The Van Gogh Deception

Art hands Camille a slip of paper, and the two children make a promise to each other and part ways. Instead of taking a taxi, Art walks in the freezing cold and brutal wind. He reflects on how his memory loss, what the doctors diagnosed as “dissociative memory” (259), protected him from the trauma of believing his father to be dead and fearing for his own life. He foggily remembers the night he fled inside the museum and checked in his bag. He believes he must have subconsciously sought out Gallery 83, the room filled with van Gogh’s paintings. Art continues to walk the streets of Washington, DC, and admires the landmark buildings lit brightly in the night.

As he expects, Art receives a call from Palmer on Stenhouse’s phone. Art strikes a deal with him to trade the journal for his father. He instructs Palmer to meet him at the Parthenon at midnight and then discards the phone. Having given his blue jacket to Camille, Art tries to warm himself in the sweater Mary gave him that morning. Meanwhile, Camille finds a police officer in a coffeeshop and tells him she wants to go home.