Snatched by Bill James Page A

you’re not.’
    â€˜The past is alive, though I’m sure I don’t need to say this to a museum Director.’
    â€˜Sometimes I forget. Sometimes I even try to deny it.’
    â€˜You mustn’t, George. You can’t. It’s part of us. It activates us. Eric always used to maintain that Henry Ford was misheard when he supposedly said, “History is bunk.” The actual words were, “History is spunk.”’
    That might have some bearing on Neville’s flourish in the medieval tableau. ‘So thoughtful of you to call at this tricky time, Penny.’
    â€˜What was all that about?’ Julia asked when Lady Butler-Minton had rung off. She discarded the ghastly housecoat on a chair and began to dress.
    Lepage poured the tea. ‘Just encouragement, commiserations, triumph out of setbacks,’ he said. As if accidentally, he stumbled over the telephone extension cable while replacing the phone on the dressing table and spilled most of his tea on the housecoat. ‘Oh, Lord, Julia, so sorry. And it might not come out. I’ll have to get you another.’ He poured himself some more. ‘Yes, Lady B-M was talking about opportunism.’

Eight
    Dr Kanda said: ‘Oh, not the least bearing, I sincerely assure you.’
    â€˜You’re kind,’ Lepage said.
    â€˜Not the least bearing on whether the JASS comes to your museum, pray believe me. Please do not fret yourself even in minor fashion over this, Dr Lepage. We must all expect such occasional acts of outrage,’ Dr Kanda said.
    â€˜Sure,’ Dr Itagaki added. ‘These thefts are a plague of our time, nothing more, nothing less. This is unquestionable. All, yes, all are vulnerable to them. Why, perhaps this very gang will be at its monstrous work soon in Japan itself. Who knows? I would not be surprised at all to see news of the mysterious “Fatman” and the woman with extremely strong leadership qualities like General Patton, as I believe she has been described by an onlooker. But perhaps we Japanese would say like General MacArthur, though it does not greatly matter: I would not be surprised in the least to hear of them in dire operation in my homeland. Certainly not.’
    â€˜Unfortunately, only too possible,’ Dr Kanda agreed. He and Dr Itagaki were on an official assessment visit to the Hulliborn from the Japanese Arts and Culture Council in Tokyo and London, and were seated with Lepage and Vincent Simberdy in the Director’s suite. Kanda, who looked very fit and cheery, went on: ‘Perhaps, indeed, it was this “Fatman’s” predatory outfit that got clean away – yes, clean – with the Gauguins and Rembrandts from the Tokyo Hall of Fame last year, despite unparalleled security. Unquestionably unparalleled. As a matter of fact, I think I have it at the back of my head that a Fatman was mentioned, though this might be auto-suggestion.’
    â€˜Yes, we could be said to be hot stuff on security in Japan, yet we still lose treasures. On the other hand, it is the way of the British, and such an admirable way in many respects, not to be deeply strict about security,’ Itagaki said. She was a little too bony, with large, blue-framed spectacles and, like Kanda, looked full of high spirits. Maybe culture and museums were fun things in Japan. Lepage had been there, but hadn’t noticed those qualities then. He felt rather envious of their exuberance now. She continued: ‘You are a freedom-loving people, with a great tradition of what is referred to by the British themselves, a mite self-disparagingly I deem, as “mucking through”. Some phrase that, by heaven, and not at all akin to “mucking out” or “mucking up”. Or, indeed, “mucking nuisance”, where the “mucking” is, in fact, a squeamish sonic euphemism for the expletive “fucking”. We Japanese do not always manage that quality of