Goddard made a sour face. “If you’d look around the gallery, you would see that there are a variety of objects from inexpensive to very expensive. I work hard to check out provenance but if some youngster comes in with a piece of Meissen and tells me it’s from his grandmother’s attic, I might not go through the provenance as rigorously as if he had brought me a . . . Thomas Moran or Frederic Church for instance. Now if that same youngster came in a day later and brought in a piece of Daum and a day later, brought in a piece of Hester Bateman silver, I would be suspicious. The pieces have no relevance to one another and the piecemeal sale would make me think, he’s stealing. I’ve been in this business a long time. You know what’s legitimate and what isn’t.”

“You had a gallery in New York, didn’t you?”

The dealer huffed. “I’m sure you know I did. And I’m sure you know that I didn’t have a lot of success. And that was because I was attacked by a hateful campaign started by some unscrupulous dealers. Their venal little clique isn’t open to anyone else unless you pay homage to them. I refused to play the game and they spread vicious rumors. I’ve never ever done a deal mala fide. Anything else?”

“What can you tell me about the Petroshkovich icons?”

“Good Lord, that happened years ago.”

“It did. Have you ever dealt in icons?”

“I’m not sure I like what you’re implying.”

“I’m not implying anything. Just asking a question.”

“Then I’ll ask you one. What do you have to do with the Petroshkovich case?”

Decker said. “It’s an unsolved art theft case. And like our theft, it happened in a small town. The items were stolen from a church, not from a museum: easy pickings and the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for.”

Goddard was quiet. Then he said, “Icons are a specialized item. You should talk to Jason Merritt in New York.”

“We have. He says he doesn’t know anything about the theft.”

“I’m sure he would say that.” A pause. “Did . . . Jason sic you on me?”

“Your name came up.”

Goddard’s cheeks colored. “Like grandfather like grandson.”

“What can you tell me about his grandfather?”

“Nothing. It’s all just rumors and having been the victim of flapping tongues, I should know better than to pay credence to idle talk.”

“Jason told me that his great-grandfather and his grandfather had special privileges in Russia during the Soviet regime. In the early years, they picked up a lot of religious art and icons at discounted prices because no one wanted it.”

Goddard looked upward, debating what to say. “Discounted prices may be an understatement.”

“Meaning?”