Chapter 1
Zoe
April, Present day
Harrington Throckmorton’s posh British tones came through Zoe’s cell phone. “I’m preparing a parcel for you. If you want it, that is.”
“Oh, I love getting packages in the mail.” Zoe grabbed a notepad. “What would be in it?” Zoe hitched the barstool closer to her laptop on the kitchen island, which functioned as her desk during the day. Sticky notes, printouts, and files surrounded her computer.
“Paperwork,” Harrington said. “I’m afraid you may find this case rather boring. It’s filling in a gap in a painting’s provenance.”
Zoe had worked for Harrington for a couple of years now as a consultant and enjoyed hunting down lost valuables for his company, Throckmorton Enquiries. Besides locating missing items—usually of the pricey variety—Harrington’s company also provided background research on valuables. A painting’s worth could increase substantially if an unbroken chain of ownership could be tracked from the creation of the work to its present owner. Tracing provenance often involved tedious examination of sales invoices and auction catalog listings, but Zoe wasn’t one to shy away from detail work. In the past she’d worked as a freelance copy editor and was accustomed to focusing on tiny details.
Zoe eyed the stack of thick file folders by her computer, her closed cases. The words, I’m sorry, I can’t take anything else on were on the tip of her tongue. She’d been working like crazy. After months of trying to establish herself in the field of art recovery, she’d finally broken through. She’d moved from people thinking of her as Harrington’s assistant to being a professional in her own right. For the last six months, she’d barely been able to keep up with the work. It was wonderful but stressful.
In the last week she’d actually managed to get everything cleared off her to-do list, and she’d been looking forward to having a little downtime before she and Jack left on a trip. But this was Harrington. He’d given her a start in this business. She hated to say no to him. And he hadn’t sent anything her way in a while. She didn’t want their business connection to peter out.
Harrington said, “Routine stuff. I know you’ve been rather busy lately. And you have your trip coming up as well. If you can’t take it on, that’s fine. I understand.”
Zoe pushed aside the thought of turning Harrington down right away. She’d just get a few details. “When’s the missing chunk?”
“Early nineteen twenties.”
“Could be fun. Flappers and jazz.” She should be able to handle simple provenance research in a day or so if everything went well.
“Yes, the original owner, Sebastian Blakely, was certainly involved with both.” The name sounded familiar to Zoe, but she couldn’t place it. Harrington continued, “It’s two issues, really. The first is the original bill of sale has been lost, but the current owner assures me the artist’s estate can provide evidence of the sale. The second issue is there’s a gap—no, gap isn’t the proper word. A better description would be that there’s a second party who’s disputing the estate’s claim to having had sole possession of the painting since nineteen fourteen.”
“Interesting.”
“The potential buyer ran across a post on a rather obscure blog, which hinted the painting, Woman in a White Fur, wasn’t actually in Blakely’s possession during one specific time period.” Paper rattled. “Nineteen twenty-three, to be exact. The Blakely estate maintains that they’ve been the sole owner since nineteen fourteen. They’re ready to sell, and a buyer is interested. But then this blog surfaced.”
“What does the post say happened?”
“Nothing specific, of course.” Harrington sighed. “Only hints and innuendo. Full details to follow in a soon to be published book.”
“So it could be a publicity stunt. What’s the book, and when does it come out?”
“It’s called Secrets and Privilege: Sebastian Blakely’s Untold Story. No publication date listed, only coming soon. Ava contacted the author, but no reply as of yet.”
Zoe knew Harrington’s assistant would keep at it until she got an answer. “But the post specifically mentioned the painting that’s for sale?”
“It did, but as you said, it could just be a gambit to attract media attention. Woman in a White Fur is one of the most well-known works of art from the Blakely collection. It’s probably just an author trying to stir up some coverage for their book. I believe the term is generate buzz. Whatever the case, the end result is that it’s made the potential buyer go wobbly.”
“It has to be cleared up.” Zoe put down her pen. “This doesn’t sound boring at all. I’ll see if I can get to it before we go out of town.” She was getting quite good at provenance research. It shouldn’t take her all that long to sort out the details.
“Wonderful.”
“Looking forward to dinner with you next week.”
“It will be lovely to see you and Jack. I’ll have Ava send the parcel right away. It should get there before you depart.”
