Masterpiece

Marvin realizes he’s hearing Denny’s voice. At first, he is relieved, thinking Denny will surely recognize the art as the original and return Fortitude to the museum. Marvin crawls out from under the satchel to see Denny removing the matting from the drawing. They are in the small lobby of an empty building with doors on either side leading to the street. Denny hands the matting to the man with the accent and tells him to leave it on the floor of his cab to keep the FBI busy. Denny also gives the man a thick envelope.

Thinking quickly, Marvin crawls away from the satchel and climbs up Denny’s trousers, holding tightly to one of Denny’s belt loops. The other man shoves the matting back into the satchel and exits the building. Denny packs Fortitude into a folder and slides the folder into a briefcase. Marvin begins to wonder if they are actually going to return to the museum.

Denny stands and his jacket falls over Marvin, obscuring his view. Marvin feels the air change as they walk outside again. Denny doesn’t walk very far before he’s in an elevator. Marvin hears the elevator doors open and listens as Denny unlocks another door with his keys. When Denny removes his coat, Marvin can see they’re in a small, dimly lit room that looks like a study. Denny pulls out the drawing and places it on a dark wooden table.

Marvin looks around the table and sees all four of Dürer’s Virtues.

At first, Marvin is confused. He wants desperately to take in the drawings, but holds tight to Denny’s belt loop, knowing he can’t risk being seen. With the tracking device far away by now, Marvin concludes that Denny and Christina must have arranged the theft and intentionally stolen the real Dürer. Marvin wonders why they’d do it.

Denny leans over the table to admire the drawings, allowing Marvin an opportunity to do the same. Marvin studies each one thoughtfully, paying attention to the lines and emotions of the subject. He marvels at the precision and skill of the works. Denny sighs, and Marvin realizes that they’ve both been in a trance of admiration.

When Denny straightens up, Marvin drops from his belt loop onto the table below and hides amidst the grooves that line the edges. Denny makes a phone call to someone named Liesl. Denny tells Liesl that he has a ticket to fly into Frankfurt and asks Liesl to arrange his transportation. Marvin realizes Denny and Christina are planning to leave the country with the Virtues. Denny finishes his phone call and pours a drink, toasting to virtue and to Albrecht Dürer.

Denny finishes his drink. He covers the drawings in several layers of protective paper, then exits the room. Marvin crawls across the paper, appreciating how close he is to the works. He wonders why Denny and Christina would steal them, noting that they don’t seem like thieves. Then, he recalls something Denny said about art thieves: some do it for the love of art.

Marvin begins to plan his next move. He looks out the window and notes that the neighborhood looks like James’s and could possibly be the same area. However, even a few blocks’ trip would take a beetle months to traverse. Marvin spots some letters and a newspaper on the desk. He recalls learning about the human mail system several weeks prior when one of his cousins accidentally got caught in Mrs. Pompaday’s real estate paperwork and was sealed in an envelope.

Marvin finds an address label on the upper corner of the newspaper. He cannot read it, but he is sure it lists Denny’s location. He carefully peels the label and rolls it neatly, securing it to his body with one of Denny’s hairs. Denny reenters the study, on the phone with Christina. He feigns disbelief about the mix-up between the real Fortitude and Marvin’s artwork. Denny tries to comfort Christina, reminding her how careful they were when they switched the drawings. Marvin realizes that Christina was never in on the theft. Denny tells Christina that he’s on his way and learns that James is also at the museum. Seeing his chance, Marvin dives for Denny’s coat and manages to grab it at the last moment.

Denny carefully packs up the Virtues before leaving for the museum.

Denny walks to the museum, which is several blocks away. In Christina’s office, James, Karl, and Christina wait. Christina is distressed and has been crying. Denny consoles her. Christina sobs that her career is over, but Denny tries to assure her that it was just a mistake and that both of their careers are on the line.

Marvin carefully climbs down Denny’s clothes to the floor and waddles to James with the address label secured to him. Christina explains that she had a bad feeling as soon as the FBI informed her that they’d retrieved the tracking device from the back of a taxi. She came to check on the original drawing and that’s when she noticed she had the wrong one. Denny continues to console her, which makes Marvin angry. Christina says looking at the forged one is unbearable, which hurts Marvin, hearing how his drawing has caused pain. Marvin tries to figure out how to get James’s attention. He remembers his stashed-away thumbtack and retrieves it, struggling to carry it with the label tied to him. He pokes James’s ankle twice, and James cries out in pain. James spots Marvin and allows him to climb up his sleeve, deflecting inquiries from Karl.

Christina laments that she doesn’t even care about her job; she’s just upset that Fortitude is gone because of her. Denny and Christina agree that they need to start notifying people about the theft and mix-up. James tells them he needs to go to the bathroom and leaves Christina’s office. In the hall, James greets Marvin, explaining how worried he was and asking questions that Marvin can’t answer. Marvin directs James’s attention to the address label. James carefully detaches it from Marvin and unrolls it.

Marvin shows that James has the right idea by running to the tips of James’s fingers when he’s close to correct and running back up his hand to his arm when he’s incorrect. James takes a few guesses but eventually realizes that this address could lead to Fortitude. James wonders if they should call the police or tell Christina and Denny, but Marvin communicates not to do so. James decides to walk to the address himself, hoping to be quick so his dad won’t notice that he’s gone.