Drawn to the Past by Kat Shehata

Author:Kat Shehata [Shehata, Kat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Angel Bea Publishing
Published: 2023-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

MESSAGES—LEO

I rushed to the gallery where Evelyn’s art show was in full swing.

I didn’t remember going to any of her shows in the past and was surprised to see Evelyn’s fun and artsy personality reflected in her party.

There was a cocktail server wearing a devil costume, delivering elevated Bloody Mary cocktails to the high-end clientele. Each drink was garnished with a mini slider with Evelyn’s initials branded on the bun.

As I cruised through the crowd in search of Evelyn, a trio of musicians played a jazzy, syncopated version of Highway to Hell. I got a lot of looks from Evelyn’s inner art circle, possibly because they knew me, but I didn’t have the time or patience for small talk.

I maneuvered through the crowd and checked every partitioned section of the gallery. Along the way, I marveled at Evelyn’s paintings and admired her artistic talent.

The paintings were all unique but had a common theme: The Devil in Disguise, Evelyn’s fall collection. Based on the show announcement I’d seen in the window, tonight was a preview party for her gallery patrons and clients ahead of her Final Friday Gallery Walk coming up next week.

When I had cleared every room, a tall woman with platinum blond hair rushed up to greet me.

“Leo! So glad you’re here. You look well.” The woman, Gibson, according to her name badge, had a million-dollar smile and seemed genuinely glad to see me.

Evelyn had mentioned her name, and I remembered Gibson was the gallery manager who was blowing up her phone about the details of tonight’s event. “I’m looking for Evelyn. Have you seen her?”

Gibson’s smile faded. “No. She said she had to go out of town unexpectedly and couldn’t make it tonight. I assumed she was leaving with you.”

“Right. That’s my mistake. I will relay to Evelyn how you packed the house tonight. Have a good evening.”

I was about to leave, but something was off. I pulled out my phone and checked the app to locate Evelyn’s phone. Once again, her cell pinged at the gallery and pinpointed her location.

The same location her phone had been since yesterday afternoon.

I waited until a guest distracted Gibson, then slipped upstairs to check Evelyn’s studio. When I reached the door, it was locked. I knocked.

No answer.

A million horrible thoughts crossed my mind as I pulled out my pocketknife and jimmied the lock. I had unjustly accused her of being a liar and fraud. What if she had taken an emotional turn for the worse?

Apparently, the old me made sure Evelyn’s studio was a safe and secure space for her. After what Evelyn had gone through, I wouldn’t have expected anything less than high security. But now that I was trying to break in, I was kicking myself for not installing a retinal scanner that would have given me easy access.

Almost there…snap!

Once I was inside, I turned on the lights and searched the room. Evelyn wasn’t there. I called her phone and listened. I followed the vibration to her desk and opened the drawer.

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