Flash

Olivia came to a halt in front of one of the dark, murky canvases.
    Jasper studied the picture. "Sort of like standing inside a thunderstorm."
    "That was Logan. His work is a good illustration of the forces that were at war inside him. Eventually the storm overwhelmed him."
    "You said you were only married for a few months?"
    Olivia nodded. "It was a mistake, of course. I think I knew it all along deep inside."
    "I see."
    "We met when he wandered into my office to ask for part-time work. He needed money to keep himself in paint and supplies. Light Fantastic was a very tiny business in those days, but I was able to give him some freelance assignments."
    "What happened?"
    She smiled slightly. "I was stunned by his work. And that was just the commercial art that he did for me. When I saw some of his personal work, I knew that I had to introduce him to Wilbur."
    "Wilbur Holmes?" Jasper raised his brows. "Your uncle's close friend?"
    She nodded. "Wilbur owned and operated one of the most exclusive galleries in Seattle at the time. He took one look at Logan's work and knew it for the brilliant art that it is."
    Jasper glanced at her. "So that part of Crawford Lee Wilder's article in
West Coast Neo
was true? You were responsible for launching Logan Dane's career?"
    "Wilbur was the one who got it off the ground. All I did was introduce Logan to him." Olivia shrugged. "And I made a couple of suggestions about marketing Logan's art that worked."
    "When did marriage come up?"
    "Logan and I became friends. Good friends." She hesitated. "Looking back, I think he was grateful to me."
    "Looking back," Jasper said, "I think he figured he could use you to further his career."
    She shot him a quick, sidelong glance. She wanted to argue, but she knew that he was right Logan had used her. "For my part, I thought that the friendship between Logan and myself would make a solid foundation for a lasting relationship. I thought I loved him."
    "Don't feel bad," Jasper said. "I once made the mistake of thinking that a mutual interest in business would make a good foundation for marriage."
    "It only goes to show, I guess."
    "What does it show?"
    She gave him a rueful smile. "Darned if I know."
    "Go on with your story."
    "Logan was easy to like. He was charismatic and capable of great charm. He played the role of the passionate, intense artist to the hilt." She hesitated. "Logan's family was thrilled when we got married."
    "Because you did so much for his career?"
    "No." She sighed. "Because they thought that I could save him from himself."
    "Hell of a job, saving someone from himself. Not real do-able."
    "No. I realize now that Logan's brother, Sean, and his parents must have understood intuitively that Logan was the kind of person who could easily self-destruct. They hoped my practical, businesslike nature would help stabilize him. But I failed."
    "Saving Logan Dane was Logan Dane's job," Jasper said. "Not yours."
    She turned her head quickly at that, but Jasper was gazing at the painting on the wall.
    "At any rate," she continued after a moment, "it didn't take me long to realize that I had made a horrific mistake in marrying Logan."
    "Friendship wasn't enough."
    "No." Olivia swept out a hand to indicate the ominous canvases that surrounded them. "I found out too late that the only thing Logan could love was his art. He would do anything for it. He needed recognition and success the way some people need drugs."
    "So he turned the business side of his career over to you." Jasper went to stand in front of another bleak canvas. "And you created the legend of Logan Dane."
    "Logan created his own legend," she said. "All I did was help market it."
    "And you did it brilliantly." Jasper turned to face her. "What does this have to do with blackmail?"
    She exhaled deeply. "Unfortunately, while I don't think that Logan ever loved anyone or anything except his own talent, he was quite capable of short-term obsessions. He developed one for the young woman who modeled for him."
    "What happened?"
    "Logan convinced himself that he was desperately in love at last. A great, tragic, romantic love. He recorded everything in a journal that I found after his death." Olivia grimaced. "Knowing Logan, I'm sure he wanted me to find it. He was obsessed with his own legend, and I'm sure he considered the journal part of it."
    "Who was the object of this great, tragic, romantic love?"
    "My cousin Nina. She was still in college at the time. Logan was larger-than-life. He