The 2019 Cameo Theft was the covert recovery of the genuine Castor cameo for Charles de Castelmont, who had coveted it for more than twenty years. John Robbart entered the building where it was kept, disabled its alarm, and exchanged it for a counterfeit; the theft ended with Charles confirming that the stone delivered to him was authentic and preparing to reunite it with its twin.

A Plan Delayed

The operation stalled when Jeff discovered that the cameo was no longer in Miami, where he had known it to be displayed. He worried that the head of the sect might have learned of the plan, and considered whether the stone had been moved to a related satanic lodge in Washington. These were suspicions, not confirmed explanations; before proceeding, the team had to establish that the jewel was actually in the capital and thoroughly reconnoiter the location.

The delay lasted months and then years. Washington made the search more difficult: Charles, a businessman facing accumulating complaints and accusations in court, had to act cautiously there. The theft was therefore not a simple break-in but the final step of a prolonged, uncertain pursuit, its target’s whereabouts still an obstacle to the plan.

The Exchange

On an April night in 2019, Jeff and Maggie kept watch nearby while John Robbart used concealed electronic listening devices to check that the building was empty. Once satisfied that no one was inside, he disabled the alarm system and entered. He took the genuine cameo and left in its place the counterfeit supplied by Charles, making the substitution the essential safeguard of the theft.

The operation changed the stone’s status from a missing, difficult-to-locate object into a recovered treasure in Charles’s possession. When Jeff told him that the jewel had been secured, and Charles later received it at the Hôtel Ritz Paris, he could verify that it was the authentic Castor he had pursued for more than two decades. The confirmation marked one of the great moments of his life.

Reunion and Public Display

Charles resolved to celebrate the reunion of the twin cameos with a party at Château de Barzac. Held on the following July 7, a Sunday that was also his fifty-ninth birthday, the gathering turned the secret operation into a carefully staged public occasion. Charles had selected his guests with conspicuous care; in bright sunshine, tables stood outside while servers dressed in elaborate eighteenth-century-style clothing, complete with tricorne hats and wigs, carried trays among them.

Jeff attended with Maggie, dressed in chic casual clothes, but seemed darker and less talkative than usual. Charles introduced him to business and political figures he hoped to impress. Jeff also spoke privately with Mirbeau, then left early to catch a flight to New York the next morning. The party presented the recovered cameo as the centrepiece of a successful reunion, while Jeff’s subdued presence and departure left the celebration shadowed by the unresolved consequences of the operation.