Summer in Eclipse Bay

crisp tone, but he made no comment. Instead he looked at Nick with some curiosity. "What makes you say that whoever took the picture didn't have to be an art expert?"
    "The rumor that Thurgarton had left a valuable painting behind and that Octavia was going to get a second opinion on it was all over town by yesterday afternoon," Nick said mildly. "It wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out that she had it stored in the back room, and it would have been easy to recognize. Everyone was talking about how ugly it was."
    Octavia did not look pleased with that quick summary. She glared. "How do you explain the thief having a key and knowing the security code?"
    Nick glanced at the door. "There are usually several duplicates of a key floating around. And when was the last time the code was changed?"
    She drummed her crimson nails on the counter. "It hasn't been changed since I had the Willis brothers install the system when I first opened the gallery."
    Virgil frowned. "You had an assistant working here for several months. She would have had the code and the key."
    "Of course," Octavia said. "But I don't think we can pin this theft on Noreen. She left town with her artist boyfriend last month, remember?"
    Sean looked thoughtful. "Does anyone know where Noreen and the boyfriend are now?"
    Octavia shook her head. "She just phoned in her resignation and took off. But now that you mention it, there's, uh, something else."
    They all looked at her.
    She grimaced. "A few days ago I came across a piece of paper with the code written on it taped inside one of the counter drawers. Noreen had trouble remembering it."
    "Which means a lot of people might have had access to that code," Sean said. "Including the artist boyfriend."
    Arizona snorted. "Wastin' your time, Valentine. This has the fingerprints of that bunch up at the institute all over it, I tell you."
    Sean flipped his notebook shut. "One thing's for certain, Eclipse Bay isn't exactly crawling with experienced, high-end art thieves, and we don't have what you'd call a big market for stolen art, either. Whoever snatched the painting has probably already taken off for Portland or Seattle to try to unload it."
    "True." Octavia slouched against the counter, looking very unhappy. "It would be the logical thing to do."
    "Our best hope is that the guy trips himself up when he goes to sell the Upsall," Sean continued. "I'll call some people I know in the Seattle and Portland police departments and tell them to keep a lookout for our missing picture."
    "That's an excellent idea." Octavia brightened. "I'll contact a few friends in the art world, too, and make them aware that there's a previously unknown Upsall floating around."
    "Good thought," Sean said. He started toward the door. "I think that's about all for now. I'll check back later."
    "All right," Octavia said. "Thanks, Sean."
    "Sure. See you, folks."
    A short chorus of goodbyes followed Sean out onto the sidewalk. So did Nick.
    They walked together toward Sean's vehicle.
    "Something I can do for you, Harte?" Sean asked mildly.
    "Just wanted to ask what you think really happened to that painting."
    Sean opened the door on the driver's side and paused. "You want my best guess?"
    "That would probably be the most helpful under the circumstances, yeah."
    "Past experience tells me that whoever stole the painting was probably closely connected to the situation. He knew the picture was valuable, he knew where it was stored, and he knew how to disarm the security system."
    "Which means he had access to the code and a key."
    "As you just pointed out, how hard would that be? Might not have even needed the key and code. That system the Willis brothers installed for Octavia is good enough for Eclipse Bay, but it isn't exactly state-of-the-art." Sean looked at the window of Bright Visions. "Wouldn't take a rocket scientist to disarm it, especially in the middle of the night during a major storm when no one was around."
    Nick followed his gaze and shook his head in a flat negative. "Not A.Z. or Virgil."
    "No. Although I gotta tell you that in this situation, any out-of-town cop would be looking real hard at both of 'em. They both have motive. Why split the profits from the painting three ways when you can have the whole pie?"
    Nick shrugged. "Guess I'd have to agree that to an outsider they'd both look a little mysterious."
    "Try damned suspicious. No one knows anything about either of them before they arrived in Eclipse Bay. I got curious