one the most awe-inspiring edifices on the planet.
‘There’s one more thing you have to see,’ he said, pointing to a beautiful small pavilion next to the basilica. ‘It’s a turbe; a tomb. The tomb of Selim II. What I’m about to show you is a reminder of barbaric times, absolute power, and murder. Not just any murder, but the most horrific mass murder imaginable. It’s a sad part of our history that’s often overlooked and rarely talked about. Even the historians here would like to forget all about it.’
My curiosity aroused, I took off my shoes and followed the professor inside. Designed by Sinan—the famous Ottoman architect—and built in 1577, the stunning building decorated with colourful Iznik tiles and marble that reflected the bright morning sun, hides a dark secret. Expecting to find the tomb of Selim II, son of Suleiman the Magnificent and sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574, I was surprised to find many additional graves.
Silently, we followed our guide along the solemn rows of sarcophagi covered in green cloth, some of them quite small. ‘I can see you are a little confused,’ said our guide. ‘If you think this looks more like a cemetery than a tomb, you are right. It is. As you can see, Selim is not alone. There are many others buried in here with him. That may be curious enough, but who they are, and how and why many of them died, is far more intriguing and will shock you.’ Our guide paused, no doubt to let the tension grow.
‘To begin with,’ he continued, ‘we have five of Selim’s sons buried next to him over there. They were all murdered on the night he died in December 1574. Why? To ensure that his eldest son, Murad III, would succeed him peacefully and without being challenged.’
‘By silencing possible rivals?’ I asked.
‘Precisely.’
‘And who are the others?’
‘Nineteen of them are sons of Murad III, who were murdered on the night he died in January 1595. They were all strangled by deaf-mutes with a silk chord.
‘Are you suggesting that by murdering all of his half-brothers, the eldest son secured his succession and became the next sultan?’
‘Yes.’
During the stunned silence that followed, I looked along the rows of solemn graves, each a sad reminder of a life cut short by naked ambition, lust for power, and fear. Momentarily overcome by the sadness of the moment, my mind began to wander. What if one of them had somehow been spared? I asked myself. What if one of them had managed to escape, and survived? What if …?
For some reason, I couldn’t get these haunting questions out of my mind. They stayed with me and became the inspiration for this book.
Gabriel Farago
Leura, Blue Mountains, Australia
Download Free Chapters Here
Professor K: The Final Quest will be released early 2018 and will be available on Amazon and all major platforms.
Gabriel Farago
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gabriel Farago is the international, bestselling award-winning Australian author of the Jack Rogan mysteries and thrillers series for the thinking reader.
As a lawyer with a passion for history and archaeology, Gabriel Farago had to wait for many years before being able to pursue another passion—writing—in earnest. However, his love of books and storytelling started long before that.
‘I remember as a young boy reading biographies and history books with a torch under the bed covers,’ he recalls, ‘and then writing stories about archaeologists and explorers the next day, instead of doing homework. While I regularly got into trouble for this, I believe we can only do well in our endeavours if we are passionate about the things we love. For me, writing has become a passion.’
Born in Budapest, Gabriel grew up in post-war Europe and, after fleeing Hungary with his parents during the Revolution in 1956, he went to school in Austria before arriving in Australia as a teenager. This allowed him to become multi-lingual and feel ‘at home’ in different countries and diverse cultures.
Shaped by a long legal career and experiences spanning several decades and continents, his is a mature voice that speaks in many tongues. Gabriel holds degrees in literature and law, speaks several languages and takes research and authenticity very seriously. Inquisitive by nature, he studied Egyptology and learned to read the hieroglyphs. He travels extensively and visits all of the locations mentioned in his books.
‘I try to weave fact and fiction into a seamless storyline’, he explains. ‘By blurring the boundaries between the two, the reader is never quite sure where one ends, and the other begins. This is of course quite deliberate as it creates the illusion of authenticity and reality in a work that is pure fiction. A successful work of fiction is a balancing act: reality must rub shoulders with imagination in a way that is both entertaining and plausible.’
Gabriel lives just outside Sydney, Australia, in the Blue Mountains, surrounded by a World Heritage National Park. ‘The beauty and solitude of this unique environment,’ he points out, ‘gives me the inspiration and energy to weave my thoughts and ideas into stories that in turn, I sincerely hope, will entertain and inspire my readers.’
Gabriel Farago
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’d be very grateful if you’d post a short review on Amazon. Your support really does make a difference.
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Gabriel Farago
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