Rarities Unlimited 03 - Die in Plain Sight

expensive clothing wasn’t high on her personal must-have list.
    “Mr. Goodman was doing me a favor,” Savoy said. “So I did him a favor and came here.”
    Lacey didn’t smile. “I figured that out all by myself. Now I would like someone to do me the courtesy of no longer wasting my time. I came here for my paintings. Whichever of you gentlemen has the key to the storeroom, please put it to use. I’m sure both of you have other places to be. I know that I do.”
    “The Savoy Museum is willing to offer you fifty thousand dollars for one of those paintings,” Savoy said, and watched the young woman’s mouth drop open.
    “Holy—er, fifty thousand for an unsigned painting by an unknown artist?” Lacey asked in disbelief.
    Savoy shrugged. “As you’re very well aware, the painting may or may not be by an unknown artist. If it’s a Lewis Marten, the museum will have made a wise investment. If it’s not, we will still have a fine example of California plein air painting to add to the museum’s collection. Either way, you will have fifty thousand dollars.”
    Sweet God, no wonder Grandpa Rainbow sold the occasional painting when cash got scarce. And if he didn’t sign them, who could prove fraud on his part?
    “That’s very generous of you,” Lacey said. “I’ll think about it. While I do, I want the paintings in my possession.” She gave him a doublerow of teeth. “Considering their surprising value, I’m sure you understand.”
    Savoy almost smiled himself. She’d neatly turned his argument back on him and hadn’t promised to sell a single canvas, much less the one that would fit best into his father’s collection. If the old man wasn’t so hard to buy gifts for, Savoy would have been tempted to throw up his hands. But his father was difficult and the son would go a long way to get the occasional pat on the head. Savoy didn’t like that about himself, but he hadn’t been able to change it any more than Bliss had. Both of them still craved their father’s approval on a level too deep to deny or ignore.
    “You drive a hard bargain,” Savoy said with equal amounts of approval and irritation. “Seventy-five thousand.”
    Lacey looked at his hard eyes and soft smile and wondered how on earth she was going to get out of this without blowing her father’s career straight to hell.
    “I’ll think about that, too.” She looked at her watch, then at Goodman. “Now I really have to go.”
    Goodman looked at Savoy, who nodded.
    As soon as Lacey was out of sight, Savoy went to the plainclothes deputy who had been hanging around the lobby of the hotel just in case someone wanted to see the paintings.
    “Did you get photos of her off the security cameras?” Savoy asked.
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Then follow her wherever she goes, show the pictures around when she stops, and find out who Ms. Marsh really is.”

Savoy Civic Center
    10:30 A.M. Thursday
23
    R ory Turner picked up the phone on the second ring. It was his private phone line, the one that didn’t run through his assistant’s desk. The caller ID came back as Moreno County Sheriff’s Department.
    “Yeah?” Rory said.
    “Deputy Glendower, sir, reporting as requested.”
    “Go on.”
    “No young woman met the subject, Susa Donovan, at Savoy Hotel. Before she went painting at the Savoy ranch, subject’s escort drove to a shop in Newport Beach called Lost Treasures Found, just off Pacific Coast Highway in the—”
    “Put it in the report unless you found Ms. Marsh there.”
    “No young woman came out of the shop with the escort, Ian Lapstrake. He was carrying something that looked like a movie poster from an old John Wayne flick. He handled it like it was valuable.”
    Rory grunted. If the Forrests started collecting movie posters, he’d care. Until then, he didn’t. “Keep talking.”
    “Subject Donovan was then driven to the Savoy ranch, and from there over various ranch roads. At the moment, we’re having an early lunch, since we all were up before dawn.”
    “Where are you eating? Last time I checked, there weren’t any fast-food joints on ranch land.”
    “Ms. Donovan’s escort was aware of us. He parked and introduced himself. On their second stop they bought enough food for four.”
    Rory laughed and silently saluted Susa Donovan’s style. “How long did it take Lapstrake to catch on?”
    “Less than two miles on PCH.” Glendower’s voice was rueful. “We didn’t think we were working with a pro or we would