Dinero Del Mar (The Drifter Detective Book 5) by Elliott Garnett

Author:Elliott, Garnett [Elliott, Garnett]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: General
Publisher: BEAT to a PULP
Published: 2014-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

"You got rid of Lucas? Already?"

Despite it being early afternoon, Phil still wore the same robe from breakfast. Jack had tracked him down to his room on the third floor with a servant's help. Sheets of paper covered his desk and bed, and bookcases hemmed the walls on all sides.

"He's gone for now," Jack said. "But to make it permanent, we'll have to find something on him. You got a key to his room?"

"They're all skeletons …" Phil rummaged in his desk until he found an antique-looking specimen.

"Good. Come with me."

The door next to Phil's was open. Jack glanced inside as they hurried past. Neat as a barracks, with tennis trophies cluttering the dresser and Texas college pennons on the walls. Marta's room, given the size. Strange, how she and her brother still lived in their childhood home, right next to each other. Unable to escape the pull of family money.

They went down to the second floor. Lucas had left his footlocker open, but Jack ignored it and went straight to the section of wall where he'd seen the plaster dust. "You told me before you thought he was stealing from your mother."

"A couple items went missing. Small, but valuable."

"Probably hedging his bet, in case she got tired of him." Jack felt along the wallpaper. His fingertips brushed a crevice. More probing revealed a two-by-two square, cut from the drywall and then fit back in place. Jack slid the ivory-hilted knife into the crevice. A twist popped the square free, revealing a hollow between the studs.

"Bingo," Jack said.

Phil craned over his shoulder to look. Inside the compartment lay a sterling silver hairbrush, a pearl comb, and a canvas wrapped in cloth.

"You better get Ma," Jack said.

"Right now? She's in the middle of a session."

"Get her, or she might think we planted all this."

"She'll be upset."

"She should be, when she finds out her kept boy was stealing from her. I sent Lucas on a long train ride, but he'll probably try to make his way back here. If she knows the truth, she won't let him in again."

"Alright."

Phil hurried off, to return minutes later with an irate Ma and nervous-looking Dessau in tow.

"What's all this?" Ma said. "Where's Lucas? I've told you before not to interrupt when the muse is working through me. Really, Phil, if you had any respect for my art you wouldn't barge in and make demands. The act of creation is a sacred process …"

Her voice trailed off when she saw the compartment. Jack took the canvas out and laid it on the bed. He removed the dust cloth.

"My Chagall!" Ma stamped her foot. "It was supposed to be fitted for a new frame, but I thought the shop was just taking its time."

"I've been trying to tell you all along," Phil said. "Lucas was pilfering."

Jack caught a sharp intake of breath from the doorway, and turned to see Marta Cisneros. She must've been attracted by all the noise. Her eyes widened at the brightly-colored painting atop the bed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.