Although, he could have the girl.
6
Tinsley turned on the soft music in her gallery as she got ready for the day. Paxton would start working for her tomorrow morning and today she was going to make a list of things she needed to be done.
With a smirk to herself, she got to work on the list. Changing the hard-to-reach light bulbs. There was a crack in the back wall that needed a touchup. Tinsley tapped her pen to her lip and wondered how Paxton was with plumbing. Oh, she knew he thought he was coming in here as a sales associate, but she had a better idea.
The bells above the door chimed, drawing her from her thoughts. She sat at the sales table in the back of the room that afforded her a view of the entire gallery. No, no, no. What was Maurice doing here?
“Mr. Smith,” Tinsley said, standing up. “It’s a pleasure to see you so soon. What can I do for you?” Tinsley’s eyes went to the second man who entered. She recognized him as Maurice’s partner that day in Ellery’s gallery. Only, like Maurice, he’d received a makeover.
Maurice smiled and stepped forward to shake her hand. “Tinsley, meet my brother, Murray, and please call me Maurice.”
Tinsley shook the man’s hand, but he didn’t speak. Instead, he deferred to Maurice.
“Have you heard from your private buyer?” Maurice asked.
“I’ve sent the information to her and I’m just waiting to hear back. She was very interested.” Tinsley tried to smile as if she were excited. It was one thing when she was here with just Maurice, but now she was outnumbered. If things went badly . . .
“Excellent. I told Murray I had faith in you and we’ve decided to sell some more paintings to hire an additional nurse for our grandmother. Would you be up for that?”
“Of course,” Tinsley said as her heart galloped in her chest. More stolen art? How much more? Maybe Paxton was right. She was getting in dangerous territory here.
“Murray,” Maurice motioned and Murray walked out of the gallery. Maurice turned back to her and smiled in a way that made her a little nervous because she felt as if he were testing her. “Now, some of these we’ve had appraised, but I’d like your take on them. I feel like we’re a lot of old families—asset rich, cash poor. I hate to part with them, but it’s the only way to pay for things.”
Tinsley nodded. “You’re not the first to hire me for that very reason. I’ll do what I did the last time. I’ll tell you the range you can expect to get for them. I may have to do a little research. As much as I wish I knew the value of every painting ever painted, it’s not always the case.”
The door opened and Murray came in carrying two portfolio cases. “Where should I put these?”
“Right here,” Tinsley said as she moved to clear off the desk. Murray set them down and stepped back. Tinsley tried not to shake as she reached out to slowly unzip them. The instant she saw the first painting, she knew she was in deep.
Tinsley slipped on the protective white gloves she kept in her desk and carefully moved the paintings to examine each of them. It was strange holding the art she’d just seen in the FBI files. Now she just needed to pretend to have never seen them before.
“Your grandmother has an exquisite collection. I know some of these off the top of my head, but if you give me a moment, I can give you a range for the others.” Right now all Tinsley wanted to do was get to her phone and text Paxton.
“Tell us what you know right now. Then we can fill out the paperwork while you do your research,” Maurice told her. He tried to make it seem like a suggestion, but she knew it wasn’t.
Tinsley looked from one painting to the next and told him what she knew of them. A couple of them she pretended not to know so it wasn’t obvious she had literally just read about them in the FBI files.
“Excellent,” Maurice said, satisfied after Murray gave a slight nod of approval. “We’d like you to sell these. Price them to sell quickly, but don’t give up too much money. Nothing is too good for our grandmother. We want her to have the absolute best care.”
“I’m honored you’re entrusting me with this. I’ll do all I can to get the best possible price.” Tinsley handed the paperwork to Maurice and he handed over the forged provenances. “I’ll make a copy and then get to work on the research. Feel free to take a look around the gallery while you wait.”
Murray looked down at his watch and shook his head. “We can only wait ten minutes. We have to get to work.”
“Do you two work together?” Tinsley then realized she shouldn’t have asked criminals what they did for a living. “I don’t know if I could work with my brother.” Tinsley gave a little giggle and saw the men relax. Yup, sweet, unassuming Tinsley is all everyone ever saw.
“It has its moments,” Murray said as Maurice filled out the paperwork.
“I bet. I’ll be right back,” Tinsley said as she headed straight for the back office. She had just put the stack of papers onto the auto feeder when Murray filled the doorway. Tinsley wanted to curse because she’d been about to reach for her cell phone when the large shadow filled the room.
“Did you go to college for this stuff?” Murray asked as Tinsley was forced to take a seat and start the research on the couple of pieces she’d pretended not to know.
“I did. I just love pretty things and nothing is prettier than art.” Tinsley felt stupid even saying it, but it was clear Murray was scoping her out. The last thing she wanted was for him to become suspicious of her. “I’m also an artist. That’s my main focus. I paint.”
“Then how do you have these private contacts?” Murray asked, not being able to hide the suspicion in his voice.
“If you can think of a cause, I’m on a charity for it. Being a debutante opens up a world of networking. Shadows Landing is too small to have a come-out, but I came out in Charleston and am very active in the charity scene there. You wouldn’t believe the contacts I have just from the garden club,” Tinsley told him with a conspiratorial wink. She saw Murray nod his head and then look back down at his watch. “So, what do you see for the two paintings?”
Tinsley looked down at her computer. “Both would sell from fifteen to twenty thousand.”
“Good. We have a deal then, Miss Faulkner. My brother said he was happy with your knowledge and contacts. If you can sell the Castille this week, we have a lot more art for you to sell. You may be a painter, but we can make you very rich as an art dealer.”
Tinsley stood up with a smile and smoothed her skirt down. “I look forward to it. I have no doubt I can sell that painting by then. What other art would you have for me?”
“Our grandmother’s entire art collection. She was an avid collector. Maurice and I don’t know much about it. If it can help pay for her care, we’d rather sell it.”
“I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
Maurice appeared then with the signed contracts. The paperwork was concluded and before Tinsley could even reach for her cell phone, Murray and Maurice were gone.
Tinsley’s hands were shaking with adrenaline and nerves as she picked up her phone and sent a text to Paxton. How fast can you get here?