The Violin Conspiracy

The next day, Ray rehearses with his accompanist, Mariamna. Like Grace, she is cold and disapproving. Ray struggles during his practice, finding his current violin unsatisfying. He begins to feel more and more discouraged, and his attention is stretched between the competition and his crowdfunding. Nicole brings him some food and encourages him, but Ray only becomes more depressed. By the time he comes to his final pre-show rehearsal, he’s convinced that competing was a mistake. Once he’s in front of an audience, however, he feels rejuvenated and optimistic. He becomes connected with the audience and is restored by their energy. Mariamna smiles at him as he finishes his set. In between performing, Ray continues his crowdfunding. He meets a younger musician, a cellist named Josh, who talks about his background as a child pursuing professional music. Throughout the speeches and festivities, Ray is aware of Mikhail nearby. After Mikhail performs, Ray approaches him and compliments his playing. Mikhail is initially aggressive and distrustful, but then Ray explains about the Serbian violin. He asks for Mikhail’s help in asking any friends or family who might have insight. Mikhail becomes less defensive and agrees to inquire. When the next round is announced, he and Mikhail have both qualified. The audience cheers for Ray loudest of all.

Alicia tells Ray that she’s confirmed a violin is for sale in Serbia. Ray tries to find Mikhail and asks for news, but the other violinist is absent. As he rehearses, Mariamna becomes less distant. His performance is positive and fulfilling, and he gives all of himself into playing songs by Mozart, Saraste, Kreisler, and Tchaikovsky. He and Mikhail sit next to each other as the final round is announced; both have qualified, and they shake hands.

As a finalist, Ray receives heightened media attention, which he plans to use for his crowdfunding. However, he receives a text from Alicia saying that she’s in Serbia following up on the violin. She believes that Mikhail’s inquiries have “shaken things loose” (284). Ray wants to join her, but Alicia refuses. He pretends to agree but instead prepares to leave for Serbia. When he arrives, he texts Alicia and tells her that he’s at her hotel. She’s angry but gives in and tells him that she believes his violin is being passed between different thieves. She is posing undercover as an intermediary for an interested buyer. While Ray waits to move forward with Alicia’s plan, he makes money by busking on the streets. Initially, he plays classical songs but finds more success when he switches to contemporary covers. Finally, the thieves get in touch with Alicia and arrange to meet. As planned, the meeting is disrupted by the police. Ray approaches and sees that, although the violin is beautiful, it’s not the one he lost.

Upon his return to Moscow, Ray prepares for the final round of the competition. His final performance will be two hours long; Ray, Nicole, and Janice debate whether it’s beneficial to go early in the lineup or later. By lottery, Ray is the first to play. He is able to practice briefly with the orchestra before his performance and directs them confidently; despite his untraditional journey, he feels that he has earned the right to be on the stage with them. Hours later, he begins his final performance and considers the attitudes toward different composers, such as the Russian pride in Tchaikovsky. However, Ray feels that all music is universal and human and is a timeless way of connecting with one another. The next day, Mikhail performs flawlessly. After all the performances, the results are announced: Mikhail places first prize, and Ray places second. Despite his disappointment, Ray acknowledges the victory of coming to Russia, coming farther than any American violinist ever has, and overcoming his disadvantages.

After the competition, Ray receives a flurry of media inquiries and congratulatory messages. One message is from Jacob. When Ray gets in touch, Jacob tells him that while he was examining the violin case, he found papers belonging to Leon Marks including photographs, a death certificate, and notepaper handwritten by a child. Jacob scans them and sends them to Ray to view.

This chapter transcribes the message written on the notepaper, which was by a very young Grandma Nora. She says that her grandfather wants her to learn about respect, so he’s asking her to write down his story. During his childhood, Leon was enslaved by the Marks family. The enslaver and his wife treat the enslaved people brutally, beating them and mutilating them for small infractions. Leon’s mother encourages him to learn an instrument so that he’ll be valuable to the enslaver. Leon learns to play the fiddle and impresses the enslaver with his talent, often playing for his parties. Leon’s mother is abused and assaulted but implores Leon to keep playing so that he will be safe. Leon’s brother, Malachi, was punished for trying to escape. His body was cut into pieces while he was still alive and each piece burned on a bonfire. The enslaver becomes fond of Leon and often asks him to play for him privately. After a while, the enslaver grows ill and agrees to give Leon his freedom along with the violin. Years later, Leon tells Nora to always be respectful, even to bad people.

Ray sends the documents to Kim. The Marks family withdraws their lawsuit. Ray and Nicole unwind now that the competition is finished and discuss Grandma Nora’s letter. Ray considers his upcoming performance schedule around the world and his crowdfunding, which has almost reached its target. Nicole suggests hiring a personal assistant; she says that the assistant can help with her oil change, which is long overdue. Ray is surprised that she drives so much, and she reminds him of a trip home from New York. He shrugs off the comment but is internally suspicious; he remembers that on that specific trip, Nicole took a flight home rather than a car.

Ray stands alone in Nicole’s house, preparing to search for his violin. When he arrived in her hometown, he called Alicia and told her that he thought Nicole had stolen the violin. Alicia tells him that he must be mistaken because there’s video footage of her boarding her flight. She and Ray argue, and Alicia agrees to look into it further. She encourages him to go back home and wait for her, stating that rushing will only tip off Nicole. He agrees but ignores her advice and takes a plane to Nicole’s house. He searches the entire house but doesn’t find anything. Ray starts to question his judgment, acknowledging that Nicole has only ever been supportive. He finds Nicole’s Men’s Health magazines, which she claimed were a subscription to the previous tenant, Marcus Terry. He searches for the name and learns that Marcus lives nearby. Through Alicia, he learns that Marcus is a personal trainer who recently lived in Nicole’s house—however, they were living there at the same time. Ray goes to Marcus’s house and breaks in. He searches the house and finds an invoice for a storage company along with two keys. According to the invoices, the storage was rented shortly before the theft. He leaves the house and leaves a message for Alicia about his discovery. Knowing that he needs to act before Marcus reports the break-in, he drives to the storage unit and convinces the guard to give him the security code to the storage. When he arrives at the storage unit, he discovers it is empty except for a cardboard box. When he opens it, he discovers his violin inside.

Ray learns the truth about the theft: Nicole hid Ray’s violin in her suitcase and stored it in her car. Then, she flew back as planned and went to retrieve it later. She paid Pilar Jiménez to suddenly return home as a red herring and threatened to expose her to immigration control if she refused. She and her boyfriend, Marcus, remained apart in case they were being watched. While Nicole awaits her trial, she reaches out to Ray for help, but he doesn’t respond. In one of her emails, she professes her love for him and petitions him to ask the judge for leniency. In response, Ray writes to the judge and encourages him to bestow the maximum sentence. Nicole and Marcus both go to prison. Ray’s career flourishes, and he prioritizes music composed by people of color. He never gets used to his worldwide fame. However, he tries to use his celebrity to give back to struggling communities.

Ray sits in a park with Janice, talking about his upcoming performance. Nearby, a student approaches for his music lesson. Ray and Janice look back on her encouragement throughout his career. As Ray leaves to teach his lesson, he looks back at the park bench; Janice was never really there at all.