The Theft

Zestiger Hubert Verhoeven, a man without family, goes in search of his roots. His search leads him to Isabelle Trio, the archivist of Wetteren. Through her, Hubert discovers a link to his grandfather Emiel, who was a sexton in the Gertrudis church at the time and kept a diary. This book sheds new light on the Theft and reveals clues about the events surrounding the theft. Hubert begins his search for the missing panel. At the moment when all the puzzle pieces seem to fall into place, Hubert’s quest is abruptly interrupted by a tragic event. With this, the chance to find the panel again seems gone forever. But that is without archivist Isabelle. She has followed Hubert’s search closely and harbors a deep fascination for the Theft herself. By studying archives, she knows how to bring the events together again and make a reconstruction of what really happened to grandfather Emiel and the stolen panel. The fictional story fits perfectly into the timeline of what is known about the theft and immediately provides an explanation for why Arsène Goedertier waited almost three weeks after the theft to send his first extortion letter to the Bisdom Gent. B - 2025 - Raf De Graeve