Responses –
Probably someone already famous using a pseudonym. The technique is too good for an unknown.
I heard they might be in witness protection. The crime scene photos are too real.
My friend who works in galleries says they think it's someone institutionalized. Creating art in therapy.
Or just someone who values privacy? Not everyone wants to be famous.
But the mystery is part of the appeal. Makes the work more interesting.
I read through dozens of comments, theories multiplying and contradicting each other. No one is even close to the truth. Because the truth is simpler and darker than any of them imagine.
RB is a ghost, a wanted criminal who built a new identity and a solid career from the ashes of who she used to be. A woman who stands in gallery openings listening to people speculate about her identity while she remains invisible in plain sight.
I close the laptop and find Dom in the darkroom, looking at my prints from our San Diego hunts.
"They're still trying to figure out who I am. The gossip sites are crazy," I say.
"Let them be distracted. They’ll never work out the truth."
"Reddit thinks I'm famous, in witness protection, or institutionalized."
He hangs a print to dry, of an abandoned building in East County, the light coming through broken windows like a cathedral.
"The second portfolio is coming together," he says. "Another month and we'll have twenty pieces ready."
"I love you," I say.
He looks up, his eyes meeting mine in the red light. "I love you too."
"Thank you. For making this possible."
"You made it possible. I just made sure you didn't have to do it alone."
Alone. A word that is now foreign to me.
Week 1 - Roxy
Dom's in the kitchen making coffee when I wake up on Monday morning.
"Petra emailed again," he says, handing me a cup. "She wants to confirm the Berlin timeline."
"Three months."
"She's already promoting it and says the European collectors are excited."
I pull up my laptop and find the email thread. Petra Hoffman's messages are efficient, professional but relentless. She wants ten pieces for Berlin, with the option to extend to Munich and Vienna if sales are strong.
The mystery is working in your favor,she wrote last week.European collectors love the invisible artist model. Very mysterious. Very compelling.
I scroll through the art forums Dom's been monitoring. The Reddit threads about RB have multiplied since New York. Same old shit, but the witness protection theories make me a little nervous.
"They're getting closer," I say.
Dom leans over my shoulder, reading. "Closer to what? They're just guessing."
"Some of the guesses are good."
