Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

paintings from the slot it was in. “This is no forgery, Abbey. This is the real thing. I don’t know an awful lot about art, but I can feel the age of the canvas. What do you think, Joley?”
    Joley held her hand inches from the canvas. “I think Frank Warner is a swine of the first degree and he better keep his greedy paws off of my aunt.”
    “It still could be Chad.” Abigail focused the camera and took several shots, indicating Hannah remove the next one. “I’ll show these to Aleksandr and see if they’ve been stolen.”
    “There’s no way these paintings don’t belong in a museum somewhere,“ Joley said. ”And I’d have a difficult time believing Chad has the brains to sell hot paintings from other countries.“
    “He drinks too,” Hannah pointed out as she held the third canvas. “He talks about everything and anything when he’s drinking. Wouldn’t he slip up and brag?”
    “He’s got to be making big money off of this if it’s him,” Abigail said as she photographed the last painting. “Do either of you know what he drives, or if he owns a house?”
    “I’ve heard he’s a gambler.” Hannah slipped the last painting back into its slot and closed the door to the cupboard. “Inez has mentioned it a couple of times. Once she said if he wasn’t careful he was going to get his legs broken.”
    “What about Frank?” Abigail retraced their steps toward the door. “Does he gamble? What have you heard about him?”
    “Strangely, not very much. He seems to lead a quiet life,” Hannah said. “He likes theater and is very supportive of the community. I don’t know, he just doesn’t seem the type to do anything illegal like this.”
    Joley caught at Abigail before she could open the door. “Someone’s coming,” she hissed. “Hurry, we have to hide.”
    Abigail didn’t question the decision but made a dive to get behind a modern art fountain that had been relegated to a dark corner. Hannah sank down beneath a table surrounded by a fortress of boxes and Joley squeezed into a small space behind one of the largest statues. The door swung open and Sylvia Fredrickson crept into the back room, tugging on a man’s hand. Aleksandr Volstov followed her, closing the door behind him.
    “Hurry,” Sylvia said. “I know you’ll find this so interesting. My friend Chad works back here and I’ve

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    visited him dozens of times.” Her eyes darted around the room, searching out the corners. She gave a small disappointed sigh and plastered a flirtatious smile on her face.
    “Are you certain we’re allowed back here?”
    Abigail swallowed hard as she watched Sylvia drag Aleksandr into the center of the room. Aleksandr appeared smooth and interested, but there was no doubt that he didn’t want the other woman stroking him with intimate fingers. His aura held itself away from Sylvia’s, retreating each time she stepped closer.
    The brazen woman kept a firm grip on his hand and batted her eyelashes at him.
    Aleksandr’s gaze was restless, taking in the details of the room, seeking out every secret in every dark corner. Abigail knew him well enough to know he was alert and uneasy. He twice looked toward the fountain where she crouched, trying not to breathe.
    “It’s no big deal.” Sylvia halted and turned toward Aleksandr. “I told you I’d show you something amazing.” Her hands went to the buttons of her blouse.
    “You said art.” He stopped her by placing his hand over hers.
    “I am a work of art,” she answered, her smile seductive.
    Abigail sucked in her breath sharply, her stomach knotting with a terrible anger. She glanced toward her sisters. She needed to leave, get away quickly before the building rage turned into something she couldn’t control.
    Aleksandr moved around Sylvia to track around the room. Abigail could see he was drawn to the corner where she found the blood. He crouched down, just as she had, and examined the floor. “I don’t think we should be here,” he objected again.
    Sylvia had gone back to opening the front of her blouse. “Don’t be silly. We won’t get caught. Everyone is busy asking for autographs of our resident celebrities.” There was a bite in her voice.
    Hannah raised her hands and a breeze stirred dust through the room. Sylvia immediately began to sneeze, a violent onslaught that wouldn’t stop. Aleksandr was forced to do up the buttons on her blouse and