R: Okay.
M: I love you.
R: I love you too.
I pocket my phone and get back to work. Tomorrow, Roxy talks to the gallery and in maybe six or eight weeks she'll have her first solo exhibition.
I hope it all fucking works out.
CHAPTER TWENTY
ROXY
The email arrives at 11:47am on a Thursday. I'm in the darkroom when my phone buzzes as I've been checking it obsessively for days, ever since Dom told me about the Gary Hollis case reopening. Part of me expected no response and the other part expected rejection.
I didn’t expect this.
Subject: RE: Portfolio Submission
Thank you for your submission. Your work is intriguing and very unique. I'd like to discuss representation and a potential solo exhibition.
Would you be available for a call tomorrow?
Best,
Sarah Vance
Curator, Void Gallery
Brooklyn, NY
I read it three times.
No name in the subject line. No "Dear Roxy." Just a response to an anonymous email submission. Because that's all Sarah Vance has, an anonymous email address I created specifically for portfolio submissions. No name or contact information. No way to trace it back to Roxy or anyone else.
Then I walk out of the darkroom and find Dom in the kitchen making coffee. The coffee maker gurgles in the silence. I texted him with the news about the reply from Sarah while he was at work and come home to talk it through with him. Sensing my presence, he looks up and moves over to me, taking me into his arms.
“You good?” he asks.
“I’ve actually changed my mind about disclosing who I am, you know, living in the open.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just realized that this curator has no idea who I am as I never gave her any of my personal details, no name or address. I even used one of my fake email addresses.”
"So she doesn't know who you are," he says.
"No. Just the anonymous email. So what if I keep it that way? Make it a thing, you know, the edgy artist who wants to remain anonymous, to only be known for her work and not who she is. Then, that detective will definitely have no way to find us or link anything to us. Because I still don’t exist."
"Huh, that’s a pretty good fucking idea. Do you think the gallery would be cool with not meeting you in person?"
"I can make sure it’s only over the phone, I can use my burner. Who knows, it may be a convincing selling point. Gives an air of mystery. And the cherry on top will be that we can relax, because even if my work was noticed and the locations linked, this Sarah Vance would have nothing to give them. I can set up another bank account in a new name for just the art stuff, even link it to another country."
"I can help you with that. To be honest I feel more comfortable with this. So you do it over email or phone if you have to. But you don't give her anything that hints of who you are. No personal details, nothing that connects the work to Roxy Brennan."
I nod slowly, understanding the strategy and feeling immense relief.
"The artist stays anonymous. A mystery," he says grinning, and the tense atmosphere that’s been lingering for days dissolves. "So that’s the plan. The work will be public, but you’re not."
