St Kilda Consulting 04 - Blue Smoke and Murder

qualified bidders are welcome.” He smiled. “If you’ll excuse me…”
    While Jase hurried out of the room, Zach went to the othercanvas. The black light flashed over his face. His grin looked demonic in the purple glow.
    When Jill would have said something, he bent and kissed her swiftly, then breathed in her ear, “Not one word about thumbprints.”
    Like the other canvas, this one must have been put into the frame before it fully dried, because there was more over-painting near the bottom corner.
    Jill leaned in, breathed deep, and said, “Same as the other.”
    “Yeah. What do you want to bet it has the same cause?” Zach asked mildly.
    “I wouldn’t bet against it,” she said, flinching when the camera’s built-in flash went off.
    “Not even in Vegas?”
    “Especially not in Vegas.”
    “Smart woman.”
    “Keep it in mind,” she said.
    “Always,” he promised.
    As soon as Zach was finished, they thanked the helpers and headed out of the room. When Jill was certain no one could overhear, she turned to Zach.
    “How did someone know to—”
    He stopped her words with a hard kiss.
    “But when—” she began as soon as he lifted his head.
    “Not until we’re in the shower. Naked.”

69
    LAS VEGAS
SEPTEMBER 16
6:05 P.M.
    L ee Dunstan staggered slightly, then righted himself by leaning against the plush sofa.
    Can’t hold liquor the way I used to.
    But he wanted another drink anyway.
    When he went to get it, he found Betty pouring the rest of the bottle into the bathroom sink.
    With an angry cry, Lee lunged toward her, knocking her and the empty bottle against the glassed-in shower enclosure. The shower’s heavy glass banged, vibrated, and held. The bottle shattered.
    Betty slid down to the floor and put her face in her hands.
    Lee turned on his heel and went to the room phone to order another bottle. Before he could pick up the receiver, the phone rang.
    “What?” he snarled into the receiver.
    “Ah, Mr. Dunstan?”
    “Who the hell are you?”
    “Jase Wheeler, with the auction. I just wanted to share some very good news with you.”
    Lee took a deep breath. The room spun. He took another breath. Things settled down.
    Mostly.
    “I’m listening,” Lee said.
    “The advisers for an unknown, extremely wealthy mystery bidder showed up to look at your Dunstans. They inspected them very thoroughly. They floated the idea that some damage had been done to the canvas because there were spots of over-painting on the bottom edges of the stretched canvas, but I—”
    “Edges? Edges! Those paintings are in frames!” Lee shouted.
    “Of course. We took them out. It’s quite common for potential buyers to inspect—”
    “Tal Crawford is the only buyer that matters,” Lee cut in, “and he’s looked at my paintings all he needs to. What is this bullshit?”
    Behind Lee, shards of glass clinked into the trash as Betty began cleaning up after him.
    “Obviously I’ve caught you at a bad time,” Jase said smoothly. “I apologize. I just thought you would be pleased to know that, from all the buzz that’s going on, it appears that your paintings could be worth every bit of their high-end estimate. If you have any questions or would like to know any more, please feel free to call me at your convenience.”
    Lee looked at the dead phone and slammed it back into the cradle so hard it hurt his hand.
    Cursing steadily, he punched in Tal Crawford’s cell number. When it was picked up he said harshly, “Tal, old buddy, we got ourselves a problem.”

70
    LAS VEGAS
SEPTEMBER 16
7:30 P.M.
    L ike Zach, Jill was freshly washed, wearing new clothes from the skin out, and feeling like a well-scrubbed vegetable. Unless the devices were smaller than anything St. Kilda had heard of, they weren’t carrying bugs.
    Anywhere.
    They had left everything in their suite, where one of the hotel’s security officers was going over the place for bugs. The new, certified bug-free clothes and electronic sweep were compliments of Shane Tannahill, who really hated devices that weren’t part of his own casino security network.
    “Hungry?” Zach asked, massaging the nape of Jill’s neck absently as he sat next to her in a plush booth and looked around the luxurious restaurant.
    The Golden Fleece had one five-star and three four-star restaurants on the premises. Foodie heaven. And tonight’s meal was on St. Kilda.
    Five stars all the way.
    Jill gave him a sidelong look. “I’m hungry. Are you on the menu?”
    He