Artist: Haseya Colton
Oil on canvas
Donated by Margot Malone
She’d never imagined one of her own works hanging in Zephyr Gallery, but she’d made a promise to Margot. Climbing the ladder underneath the canned light, she angled it so that it spotlighted the canvas, then stepped down to check the display from every angle.
Satisfied, she took a step back and simply stared.
She’d hung it halfway up the stairs. The significance of that spot wasn’t lost on her. This was the place she had first encountered Nick the night of the auction.
Pressing the heel of her hand over the ache beneath her breastbone, she scrubbed, wishing she could erase it. She wished she could forget that night had ever happened. It had been four days, and though Detective Finbar and his team had cleared Soledad of any wrongdoing, Sassy and the gallery were still under investigation.
Worse, Fletcher Ryder remained at large. Someone matching his description had been spotted at a gas station several miles past the border into Colorado, driving what appeared to be a black F-150.
He hadn’t returned to Soledad’s residence, as officials had projected. He hadn’t dared. The patrol car they’d stationed outside her home in Dark Canyon had moved on. She was no longer under police protection…or scrutiny, as Sassy had suspected the close watch on her friend to actually be.
The success of the auction had been eclipsed by newspapers and local news stations reporting on the apprehension of the dealer who had shot Detective Hatch earlier in the month and speculation about his partner, Ryder’s, whereabouts. Fletcher’s double life in the cocaine business had quieted the mystery around how he was able to afford his expensive watch, Italian shoes and suits.
However, it was difficult for Sassy to conflate the Big C supplier with the reserved man who had been dating one of her closest friends. Soledad’s bewilderment and heartbreak doubled down on the conundrum.
I don’t understand. How could I have been so wrong about him?she had asked Sassy after returning to work the previous morning.
Sassy had had no answers for her, and every word of consolation had felt insufficient to what Fletcher had left them. Gallery traffic was down, and they both knew it wouldn’t pick up again until after Sassy was cleared of all wrongdoing. In the meantime, she’d been on the phone with her artists on and off the rez, assuring them that all was well. Some had asked if the gallery would close.
The mere thought of Zephyr closing its doors staked fear in her heart. No matter how many assurances she’d extended over the past forty-eight hours, something inside her niggled with doubt.
Could Zephyr survive this? Could Sassy’s reputation as an agent weather the fallout of the sting Nick had orchestrated?
Sassy turned away from the painting, closing up the ladder and hauling it back down the stairs to the storeroom.
Soledad looked up from the crate she had been in the process of breaking down for lack of anything more to do. They had both taken care of their daily tasks. Without walk-ins, they were spinning their wheels trying to fill business hours. “Have you heard from Finbar?”
Sassy pressed her back against the wall and slid down to a crouch, checking her watch. “No, and I don’t expect to before the end of the day. He seems content to drag this investigation out as long as possible.”
Soledad’s eyes brimmed with regret. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
“Don’t,” Sassy said sternly. She shook her head to get her point across. “I told you. You are not to blame for any of this.”
“I thought he was a stand-up guy,” Soledad said plaintively.
“Because he conned you into thinking so,” Sassy pointed out. “You wouldn’t invite anyone into your life that would do something like this.” Soledad wouldn’t have fallen for a man who would do such a thing, either. Fletcher must be exceptionally skilled at this level of subterfuge if he’d fooled a good woman into thinking he was everything she was looking for in life.
Soledad retracted the blade on her box cutter, frowning. “I keep wondering if any of it was real. Did he seek me out in order to make this deal happen or was my connection to the gallery just too convenient to pass up?” She went from a crouch to a sitting position on the floor and dropped her head into her hands. “Ugh. I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”
Sassy placed her hand on her shoulder. “I don’t see it that way.” Though she had no further answers for Soledad. Until Fletcher was caught…ifhe ever was…they wouldn’t know anything about his motives.
Had it really been him outside her house that night Riot had alerted her to a stranger’s presence? Was the F-150 he’d supposedly been spotted driving across state lines the same one that had tried to mow her down on Main Street?
If he’d needed her gallery for a drop-off location for his buyer, why would he have targeted her personally prior to the Colton fundraiser? If he’d been caught doing either, wouldn’t that have tipped police off in regard to his hidden life?
Her cell phone rang from her back pocket. Soledad stilled. Sassy unconsciously held her breath, drawing the device out.
On the screen was the snapshot she’d taken of Nick, grinning during his birthday dinner at the Sauce Spot with Whoa Daddy sauce all over his hands and lips.
Sassy hadn’t spoken to him since the night of the auction. She still felt too raw where he was concerned. Ending the call before it could begin, she stuffed the phone back into her pocket.
Soledad visibly deflated.