Harrington was based in London, and Zoe and Jack were traveling there in a few days. Jack ran a firm that was all about security. He helped businesses protect everything from physical items to digital files. He had meetings with clients in London, one of them a referral from Harrington. After Jack’s business appointments they were meeting Harrington for dinner, and then they were on vacation, a whole week of just the two of them.
They needed to get away. Jack had been just as swamped with work as Zoe had. Recently their together time seemed to consist of a few moments in the morning when they gulped down breakfast bars and coffee before Jack headed out to meet with clients and Zoe “commuted” to her desk at the kitchen island.
Her phone, which was on speaker, flashed with an incoming call. Evelyn. Zoe sat up straight. “Harrington, I’m getting another call. I should take it. It’s Evelyn at Salt Grass Gallery.”
“Ah, your Canaletto and Picasso, perhaps.”
“Maybe. There’s been nothing about either painting for months. I’ll let you know.”
“Yes, do.”
Zoe switched to the incoming call from Evelyn, telling herself not to get her hopes up about the missing paintings. More than likely, Evelyn was calling to set up lunch.
Zoe had been working hard to increase her network of contacts in the art world, both in Dallas and beyond the metro-plex. She was getting to know antique dealers, museum curators, and prominent donors, as well as gallery owners like Evelyn. Some of her contacts were developing into friendships. She’d met with Evelyn a few times since the theft of the two paintings over six months ago. They’d been stolen from the Westoll, a small private museum that had discovered the missing paintings during an inventory of their items in storage. It was only in the last few months that the Westoll had discovered more items had disappeared, mostly coins, as the museum completed the inventory.
The museum was reluctant to hire Zoe—or anyone else— outright because that would mean admitting there was a problem, which could make board members and donors nervous. Ruby Wu, who was in charge of the paintings at the Westoll Museum, didn’t have the authorization to hire Zoe officially, but she was keeping Zoe updated on any developments. Not that there had been anything lately to share.
Zoe had worked her local and international contacts in the art world, looking for the two paintings. One was from Picasso’s Neoclassic period and depicted ladies at the seaside. The other was a Canaletto, an exquisitely detailed view of Venice’s Grand Canal. Despite all her searching, so far the only lead Zoe had was Evelyn at Salt Grass Gallery. A young man, who Evelyn described as resembling the artist Giacometti in his youth, had visited the gallery and asked if Evelyn was interested in Canaletto. The guy’s manner had set off alarm bells, and Evelyn had called the police, who hadn’t been able to track him down. Then she’d contacted Zoe.
He’d visited the gallery twice last September, which was now over six months ago, then disappeared. Except for a grainy photo of him taken from the gallery’s security footage, they knew nothing about the young man. There hadn’t been another blip of news or information about the theft in the intervening months.
The line transferred to Evelyn, who spoke in a muted tone. “Young Giacometti’s here.”
Zoe didn’t need more than that. “I’m on my way.”
She grabbed her messenger bag and dashed for her car. Even though it was eleven on Thursday morning, traffic clogged the roads. It took her thirty minutes to travel what should’ve taken ten. Salt Grass Gallery was in an exclusive area called Uptown, which was filled with galleries, trendy restaurants, and upscale boutiques. Zoe cruised down the block with the gallery but couldn’t find an open parking slot.
As she passed the gallery, she caught a glimpse of Evelyn through the store’s plate-glass window. If Evelyn’s auburn hair hadn’t been enough to identify her, her gallery outfit was unmistakable—a crisp white Oxford shirt tucked into wide-legged designer trousers. She was speaking to a man with puffy dark hair who was several inches shorter than her.
Zoe had looked up an image of the artist Giacometti months before, when Evelyn had first described her visitor as resembling him. In the few seconds she saw the young man as she drove by, Zoe had to admit the guy in the faded red T-shirt did seem to resemble the Swiss artist. Evelyn and the man were moving toward the door.
Zoe whipped the car around the block. As she turned back onto the street, she spotted a car backing out. She waited, her thumb tapping away on the steering wheel at a much faster beat than the metronome-like tick of her blinker. A double-parked delivery truck idling in front of her blocked her view of Salt Grass Gallery. Once the car had finally maneuvered out of the slot, Zoe slid into the space. She slammed out of the car and raced down the street, slowing her steps only before she crossed in front of the gallery’s window with its display of Rococo paintings. If she sprinted into the gallery, she might spook the guy.
