excerpt
There was one more item to pack in her own bag: a small painting of the Romanovs—she wasn’t sure of the age or artist but was quite sure of its high interest to a collector—and she had yet to make a new cardboard backing sheet for it. Using nail scissors she cut a piece of very modern looking waxed brown paper removed from the hotel room’s wastepaper basket lining and pasted it onto the back of the original painting, covering all traces of the previous backing sheet. She signed it with a calligraphic pen and dated it 1970, then packed it among her clothing.
She still had to ensure that the other pieces were safely scattered in other people’s luggage before they finished packing but that would have to wait until morning. It was good that she could always find help when she needed it. She was lucky that way.
Libros Libertad 