Flash

something stupid. He was responsible for his own death," Todd said.
    Dixon shrugged as if the matter were supremely unimportant. "Sorry. Didn't mean to step on any toes."
    "Bullshit," Todd said very softly.
    Dixon ignored him. Perhaps he had not heard the succinct comment.
    Jasper looked at Todd. "Why do you say the Danes owe Olivia?"
    Todd's jaw jerked slightly. "If it hadn't been for her, they wouldn't have been able to cash in on Logan Dane's reputation during the past three years."
    Dixon looked briefly interested in the conversation again. Money, Jasper noticed, had a way of grabbing his attention.
    "What do you mean?" Dixon demanded.
    "One of the little details that Crawford Lee Wilder conveniently left out of his piece on Olivia," Todd said, "is the fact that right after Dane's funeral she gave every single one of his paintings in her possession to the Dane family. Sean and the others have been selling off Logan's pictures very quietly ever since. They've made a fortune."
    Dixon scowled. "That's not the way I heard it."
    "Like everyone else, you bought the Crawford Lee Wilder version of the Logan Dane legend." Todd looked Dixon up and down with unmistakable disgust. "Wilder was right on one point, Dane did have a will. He left everything to Olivia, including his unsold paintings. At the time of his death, his work had just begun to escalate in value. Nobody knew better than Olivia did how much his stuff would be worth in a few years."
    Dixon's features twisted in disbelief. "You're telling me she gave every damn one of those pictures to Dane's relatives?"
    "Yes. Olivia likes money as much as anyone else, but unlike some people, there are a lot of things she won't do to get it." Todd turned on his heel and walked away into the crowd.
    "Sonofabitch." Dixon sounded genuinely awed. "We must be talking about a couple of million bucks worth of art."
    "That might have been the value of the pictures at the time of Dane's death." Jasper watched Todd's rigidly set shoulders. "But they would be worth four or five times that amount now. Even more in the future."
    "Nobody gives away that kind of cash." Dixon shook his head. "Nobody. I can't believe Olivia would have been fool enough to do it."
    "Olivia is no fool." Jasper felt anger coil deep inside. "But she does make her decisions on the basis of values rather than money."
    Dixon's brow furrowed in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"
    "Forget it. The subject of values is probably a little too high-concept for you, Haggard. Especially after a few drinks."
    In his inebriated state, Dixon was having difficulty following the thread of the conversation. Jasper waited patiently until a belligerent expression belatedly dawned in the other man's eyes.
    "Are you insulting me, you bastard?" Dixon finally managed.
    "If you can't figure that out, you've definitely had one too many, Dixon."
    Jasper turned and made his way out into the hall to hunt for Olivia. He did not look back.
    At the foot of the wide blue-lit staircase he paused to contemplate the murky azure glow that emanated from the next level. A steady stream of animated guests moved between the two floors. He wondered which room housed Merlin's Cave.
    He had a special attachment to that cave, he thought. He would never forget his first sight of Olivia floating toward him through eerily lit vapor.
    He went down the hall behind the staircase, glancing into various rooms. Some glowed blue and were in use as smaller, quieter spaces for guests to gather. Others were closed to the public.
    The door of one of the closed rooms opened just as Jasper walked past. Olivia, dressed in a long, Camelot Blue, off-the-shoulder gown, stepped out of a pantry closet. She had what looked to be a stack of blue tunics in one hand. She did not see him until she collided with him.
    Jasper."
    He caught her arm and gently steadied her. "Congratulations on another big success."
    She ignored that to glare at him as she pushed her glasses more firmly back on her nose. "It's about time you got here. I tried to call you every time I had a free second this afternoon. Aunt Rose always said you were either out of the office or couldn't be disturbed."
    "I was a little busy today."
    She gave him a knowing look. "Because of Melwood's death?"
    "Among other things. I spent most of the morning going through Gill's desk and his computer files."
    Her eyes widened eagerly. "Find anything?"
    "No. But I'm not what anyone could call an expert hacker. If