She pushed through the glass door and into the open room with white bamboo flooring, beige walls, and the faint scent of cinnamon. It was deserted. Zoe’s messenger bag bumped against her hip as she headed for the door to the back room. “Evelyn?”
Evelyn emerged, her phone pressed to her ear.
“He’s gone?” Zoe asked, already moving back to the entrance.
Evelyn tilted the phone away from her mouth. “I couldn’t convince him to stay any longer.”
Zoe gripped the door’s sleek metal handle. “Did he mention the Canaletto or the Picasso?”
“He brought up the Canaletto again. I told him to bring a photo if he had something he was interested in selling, but then he seemed to change his mind.”
“Which way did he go?”
“To the right.” She pulled the phone back to her mouth. “Right, the Westoll theft . . . when will the officer in charge of the case be back? It’s urgent—”
Zoe stepped outside and scanned the street. There wasn’t much foot traffic. It was mostly cars, cruising slowly as the drivers looked for open parking spaces. Down the block, Zoe spotted a short man with puffy hair wearing a faded red T-shirt and baggy shorts. He was getting into a black hatchback. Zoe raced back to her car.
By the time she got to the end of the block, the hatchback was already turning at the corner. Zoe would be the first to admit she was a tad on the impatient side. Her instinct was to close the gap between their cars, but Jack had taught her how to follow people on foot and in a vehicle. She pushed down her itch to stomp on the gas and stayed a few cars back, never letting the black car out of her sight. They left the swanky area behind and took the interstate on-ramp. She loosened her grip on the steering wheel. She felt more comfortable with the throng of vehicles camouflaging her on the freeway.
After a while the hatchback swerved into the exit lane. Had he realized he was being followed? Zoe shook off the worry. Why would he suspect a woman in a beat-up Jetta would be the least bit interested in him?
Once he was on the access road, he didn’t speed away. The hatchback moved at a sedate pace and didn’t make any sudden lane changes. Within a few turns, they’d entered a residential neighborhood, and Zoe dropped farther back. Without any cars between her and the black hatchback, she drifted along, hoping he wasn’t paying too much attention to his rearview mirror.
Cracked sidewalks, unkept yards, and houses with trim that needed to be scraped and painted gave the neighborhood a scruffy down on its luck air. The hatchback parked in front of a house midway down the block, a tan two-story. Its stucco was veined with cracks, and the mini-blinds covering the front windows tilted at crazy angles and were missing several slats.
Zoe coasted to the curb several houses back on the opposite side of the street in the shade of a large cottonwood. When the guy in the faded red shirt climbed out of the hatchback, Zoe had her phone ready and snapped several pictures.
As he walked up the sidewalk and went inside, Zoe sent the pictures to Evelyn with a text. Is this
him?
She replied instantly. Yes.
Zoe settled in to wait, pulling up the county tax assessor’s website to find out who owned the house. She was in the middle of the search when her phone rang with a call from Evelyn, who said, “I’m so glad you managed to follow him.”
“I’m in a neighborhood in the Twin Oaks area. He just went inside a house. I’ll wait here and see what happens. Were you able to talk to the police?”
“I had to leave a message for the investigating officer. I have a feeling it might be days before I get a call back.”
“I’m sure they’ll call you . . . eventually.” Police departments were spread thin and property crime wasn’t as urgent as other investigations. Zoe slid down a few inches. “Oh, he’s back.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s changed clothes. He’s wearing a white T-shirt and pants along with a baseball cap.” His hair puffed out below the cap, which had a logo on it, but it was too far away for Zoe to be able to read the lettering. “He’s getting back in his car. I’ll call you and let you know what happens.”
The hatchback pulled away from the curb, revealing a For Rent sign in the front yard.
Zoe clicked another picture, this time of the sign, then crept along behind the black car as it left the neighborhood.
Once on the main road, he headed for the interstate again. He drove for about thirty minutes. Zoe was eyeing her gas gauge, which had dipped below a quarter tank, when he exited and turned into a neighborhood of sprawling houses. Plantings of bright annuals edged perfectly trimmed lawns.
