AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I quickly relay everything I know to both of them.
“It seems coincidental that your woman is sitting on a million-dollar fortune and gets broken into twice.” Slider rubs a hand over his face.
“You think the break-in could be related to the painting?” I ask, grateful they’re both here. We all have analytical minds, but mine is misfiring right now. I need clear heads and that’s what Slider and Beanie are giving me.
“It seems a weird coincidence if it’s not.”
“I’m with Slide,” Beanie adds. “Seems likely the two are linked.”
“How would anyone find out about the painting?” I ask. “It’s not common knowledge.”
“Someone had to know it was in the storage unit, which means either the owner of the storage unit company, or whoever owned the storage unit itself before it was auctioned off.”
Both sound like good starting points.
Another car pulls in. My mom. It’s a bad sign that everyone has arrived before the police. It tells me the cops aren’t taking this seriously at all.
I quickly unstrap Coop and carry him over to her car. Give my kid credit, he doesn’t complain or make a sound while I do this. I think on some level he knows something bad is going on.
“What’s happened?” Mom asks. “I thought you were going to the zoo.”
“I’ll explain later,” I tell her.
Time is ticking. Nia could have been missing since last night and that thought makes my blood run cold.
“I need you to wait here for the police. Tell them Nia’s missing, that she was last seen yesterday evening and last spoke to Harry Fenwick, a valuer, about a highly priced painting she has.”
“The police? Nia’s missing? Son, I don’t understand.”
“I don’t have time to explain right now, Mom, just tell them her purse was found in the dumpster.”
I take the store keys from Nia’s purse. If she has notes inside, I want to find them before the cops get here and cordon everything off.
“Okay, I will, but where will you be?”
I glance up at my mom.
“Trying to find Nia.”
