Beneath the Frost (A Sienna Dusk Suspense Thriller—Book 1) by Taylor Stark

Author:Taylor Stark [Stark, Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2024-04-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter THIRTEEN

The warmth of the gallery air was a stark contrast to the chill of the town outside, but in spite of that, Sienna shivered as she and Alex stepped back over the threshold.

The hushed ambiance, usually reserved for contemplation, now held an ominous undertone. She and Alex had come to delve into the life Elise Vance led before her untimely end – a life expressed in bold strokes and vivid colors on canvas.

"Is this really the best use of our time?" Alex's voice cut through the silence. His question was not one of doubt, but rather the practical mindset of a man accustomed to order and discipline.

Sienna ran her fingers along the textured paintings, feeling the raised swirls of paint like braille under her fingertips. "The killer chose her," she murmured more to herself than to Alex. "There must be a connection here."

Each painting felt like a window into Elise's soul, fragments of a life cut brutally short. Sienna's eyes lingered on an abstract piece, the chaos of color mirroring the turmoil in her own thoughts. She couldn't shake the notion that somewhere within these walls, a predator had watched Elise, selecting her as prey.

Sienna saw Maggie, the curator, still there in one corner of the gallery. There were more people around now, as if in pilgrimage to the dead artist. The whole atmosphere was somber, and Sienna saw several people with tears on their cheeks.

“Officers?” Maggie said, looking at them with a note of surprise. “You’re back? Did you… did you find the person Elise met with?”

Sienna nodded. “We did, but we don’t think that he had anything to do with her death.”

Maggie frowned in disappointment. “Does that mean that you don’t know who did this to her?”

“Not yet,” Sienna said, in an apologetic tone. “That’s why we’re here. We think that whoever killed Elise might have been stalking her beforehand. Can we check the security footage? I take it you have security footage.”

Maggie nodded. “Of course,” she replied. “We have to protect the pieces on display.”

She led them to a cramped office at the back of the gallery. A monitor sat on a desk, and Maggie pulled up images displaying different angles of the gallery's interior.

“So,” Alex said. “The plan is to sift through all of this, looking for anyone who is paying too much attention to Elise Vance?”

Sienna nodded. “The wrong kind of attention. Obviously, there will be plenty of fans here. But if we can find anyone staring at her without approaching her, anyone who seems to be following her around, maybe that will point us in the right direction.”

“Maybe,” Alex agreed. “And I’m not sure we have many better options.”

They began the arduous task of sifting through the footage, fast-forwarding through hours of benign visitors admiring Elise's work. Sienna's focus never wavered, her gaze sharp as she hunted for any sign of a stalker. Paintings blurred past on the screens, a dizzying carousel of art that made her head ache.

The curator excused herself, leaving Sienna and Alex enveloped in the flickering glow of the monitor.

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