Zoe slowed to a crawl, then parked a few houses back when the hatchback stopped in front of a Mediterranean-style house with a red tile roof. Several other cars along with a pickup and a scruffy white van were parked in front of the house. Young Giacometti joined four other men dressed in white shirts and pants who were gathered around the open doors of the van. They removed paint, rollers, and several ladders. Young Giacometti swung a roll of plastic sheeting onto one shoulder, grabbed the handle of a five-gallon paint can, and walked up the curving, brick-lined driveway along with the other men.
Zoe jotted down the address, then watched the house for thirty minutes. Some of the men went back and forth to the truck, carrying tape, rollers, and a small radio back to the house. Eventually, the movement stopped. Zoe waited another fifteen minutes, then pulled up the image with the rent sign. An online search showed the house had three bedrooms, three baths, and an attached two-car garage.
Zoe called the number on the sign for the listing agent, Julia Lessing.
“Hi Julia,” Zoe said. “I just drove by the house for rent on Hyacinth Drive. I think it would be perfect for us.”
“Great.” She sounded distracted.
“The only problem is that I’m on a tight schedule. I flew into town to look for a place to live. I’ve been at it all week, and I have to leave tomorrow. I can’t believe I didn’t find your house until the last moment.”
Julia’s voice changed, becoming more intent. “You’re leaving town tomorrow, you said?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, there’s still plenty of time.”
“Oh, good. If you could get me in this afternoon, I’d love to look around.”
“I’ll need to coordinate with the current renters, but I’m sure we can work something out.”
Twenty minutes later, Julia called back. “How about two o’clock this afternoon?”
“Perfect.”
Chapter 2
Julia Lessing was in her forties and had a quick smile, a firm handshake, and a steady stream of questions. By the time she’d removed the lockbox and opened the front door to the rental, she’d already asked Zoe if she was working with another real estate agent, how many properties Zoe had seen, and what Zoe was looking for in a rental.
Julia pushed open the door and called, “Hello?” When no one answered, she stepped back and motioned for Zoe to go first. “I always like to make sure no one’s home in case there was a misunderstanding about the time. We don’t want to scare anyone.”
Before Julia could ask another question, Zoe wedged in a question of her own as she crossed the tiled entry. “The people who live here now, why are they moving?”
Julia closed the front door. “You’ll see when we look at the bedrooms that it’s two roommates who’ve rented the house. I believe one of them got a new job, which has forced them to move.”
The inside of the house was better kept than the exterior.
The walls were freshly painted, and the sudsy scent of carpet shampoo permeated the air. Zoe had hoped that once she was inside, she’d be able to pick up some tidbit of information that could help her find out more about the man who’d visited Evelyn’s gallery, but there wasn’t much to see as she scanned the open-plan layout.
A large television dominated the living room, and a mass of game controllers was strewn across an L-shaped couch. A table in pale wood that would seat four looked too small for the spacious dining room beyond the glossy white cabinetry of the kitchen. All the walls were bare, and the only decorative touches were two floor lamps on either end of the couch.
The stark white walls and lack of any décor gave the house a temporary feeling. Either the people who lived here were only alighting for a short time, or they’d already packed most of their belongings. But no moving boxes were stacked in the corners. Zoe hadn’t really expected to see the Venice landscape or Picasso's swimmers hanging on the wall, especially since the house was being shown to renters, but stranger things had happened.
Zoe already knew the paintings weren’t in the garage. She’d arrived early and peered through the garage door’s small square windows. She’d actually been relieved to not see the canvases in the garage—the heat and humidity in a space without climate control would have been terrible for the artwork. Thankfully, the garage had been empty, except for a mountain bike, a wheeled ice chest, and an old television.
Zoe moved into the living room. “The Dallas traffic can be a killer. Are they moving across town?” She wanted to get as much information as possible about the current residents, especially if Young Giacometti was the resident who had a new job.
“No, moving out of state. Florida, I think.”
“Great,” Zoe murmured under her breath, but she didn’t push for more details. It would look odd to be too interested in the personal lives of the current renters. Zoe went to the kitchen, where a stack of mail rested on the counter.
“Gas oven,” Julia pointed out as she ran her hand over the appliance’s stainless-steel finish. “The refrigerator stays, by the way. Do you have your own?”
“What?” Zoe looked up from the letter she’d been peering at, trying to decipher the name of the addressee without making it too obvious that she was staring.
“A refrigerator,” Julia repeated. “Do you have one of your own?”
“Oh. Yes. Yes, we do.”
“Then you could put yours in the garage.”
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