The thief of the Ghent Altarpiece was a big fan of the detective books on Arsene Lupin. In real Lupin style, he sent 14 letters to the paintings' owners containing all kinds cryptic hints about the location of the work, before dying unexpectedly. Right before his dead, the thief confesses to his lawyer he had stolen the work. He still tries to give some more details, but it is too late and he passes away.
It's crazy how much the theft of The Just Judges is part of the local collective consciousness/imagination. Just about everybody in the wide Ghent area claims to know someone who knows for certain that it's buried beneath so-and-so's basement.
