Blue Smoke and Murder

59

SEPTEMBER 16

2:29 P.M.

Grace picked up the phone. “Zach? Faroe’s tied up.”

“How about you?” Zach said.

“Make it quick.”

“Can St. Kilda have a warrant for public records regarding the arrest of Justine Breck and Thomas Dunstan in Canyon County, Arizona in…”

Grace shifted the baby to her other arm and started writing. “Did you get photos of the thumbprints on Jill’s paintings?”

“Yeah, but only for insurance. A fingerprint expert will need better photos. The thumbprint is hard to see except with black light. Dunstan used a lot of texture, plus the frames on Frost’s paintings added a certain amount of wear.”

“But the thumbprints on each canvas looked the same to you?”

“Sure did. That makes it damn near certain that Dunstan painted Jill’s canvases.”

“Then they’re worth a lot of money.”

“Multimillions, according to the estimates in the auction catalogue. But if all her paintings come on the market at the same time, it could lower the price,” Zach said. “Or maybe it would create a feeding frenzy. Who knows? Collectors are a screwy lot.”

“We’ll be real careful to get good photos of her paintings,” Grace said. “Any idea how much paper we’re talking about for the warrant?”

“I’ll tell you as soon as we know.” At the other end of the line, Zach heard a very young baby’s fretful cry. “Feeding time at the zoo?”

“She’ll last another few seconds. When do you want the records picked up?”

“Yesterday. Too many things have burned, if you know what I mean.”

“Just make sure Jill isn’t one of them.”

“She’s within reach at all times,” Zach assured her.

Grace smiled. “All times?”

He cleared his throat. “I’ll call when we need something else.”

“How’s the new sat/cell working?”

“So far so good.”

Faroe hung up just as Grace did.

“Anything wrong?” Faroe asked.

“Not with the new phone. So far.”

“That man has a weird electrical field. Goes through batteries-even the rechargeable kind-like grass through a goose. What did he want?”

“A warrant for public records.”

Faroe’s eyebrows lifted. “If they’re public, why bother?”

“Zach says too many things have burned so far.”

“He has a point.”

The fretful cries became more urgent.

Faroe said, “Give her to me. I’ll change her while you do the legal stuff.”

“You can change her after she eats.” Grace opened her blouse and began nursing the baby. “I can write one-handed. Has anybody heard from Ambassador Steele on the Brazilian money-laundering payoff?”

“Accounting is depositing our percentage of the finder’s fee as we speak.”

“Good. At the rate Zach’s spending money, we’ll need an infusion of cash. Where is our closest fingerprint expert?”

Faroe bent over his computer, punched keys, waited. “She’s in L.A.”

“Put her on standby notice as of now.”