Page 51 of The Artist
“Complication?What do you mean a complication?I don’t pay you for those.”
“McNubbin took care of it.”
“What did he take care of?”
“The assistant was there, but she won’t be telling anyone anything.After the fire, no one will know what happened to her.They will think she died in the blaze.”
“He killed Heather?Oh, jeez.What were you two thinking?You imbeciles.You should have waited and come back when the gallery was empty.Now you’ve involved us all in a murder.”Beecher could be heard taking a deep breath and letting it out.“Oh, well, nothing to be done now.You and Avery will have to disappear.I’ll take care of Alexis.”
Peter’s fists clenched upon hearing the threat against Alexis again.Beecher’s voice continued.
If they can’t find you, they can’t tie it to me.I want you on the next flight out.Meet me at the rendezvous in L.A..I’ll have McNubbin deal with any fall out”
“Sure.We’ll see you at Rick’s Cafe.How long will you be?We’re gonna need money.”
“I’ll wire money into your account.”
“If you try to double-cross us, I’ll be back, and you won’t double-cross anyone ever again.Do you get my meaning?And McNubbin will be watching you.You can’t put him off like you are me.He’ll want his money”
“Um, yeah…yeah.I get your meaning.I’ll make sure to take care of McNubbin, too, after he’s through being useful.”
“You’d better.He’s not a fun person when he feels used.I’ll be in touch.”
A click sounded.
“What do you think, Sheriff?Is that enough?”
His mouth was a straight line.“It should be enough to get a warrant but I need to find this information on my own, so it’s admissible in court.”
“What about McNubbin?He’s part of this, and he’s been trying to point you at Alexis.You know she had nothing to do with it now, but how are you going to stop him?”
“You leave McNubbin to me.I have something special for him.”The sheriff steepled his fingers.“I hate crooked cops, especially when they supposedly work for me.”
“What do you want me to do?”asked Peter.Thank God, support is now here.
“For now, I want you to stay close to Alexis.She could be in great danger from Horace Beecher.We just don’t know what his plans are.He’s a wildcard here.”
“I can try.She’s not very happy with me at this moment.”
“Do the best you can.I can’t get to Shaw or Avery.I had to let them go after seventy-two hours because I had nothing to hold them on.Now, they’ve gone to LA.I’ll get the police there to hold them for me.I’ll also talk to the FBI and make them aware of the situation.”
Peter stood.“That’s a good idea.I’m going to see if Alexis will talk to me.”
Sheriff Taylor stood and extended his right hand.“Good luck but something tells me you won’t need it.”
Taking his hand, Peter shook it.“I hope you’re right.”He let out a deep breath wondering what it will take for Alexis to forgive him.
Alexis lookedover the new building.The rectangular building had two display windows, one on either side of the double doors in the front.The long sides of the building both had long, vertical windows.All the windows were treated with reflection material so they let in light, but not enough direct sunshine to damage the paintings.
The building was almost complete.The construction company she’d hired was working overtime to get it done on time.She wanted it open for the summer tourist season.The interior was easier to do than the contractor had expected, which made finishing it quicker.
She’d changed her mind and rather than have several rooms, it was designed with one big room with moveable walls that she could make into one large room or several smaller ones.
After visiting a small gallery in Belmar that had this configuration, she’d decided it was exactly what she wanted for her gallery, too..
“Hello.”
She turned at the sound of the voice belonging to the man she loved.Her heart lurched and her stomach was suddenly flipping over.“Peter?What are you doing here?”
