Page 89 of Over Her Dead Body

After dinner, he took us into his study.

“I don’t show this to many people,” he said.

A small nineteenth-century oil hung beside a cabinet filled with whiskey. A woman stood at a window in a dark blue dress, one hand resting against the glass.

It was not for sale. It had never been offered publicly. He wanted me to know both things before I examined it.

“What would you value it at?” he asked.

“Not after thirty seconds and two glasses of wine.”

“That careful?”

“That committed to remaining employed.”

He laughed again.

“Three-point-two at the last insurance appraisal,” he said. “It would bring four now.”

I tilted my head and studied the woman in the dress. “Possibly.”

“Definitely.” His hand found the small of my back. “Come without your husband next time and you can take a closer look.”

I stepped closer to the painting and away from his hand.

An old repaired tear curved like a question mark through the woman’s skirt. The restoration was good, though the retouching had aged differently from the surrounding paint. I shifted slightly to catch it in the light.

Reid saw me move away from the collector.

The collector poured himself another drink.

“I like having one thing no auction house can get its hands on,” he said.

He smiled at me over his glass, then turned to return the bottle to the cabinet.

Reid flicked the lower corner of the frame with one finger.

It shifted half an inch.

My stomach dropped. He had made it through dinner before breaking the simplest rule I gave him. Naturally, he started with the one worth four million dollars.

If the collector turned around, half an inch of Reid’s spite could have me updating my resume. I stepped toward the painting.

The collector turned back.

I let my hand fall. Reid’s was already in his pocket.

Reid did not speak until we were in the car and the gates had closed behind us.

“He touched you.”

“He was showing me a painting. He’s a client, Reid.”

“That changes where his hands belong?”

“It changes how I respond if I want to keep my job.”

Reid looked out the window.