Summer in Eclipse Bay

something.
    "Okay," he said. "But you're the client, so you're buying."
    She flushed a little and did not seem amused. "Certainly. Where shall we go?"
    "I assume you have to get back to the gallery right away. We can grab a bite at the Incandescent Body."
    "Well, actually, no, I don't have to get back to the gallery right away," she said smoothly. "I just hired an assistant for the summer. Gail Gillingham. She said she could handle the place for the afternoon."
    "Gail?" He thought about that. "Good choice."
    "I think so. Unfortunately, I can't offer her anything permanent, but she said that the position will give her some breathing space in which to hunt for a better situation. You know what they say, the best time to look for a job is when you've already got one."
    "Yeah, I've heard that." He kept his grip on her arm and angled her across Bay Street, steering toward the gas station, where his car was still parked at the pump.
    "Gail has a very professional attitude and she's smart."
    Octavia said, trotting briskly along beside him. "I think that eventually she'll turn up something at the institute or at Chamberlain."
    "Probably."
    Octavia finally noticed that they were halfway across the street. She frowned. "Where are we going?"
    "To get my car."
    "Oh."
    When they reached the BMW, Nick opened the door on the passenger side and stuffed Octavia into the seat. He closed the door and reached for his wallet.
    "What do I owe you, Sandy?"
    "Twenty-three bucks." Sandy peered through the windshield, looking at Octavia. "Everything go okay in the Total Eclipse?"
    "Sure." Nick handed him the cash and started toward the driver's side of the car. "By the way, turns out Eugene and Dwayne were mistaken about that rumor they were spreading around."
    Sandy blinked. "You mean the one about Miss-" He broke off abruptly when Nick gave him a hard look. He swallowed heavily. "Wrong, huh?"
    "Yeah." Nick opened the door. "Completely false. Be a good idea if you didn't pass it along. Know what I mean?"
    "Right," Sandy said quickly and nodded. "Big mistake."
    Nick got behind the wheel. "You got it," he said through the open window. "Big mistake."
    He drove out of the station, aware that Octavia was watching him intently.
    "What was that all about?" she asked.
    "Nothing important."
    "Don't give me that. You deliberately intimidated Sandy Hickson. I want to know why."
    He turned the corner and drove up the street that led away from the waterfront. "I didn't do a damn thing to Sandy."
    "Yes, you did. I saw you. Something about the way you looked at him. I call that intimidation. Why did you do it?"
    He contemplated that question for a while. Then he shrugged. "Okay, you should probably know what's going on, seeing as how you're the
client,
and all."
    "Absolutely." She put on her own dark glasses, settled back into her seat, and folded her arms beneath her breasts. "Talk."
    "There's a rumor going around town that you're the one who swiped the Upsall."
    For a couple of seconds she did not move, just sat there gazing blankly through the windshield. Then she whipped around in the seat.
    "Someone thinks I stole it?"
    "I picked up the story from Sandy. He said he got it from a couple of colorful types who hang out at the Total Eclipse-"
    "Mean Eugene and Dickhead Dwayne."
    He was a little taken aback. Somehow it was hard to envision her calling anyone
dickhead.
He had to keep reminding himself that the Fairy Queen was not all sweetness and light. Not anymore.
    "Uh, yeah," he said.
    "Those two are spreading the rumor that I'm responsible for the theft, hmm?"
    "Yeah."
    "Well, I hate to say it, but you must admit that there is some logic to their theory. I mean, I do have motive, opportunity, and a good working knowledge of the art world. How hard would it be for a slick operator like me to scam a bunch of locals like A.Z. and Virgil and the Heralds? All I'd have to do is make the picture disappear, tell everyone it got stolen, and then, a few months from now when I'm settled in some big city, make it mysteriously reappear. Presto, my name is suddenly legend in the world of modern art."
    "Not hard," he agreed.
    "And no one back here in Eclipse Bay would have a clue."
    "No one but me," he corrected mildly.
    "You wouldn't have any way of knowing what had happened, either. Not unless you made it a point to keep up with events in the art world."
    He did not take his eyes off the road. "I'd do that, though."
    "You would?"
    "Let's just say I'd keep up with