Chapter 64

“What are you doing?” Harrison asked. He stood by the door, trying to hold back his anger.

How much had he seen? What was he thinking?

Rachel laughed. The sound of light crystal. Of water splashing. “You know, Barton, you can’t just take apart a painting without asking.”

Josh shrugged. “I can if I’m considering spending this kind of money for it. I always look at paintings out of the frame. Frames are a distraction, to say the least.”

Rachel had schooled him on this just an hour before. Many collectors insisted on seeing the canvas out of the frame to inspect it. If he used this excuse, it would be plausible.

“But you took the frame apart?”

“To judge its authenticity.”

Harrison was kneeling down, inspecting his painting. His eyes swept the surface from right to left and then back again, ignoring Josh and Rachel, and the wooden arms on the ground.

“What were you really doing?” he said as he picked up one of the arms and looked at it.

Josh didn’t know how long Harrison had been standing behind him. Had he seen something? What would Harrison do if Josh tried to leave? Was he in danger? Was Rachel? She’d told Josh that Harrison had a gun. Was he carrying it? Probably. If you are showing a four-million-dollar painting to someone and you own a gun, you probably don’t leave it in a drawer.

“It’s a beautiful painting. But the frame is inappropriate,” Josh said.

Now Harrison looked at him as if he was insane.

“Who cares about the frame? The painting is a Caravaggio.”

“It does appear to be from the school of Caravaggio. But the frame isn’t original.” Josh knew the comment was irrational. That was the point. He needed to convince Harrison he was eccentric and make the disassemblage convincing. He had what he’d come for, and it was time to leave.

“Thank you for showing it to me.” He nodded and walked to the door. Put his fingers on the knob. Turned it. He was about to open the door when-

“You’re not going to want to do that, Mr. Lipper.”

The gun was a snub-nosed revolver, icy-black and compact. And it was trained on Josh.

Загрузка...