Page 37 of Unveiled

“Gets better.” The promise in Knox’s tone had Jaxon’s ears perking up with interest. “We have a potential suspect. Ever heard of the Marvelous Maids?”

Jaxon blinked at him. “What is that?”

A tiny smile quirked Knox’s mouth. “Cleaning service. Apparently, the regular cleaner who works for Richter remembers the painting that was stolen. She saw it across town yesterday in another client’s house—Paul Mickelson.”

Even Jaxon knew of that slimy creep. His name was on every car dealership from here to El Paso, and he had a reputation to match his smarmy car salesman smile.

“Yep.” Knox tipped his chin. “PD interviewed him yesterday. He insisted on being guaranteed immunity for his cooperation.”

Jaxon rolled his eyes. He could roll in a pigsty and come out smelling like a rose. “Figures.”

“Yep.” Knox pushed up from the chair. “I’ll be in the conference room. Meeting starts in five.”

Jaxon nodded, his mind floating back to Adalyn and Jaclyn. He had been a tool yesterday. He owed Adalyn an apology for storming out—for the second time—and he needed to find a way to connect with Jaclyn without scaring her off again. Pulling his phone from his back pocket, he tapped out a message to Adalyn asking if he could come over tonight. He had no idea what he was going to do or say, but he had to make things right.

He nodded to the team as he slipped into the conference room and took a seat next to Mason’s twin brother, Miles. “Hey, man.”

He tipped his chin at Jaxon as he relaxed into the chair. “You here for good?”

“Just in time for the party, apparently.”

Miles’s attention jumped over Jaxon’s shoulder to Vivi. “Thanks, beautiful.” He winked at her, and she slapped his upper arm with the manila folder she held.

“That won’t work with me.”

He let out a laugh, completely unperturbed, and took the folder. Vivi turned to Jaxon and held out another file. “Hi, Jaxon.”

He accepted the folder. “Hey, Vivi.”

Miles twisted in his chair, his eyes following the petite brunette. “When you gonna let me take you out, Viv?”

She bared her teeth in a wicked smile. “You gonna make it worth my while?”

He grinned. “Always do.”

“Knock it off,” Mason barked from Jaxon’s other side.

Jaxon threw a look Mason’s way, but he kept his gaze firmly on the file in front of him. Beneath the table, though, Mason’s knee jumped anxiously, his hand curling into a fist on his thigh. Interesting.

Aiden Taylor set his laptop down, dragging Jaxon’s attention to him. “Everyone ready?”

A low murmur of affirmation rose from the table, and Knox nodded for Aiden to begin. “As you all know, a painting recently stolen from Alan Richter’s residence turned up in the home of Paul Mickelson. PD questioned him yesterday, and we finally got a lead.”

That was good news.

“Apparently, the items are being auctioned off each Friday night. They’re invitation only for only the wealthiest customers. New clients are referral only. Mickelson told them all about the process, but he swears he has no idea who’s running them.”

Jaxon leaned back in his chair. “So we’ve got nothing.”

“IP address is different, and the signal gets rerouted all over the place. Website changes every week, and an invitation is sent out about an hour prior to the start of the auctions.”

Knox spoke up. “Apparently, two items were stolen from Richter’s residence. The painting we know was purchased by Mickelson. But he denies knowing anything about this.” Knox pressed a button on the remote, and an image filled the screen, an ugly bust of someone that looked to be at least five hundred years old. “Richter is adamant we find it. He believes that Oliver Eldredge has it and plans to move it.”

Knox tipped his head Jaxon’s way. “Mason and Keller, you’re on Eldredge. Basic recon. Dig into his background, anything you can find out about him. The PD have already been through the shop, but we’ll need to get eyes on the warehouse, see if anything looks suspicious.”

“I think we need to get into one of these auctions,” Aiden stated.

Knox nodded. “Agreed.”