Page 23 of Love Is an Art
“Did you ever talk to the Brazilian guy?”
“Yes. That night in my apartment. He spoke Brazilian Portuguese and some English.” She stares at us. “You don’t think…? No. Jurgen couldn’t have been in on the scam. You don’t understand. He was really upset. He offered to pay for half of the shipping. I don’t—” She stops and her face falls. “Maybe he was. Maybe that was the start of it all. I’m such an idiot.”
She puts her empty mug down on the table.
“I read aNew York Timesarticle recently about fraudsters taking advantage of artists and contacting them via social media with this exact scam,” Miranda says.
“But we don’t know if Jurgen is involved in this,” I say. “This is all conjecture until we have evidence. We need to do our own investigation and figure out Jurgen’s role.”
“But if he was involved, then he possesses her painting. Plus, he made one thousand dollars,” Miranda says. “And now that painting could be worth something. You recently signed with a dealer, right?”
“Yes,” Yvette says. “Once I stopped relying on Jurgen to find me a dealer and said we were done, I started hustling on my own to get my work in shows, and I found one. The painting for that Brazilian guy was actually pretty good. It could eventually be worth several thousand.”
Some more customers come in from outside. The three new people sit at the table next to us.
“Do you have a copy of the check in your bank statements?” Iris asks.
“I closed that account, but I can try to get that.”
“If he’s doing fake-check scams, that has some serious penalties,” I say. “If we can prove it, Officer Johnson will definitely be interested. And various other agencies. What do you think made him interested in you?”
“I was so enthusiastic and believed everything he told me. I’d just nod. You know. Even when he’s blowing his own horn and sounding like a pompous ass and treating me like I’d never done a degree in art, I’d look at him like he was my hero. He laps that up.”
She does have a bit of spunk, then.
“Thank you again for taking your time to help me get justice,” Yvette says. “I wanted to drop it. I’m afraid this will ruin my reputation in the art world. I’ll be looked at as an idiot.”
“I doubt it,” I say. “I think most creatives are aware that they’re swimming in shark-infested waters.”
“I’m sure most artists have been scammed at one point or another and in a much less personal context,” Miranda says. “And anyway, you should use the feelings you have and put them into your art. That’s what I do.”
That’s one of the things I most admire about Miranda. She takes her most vulnerable moments and makes them public. I shiver. It’s so bold.
“I know. I followed your advice, Miranda, and look.” Yvette holds up her phone to show us a photo. “My dealer says it’s my best painting yet. If I didn’t dislike Jurgen so much, I’d dedicate it to him. But he’d definitely take that only in a positive way.”
“At that opening, he definitely gave off the vibe that he thought he was great,” I say.
Yvette nods. “And I don’t want other women to get scammed like I did.”
“We’ll catch him,” Lily says. “We weren’t sure we’d be able to save the local community garden, but we did.” She and Miranda clink cups.
“I hope so. Paying Jurgen three thousand dollars for that crap framing job made me so upset. I’m working so hard to make money so I can paint. I waitress. I tutor. I don’t want to bore you with the odd jobs I’ve done. Three thousand is a lot for me. That’s why I told him we were done.”
“Did he acknowledge that the framing was terrible?” Lily asks.
“No. He said it was fine. And it was my choice to have the paintings re-framed.” She takes a deep breath. “When I paid the thousand dollars for shipping and lost that painting that I spent months working on … I almost gave up then. I didn’t tell Jurgen. I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t have the stamina for an art career. But it was soul-destroying. If he was involved in that and the check scam, he’s …” She shakes her head. “He knew how hard I worked. He often called to remind me to eat.” Yvette looks like she is going to cry and excuses herself to go to the bathroom.
This is why doing pro bono legal work is important to me. What’s at stake is not usually just money. It’s a person’s life and ability to pursue their dreams.
“Do you think he might be involved in the check scams too?” Miranda asks.
“That’s a lot of coincidences if he’s not,” Iris says.
“I’ll approach him at the Dumbo Arts Center,” I say. “Let’s hope he tries this same foreign collector scam on me. But should I cancel my date with Zeke that night?” I catch everyone up on the Zeke situation.
“You should go on the Zeke date,” Iris says. “But isn’t it weird that he suggested the Dumbo Arts Center, and that’s where Jurgen is going to be?”
“He’s a banker. How could he be involved in the scam?” I ask.
