Promise Not To Tell(51)

“In case you haven’t noticed, the murder-in-the-art-gallery story is getting a real run in the local media. That kind of publicity will help get out a nice crowd for the show next week.”

Virginia winced. “We don’t need a lot of curiosity seekers. We need a crowd of people who are actually interested in buying art.”

“Don’t worry, Boss,” Jessica said. “I can turn curiosity seekers into art collectors. It’s my superpower.”

Cabot regarded Jessica with a mix of admiration and curiosity.

“You’re that good?” he said.

Jessica smiled modestly.

“She’s that good,” Virginia said.

Cabot studied Jessica with his usual intent expression.

“What’s your secret?” he asked.

“Depends on the customer,” Jessica said.

“Client,” Virginia said. “We call them clients, not customers.”

“Oh, right,” Jessica said. She gave Cabot a winning smile. “Clients.”

“What would you sell me?” Cabot asked.

“If you were passing by on the street, it would most likely be the glass paperweights that would make you enter the shop.”

“Because I don’t look like an art connoisseur?”

“Everyone responds to some kind of art,” Jessica said. “Not everyone knows that, though. It’s my job to find out exactly what type of art a person needs and then put that object into his or her hands. Between you and me, the paperweights are what I call starter art.”

“What about the whole art-for-art’s-sake thing?” Cabot asked.

“That’s bullshit,” Jessica said. “Every piece of art has a purpose, even if it’s just to make someone stop and look for a couple of seconds.”

“The best art tells a story,” Virginia said. “That’s why the Old Masters survive and a lot of modern abstract art won’t.”

Cabot looked at Jessica. “So I’m a paperweight kind of guy?”

“You’re a form-follows-function kind of guy,” Jessica said, very serious now. “You’re the type who responds to well-designed objects that have a well-defined purpose. You would admire a beautifully crafted knife or an elegant car or a brilliant paperweight that would catch the light while it was holding down a stack of papers on a desk.”

She plucked a dark-blue-and-gold paperweight from the cluster on the table near the storage locker and handed it to Cabot. He studied it for a moment, watching the light play in the heart of the glass.

“You know, Anson’s got a birthday coming up,” he said. “I think he might like this. It would look good on his desk.”

Virginia hid a smile.

Jessica nodded. “Excellent choice for a man’s desk. Masculine and useful. It will complement any style of décor.”

Cabot whistled softly. “Virginia’s right. You’re good.”

“Everyone has a talent,” Jessica said.

CHAPTER 34

“What do you want from me?” Kate Delbridge demanded. “The police already took my statement. HR sent out a memo telling everyone at the company that we aren’t supposed to talk to anyone except the cops.”

“Which is, of course, why the news of Sandra Porter’s death is all over the social media sites that the local tech crowd likes to use,” Virginia said.

They were standing in the hallway outside Kate’s apartment. Cabot had agreed to let her take the lead. She was following a hunch because neither she nor Cabot had been able to go deep into the latest social media sites that the young tech crowd favored. But given the way the world worked these days, she figured it was a safe bet that employees from Night Watch had done a lot of communicating about the murder.

Kate frowned at Cabot. “Who are you guys? Local TV? I don’t see any cameras.”

“I’m a private investigator,” Cabot said. “I’m investigating a case that may have a connection to the death of Sandra Porter.”

Kate switched her attention back to Virginia. “Are you his assistant or something?”

“No,” Virginia said. “I’m his client. Sandra Porter died in the back room of my gallery.”

“Oh.” Kate absorbed that information. “I read somewhere that the gallery owner found the body.”

“That’s right,” Virginia said. “You can understand why I’m interested in Sandra Porter’s murder.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense,” Kate said. “But the fact is, I didn’t know Sandra Porter very well. She was a loner and she worked in IT. When I ran into her in the halls, she ignored me. All I can tell you is what I told the cops. People at work are saying that Sandra was seeing someone but she was very secretive about it. I got the impression that she’d been dumped recently. She was always intense but after that she got a little scary.”

“We know she lost her job at Night Watch,” Virginia said. “We know the official reason – she left to pursue other career opportunities. We also know that’s not the real reason. Why do you think she was fired?”

Kate shrugged. “Some people are saying she got into drugs. But there have been rumors that she might have been embezzling funds. Management probably couldn’t prove it, so they just let her go.”