Chapter 32

Summary

• The chapter opens in May 2002, with Breitwieser, an inmate in a Swiss jail, learning of his mother's confession to destroying his stolen paintings from a news story airing on TV.
• Journalists are fascinated by the crimes and the dynamics among Breitwieser, his mother, and his girlfriend. The mother had been vague during her interrogation, but confirms she destroyed the paintings.
• There is speculation about how the paintings were destroyed, one rumor suggesting they were put through a garbage disposal. Estimates of the total value of his stolen art range from $1 to $2 billion U.S.
• Breitwieser often underestimated the value of his loot to relieve stress, he is horrified with the idea of reimbursing the billions lost. He refuses all interview requests.
• He learns his mother has been incarcerated while his girlfriend Anne-Catherine remains free pending her trial. Upon hearing this news, he attempts suicide but is stopped by a guard and placed on suicide watch.
• He isn't allowed to contact Anne-Catherine, but starts writing her letters. However, he never receives any replies. Later, he tries to call her using a contraband phone, but she refuses to speak with him. He’s left alone and devastated as his mother is in jail and all his relatives are too frail for visits.
• Breitwieser’s father, who he hasn't seen in eight years, contacts him via a heartfelt letter and starts visiting him every other Sunday, showering him with love and support.
• His father’s visits, along with visits from his extended family and maternal grandparents, help Breitwieser settle into prison life, during which he gets a job assembling hearing aids and becomes an "in-house urinator," providing clean urine samples for inmates needing to pass drug tests.
• Preparations for his trial in Switzerland drag on. He faces charges for over sixty art thefts and even unpaid parking tickets. There’s also the possibility of facing trial in the other countries he stole from.
• Fifteen months after his arrest, he's taken to the thirteenth-century fortress that houses the Criminal Court of Gruyères for his trial. The chapter ends with the trial commencing.