Take My Breath Away…

“I’d say the two of them did a good job,” the uniformed man said. “Sid said that the guy had a pillow over her face when he went in. And your friend here’s still a little woozy.”

“I’m fine,” Pete insisted to the older guy. “Sid checked my eyes. I just need some aspirin.”

“I’m familiar with the feeling.” Gabe glanced over to where Nicola was talking to Sid. Since he figured she’d get what could be gotten of the young male nurse, he stayed where he was. “What can you tell me about the man who hit you?”

Pete frowned. “He was wearing scrubs—not the plain green ones, the fancier kind that a lot of the nurses wear. He was tall, lean. He was wearing gloves, and he had his hair covered with one of those shower cap things that they wear in the operating rooms on TV shows. He had a mask on, too.”

“Could you tell the color of his hair?” Gabe asked.

Pete thought, then shook his head and immediately winced. “Glasses—he was wearing glasses. Black frames.”

“Good job.” After he gave Pete’s shoulder a squeeze, Gabe walked over to where Jonah and Nash stood. “Observations?” he asked.

“It wouldn’t be hard to get in here,” Jonah said. “As long as you’re wearing scrubs and something that could pass for an I.D. badge.”

“Not a problem for someone who can copy a Monet or a Cézanne,” Nash commented.

Gabe looked back at the room where Claire Forlani lay. “I should have taken more precautions.”

“Too bad Nash and I didn’t bring our violins to play.”

Then he met Gabe’s eyes. “There were two men on the door. One in your employ and one paid by the city. You were hoping someone would try to contact her. I can’t see any way you could have predicted that someone would try to kill her.”

“Well, someone definitely did,” Gabe said. “Why?”

“My first guess would be to silence her,” Jonah said.

“But if this thief framed your father and is now hoping to frame you for revenge, then we have to consider that revenge may also be the motivation here,” Nash said.

“She failed to get the statue—therefore, she has to die? If that’s true, then Nicola might be the next target.”

“Or you,” Jonah pointed out.

Gabe turned and when he saw that Nicola was standing at the window of Claire Forlani’s room, he joined her and took her hand. Through the glass, the lights on Claire’s machines continued to blink.

“According to Pete, her attacker was wearing black-framed glasses and had his or her hair covered. It could be the same person who delivered you the Valentine’s Day flowers.”

“Yeah. Sid also thinks it may have been a woman.”

“Interesting.” Keeping her hand in his, he drew her to where Jonah and Nash were waiting. “All we have to do is figure out who and make sure that the Cézanne doesn’t get stolen.”

“Unless the thief has changed the game plan,” Nicola said.

Gabe felt his phone vibrate, took it out, and read the text. “It’s from your father. Your stepmother just received a Valentine special delivery card, telling her she’ll be relieved of the Cézanne tonight.”

“Let’s catch a thief,” Nicola said.

IT WAS A WORKING LUNCH, but it was the oddest one that Nicola had ever participated in. The cuisine was Chinese takeout, but they’d never made it to the counter in Gabe’s kitchen. Instead, she, Gabe, Jonah and Nash had gathered, cartons and chopsticks in hand, around the whiteboard in Gabe’s office.

Jonah’s contact at Interpol had nothing new. But Marcia had texted Nicola to remind her she was expected to arrive at the house by 5:00 p.m. so that she could dress and stand in the reception line. Her stepmother had also included the information that all three of the French Impressionist paintings stolen so far had been on display at the Denver Art Museum over the past ten years, as had most of the privately owned art in the Denver area.“Who else do we need to add to our rogues’ gallery?” Gabe asked.

The newspaper articles and photos of the art pieces that had formerly adorned Gabe’s whiteboard had been replaced by pictures of everyone who had close access to information about the thefts. Chewing thoughtfully on a piece of Kung Pao chicken, Nicola swept her gaze over them. Mary Thomas and Mark Adams lined the left side of the board. Debra Bancroft, Claire Forlani and Randolph Meyer lined the right-hand side.

