The Artist by Cathryn Grant

Author:Cathryn Grant [Grant, Cathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781943142774
Publisher: D2C Perspectives
Published: 2023-10-29T16:00:00+00:00

35

NOW: MORGAN

After my phone call with Tyler, I’d found Jade watching TV in the living room. As I’d suspected, the others were all napping off the champagne. Dinner that evening was leftover pasta salad from the lunch. No one mentioned the steak. Everyone ate on their own schedule, sitting at the bar in the kitchen or on the patio after sunset, when it was cool enough to enjoy.

Jade and I both went to bed early without discussing the party. I didn’t tell her what Colin had said about Grace. I wanted to, but I knew she would argue even more forcefully than Tyler had that all was normal and fine, to-be-expected and on-brand.

The next morning, Colin took Avery to school. Olivia left shortly after to go shopping, and Ember and Bryce went out to the studio, telling me my sitting would be that afternoon.

With Jade lying beside the pool and the house to myself, I decided I would indulge my near certainty that Grace had not simply wandered off to figure out and readjust the rest of her life.

Hoping there were no hidden security cameras, I boldly opened the door to the wing that I’d been told housed Ember and Colin’s bedroom, a sitting room, and Colin’s home office. I did not know what I hoped to find, and no idea why I thought I would find anything at all, but I was more than a little curious about why that section of the house was closed off. It made sense they wanted some privacy with a constant parade of strangers through their home. But they didn’t offer that privacy to their son. So what was different about this wing of the house?

Directly across from me was Colin’s spacious home office. To my right was a short hallway. I turned and walked into a massive bedroom with a walk-in closet and a palatial bathroom that included his and hers showers, a jacuzzi tub, and a small steam room. None of the artwork in their bedroom was Ember’s. There were tapestries, carved wood pieces, and several photographs of the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and other landmarks from the southwest.

I walked back past the sitting room to Colin’s office and went inside.

My immediate impression was that it belonged to someone meticulous and analytical. A man who did not consider himself an artist. The walls were decorated with the framed floor plans of houses Colin’s company had built. The desk was completely empty except for a black notebook and an expensive-looking pen. One wall was consumed by a huge bookcase filled with books on home design, construction, landscaping, and history. Like the master bedroom, there was a large picture window offering a spectacular view of the desert.

Behind the desk was a matching oak credenza. I went to that first. It was locked. I turned to the desk and opened the center drawer, hoping to find a key. The drawer was as neatly organized as the rest of the room, containing mechanical pencils, drafting notebooks, and other office supplies.

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