The Becić Connection (Genevieve Lenard, #14) by Estelle Ryan

Author:Estelle Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Autism fiction, Autistic protagonist, European Crime Mystery, International Crime, Kidnapping, women sleuths, Private detective
Publisher: Estelle Ryan
Published: 2020-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter THIRTEEN

COLIN JOINED ME AS we walked to Nikki. She straightened, only to search the messy table next to her. “Aha!” She grabbed the magnifying glass and aimed it at the lower part of the painting.

“What did you find, Nix?” Colin leaned in next to her. I couldn’t see what they were looking at. And I didn’t want to move any closer. Already everyone else had taken a few steps closer to us and I was beginning to feel crowded.

“Look.” Nikki handed Colin the magnifying glass. “The arch of the bridge.”

She took a step back and gestured to me to move closer. I did. Again, the beauty of the painting drew me in. The darker colours of the mountains, trees and buildings drew attention to the light-coloured bridge in the centre of the painting.

“Huh.” Colin straightened. He took a clean tissue from the box on the table, wiped the magnifying glass and handed it to me. “To the left on the arch.”

I took the magnifying glass, leaned forward and studied the left-hand side of the bridge. It didn’t take me long to find the anomaly.

A shadow from the trees to the very left of the bridge was simplistic and almost made the bridge look dirty. Within the darker colours of this shadow, three numbers were carefully, and quite effectively, hidden. Now that I knew what to look for, I took my time to go over the rest of the painting. When I finally straightened, Nikki and Colin were discussing their find with the others.

Colin noticed me stepping back from the painting. “Did you find anything else?”

“Just the three numbers. Thirteen point seven.”

“What do you mean, thirteen point seven?” Nikki grabbed the magnifying glass from me, bumped me with her hip to push me away and looked at the painting again. “I only saw the numbers. Hundred and thirty-seven.”

“There’s a point between the three and the seven.”

“Hmm.” Nikki drew out the sound. “I think I see it. Yes! It’s really there. Huh.” She straightened and looked at me. “What does this mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“Another bloody painting has been stolen.” Manny walked into the room, shaking his phone at us. I hadn’t heard his phone ring or him leaving the room.

“What painting?” Colin asked.

“Oskar Hemmingway.”

“You’re a cretin.” Colin glared at Manny. “His surname is Herman. Do you know which Oskar Herman?”

“Winter Landscape.” Manny put his phone in his trouser pocket. “Do you know it?”

Colin shook his head. “I’m not that familiar with Oskar Herman’s work.”

“Here.” Pink held out his tablet. On the screen was a painting that indeed looked like a winter landscape. It was quite different from the paintings I’d seen in my quick search. This showed more detail as well as finer brushwork.

Tall, snow-covered mountains filled the background, small stretches of trees breaking the monotony of the background scene. In the centre of the painting was a building that looked like a church. The roof was covered in a deep layer of snow, the sky blue with a few clouds. It was a peaceful scene.

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