While they’d been eating, Gabe and Jonah had run financials on all of them. And they’d come up with nothing suspicious on any of their current suspects. Right now they were thinking of who they might add to the list so they could widen the search.

“I don’t think we should add anyone,” Nicola said.

“Why not? We’ve come up dry on these.” Jonah offered her some rice, but she waved it on.

“Because, other than Gabe or my father, these are the key figures.” She pointed her chopsticks at the board. “They’re all close to the case and they all had access to information that would help in the thefts. Anyone we add to the mix like other employees here or at the FBI could play a part in a minor way. But that won’t get us any closer to who’s behind it.”

Gabe set down his carton and moved closer to the board. “She’s right. We should be eliminating people instead of adding them. If we’re right in thinking the person behind these thefts is Dee Atherton’s old partner, then our mastermind can’t be Claire. Though she might have a good motive for avenging Dee Atherton’s death, she couldn’t have been the one to frame my father. Fifteen years ago, she was a child.”

“Based on age, we can also eliminate Mark Adams and Randolph Meyer,” Nicola said. “That leaves Debra Bancroft and Mary Thomas.”

“I hate to rain on this parade,” Nash said.

“Liar,” Jonah said. “You love to play devil’s advocate.”

Nash shrugged. “Maybe it’s not either of them. Our mastermind may be keeping a low profile. Whoever it is has never shown up on the radar before. And they’ve managed to keep off of it for the past fifteen years.”

Gabe removed the photos of the people they’d eliminated. “Yeah, but there’s been a change in the game plan. Once you start delivering announcements and pulling your capers on major holidays, you’re putting yourself firmly on the radar. I’m betting it’s either Mary Thomas or Debra Bancroft.”

“Me, too,” Nicola said as she slipped her hand into his.

Gabe met her eyes. “If Nicola’s right and our forger has spent some of the intervening time creating copies and then secretly breaking into houses and replacing authentic paintings with her work, she’s needed inside information on the art collectors here in Denver as well as inside information on their security systems. So if it’s between Debra and Mary, the cards are more heavily stacked against Debra. The person who was supposed to break through the security and switch the paintings won’t be there, and Debra can get through everything but the last layer.”

“We can’t eliminate Mary completely because of the forged statue,” Nicola said. “The thief had to not only know about its existence but also know where it was.”

“I’m leaning toward Debra,” Nash said.

“She has my vote.” Jonah began to gather up empty cartons. “In any case, we need proof.”

Gabe smiled. “That means we’ll have to catch her in the act. And I’ve got a plan.”

Jonah placed a hand on Nicola’s shoulder. “Make sure you count the girl in. She’s smart.”

16

“GREAT DRESS,” Nash said.

“Yeah.” Gabe’s eyes shifted immediately to Nicola. She stood with her father and stepmother greeting guests as they entered the salon. Even though he’d been given a preview of the red dress, it still very nearly made his tongue hang out. And the curls were back. Only they looked a lot sexier now than they had when she was ten.At his side, Nash chuckled. “You’ve got it bad.”

“What are you talking about?” Gabe asked.

“I mention a dress,” he waved his glass of champagne. “And there are a lot of them here.”

Gabe agreed. They were halfway through the silent auction part of the evening and the stream of viewers through the room had been constant. Currently, the place was glowing with silks and sequins. The scent of expensive perfume mingled with the food that was being offered by uniformed waiters. A string quartet played in one corner. The conversation was muted, and everyone was paying due homage to the Cézanne. Folded slips of paper containing the bids were accumulating in a silver bowl.

“But all I have to do is mention one dress and your eyes go directly to Nicola. You’re stuck on her.”

“Yeah,” Gabe agreed as he looked at Nicola again. Each time he did, he felt the impact as if it were the first time.

“Jonah and I like her, for what it’s worth.”

Gabe shifted his gaze to where his other friend was circulating through the guests offering canapés on a tray. “I’m glad I have your approval.”

“Have you told her yet?”