34. Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Tessa turned off the ignition and unfastened her seat belt before turning to Megan to try to talk her down from the roof. “Megan. Everything is going to be fine. You worked with Connor when you were at the museum.”
“I know, but I get flustered when I lie.”
“But you aren’t really lying to him. We’re going to ask him questions about the Death of Magic painting.”
“What if he starts asking why?”
“Then that’s where I come in,” Tessa said. “I’ll come up with something. I can spitball it.”
“Why does that make me nervous?” Eric said from the back seat as he elbowed Ben. Was he trying to get Ben to join in? Maybe she should have fought harder for them both to stay home.
“Don’t need your advice, back-seat occupants. This is not Driving Miss Daisy or I guess in your cases, Driving Mr. Dragons.”
“Not sure why we had to sit in the back anyway,” Eric grumbled.
Tessa sighed. “Because the back has tinted windows, and since I parked to the side, no one in the gallery will see Ben, who is still technically dead, or you. Stick with the plan, which means stay in the car. We’ll be fine.” Before more grumbling came from Eric, Tessa continued. “You ready to go, Megs?”
Her friend swallowed and nodded before they climbed out of the SUV and headed inside. Tessa had been to numerous art events during her modeling years. The gallery was similar to most she had seen. Neutral walls and wide-open spaces to showcase paintings, sculptures, and whatnot.
A woman greeted them a few seconds after they walked inside. “Welcome. I’m Nadia. Can I help you with anything?”
Megan nodded. “We were wondering if Connor is available?”
The woman’s smile diminished slightly. “Can I ask what this is in reference to?”
“I’ve worked with Connor in the past. I have some questions for him.”
Nadia nodded. “Let me see if he’s available. Can I have your name please?”
“Megan Campbell.”
Tessa was proud of her friend. She had even thought to use her maiden name since Connor wouldn’t know her as Simonson. Tessa wandered over to the wall to look at some artwork so that Megan could have some space to talk to Connor while Tessa listened in on the conversation.
A few minutes later a tall, slender man came through a back door and walked toward them. He was dressed in that understated wealthy way that old money had, and she was glad she had a designer purse and shoes, especially if she needed to make up some sort of story. He didn’t need to know she’d bought them on a resale website.
“Hello, Megan. It’s so good to see you again.”
“Connor, thanks for meeting with me. Sorry to just pop in unannounced.”
He waved his hand. “Not a problem. Are you back working at the museum?”
“No. I’m…uhm…in the private sector now.”
Connor straightened up a bit at her words. Did he sense a potential sale? “What can I do for you?”
“I had a couple of questions regarding our work together last year. About the Death of Magic painting that we displayed at the museum. When you were appraising it, did you talk to any potential buyers about it?”
His eyes tightened slightly. “No. The owner didn’t want to sell it, so I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. Not good business. I told him there would be buyers who would want it, but he wouldn’t hear about it. To be honest he was a bit of an odd duck, but I’m used to working with eccentrics in the art world.”
“Did anyone reach out to you about the Death of Magic painting while you were appraising it?”
“No. That’s why I was surprised when John told me he had multiple people offer to buy the painting. I’m not sure how they found out about it before it ended up on exhibit.”
“Did anyone work with you on the appraisal?” Megan asked.
“No. It was just me. I did try to contact Mia White to help with it.”
Tessa’s heart sped up as she listened. This put a bit of a wrinkle in what her cover story was going to be.
“I worked with her on several pieces in the past. I miss working with her. She’s brilliant, but you already know that since you studied under her. I checked with the university, and they couldn’t help me. I even tried to email her on an old email address I have, but I didn’t get a response.”
“Do you still have the address?” Megan asked.
“Possibly. Can I ask what the interest is in all of this?”
Time to improvise. That was her cue. Tessa turned and walked over to them. “I’m actually the reason for all of this. I’m Sydney. I collect very specific pieces for my client, and when I saw the Death of Magic painting last year in the museum exhibit and discovered that Megan was the person who designed the exhibit, I had to meet her. I asked about the owner of the painting and if he was willing to sell it. He wouldn’t speak to me back then. I was hoping if enough time had passed, he might reconsider, but I haven’t been able to persuade him.” She gave Connor her model smile. “Because of my client’s particular tastes in art, I have been a follower of Mia White’s career. I would love to speak with her regarding some very lucrative opportunities.”
Connor’s eyes took on a predatory gleam. Could she hook him in as well? “Of course, I realize that Mia isn’t an art broker,” Tessa said. “I may need someone to help on that end as well.”
Connor grinned. “I would be more than willing to help in that capacity. Let me see if I can locate that email address for you. Give me a moment.”
He stepped over to the desk in the corner and typed on a laptop before making a note on a business card and then presenting it to her.
“Here is the address. My contact information is on the other side. The email I sent last year did not come back as undeliverable, but I don’t know if she uses it or not anymore. She didn’t respond to me when I sent her the information on the painting, but she has been removed from the art world for several years now.”
Let’s go for broke. “Would you have any contacts in the art world who you could query about Mia and see if they have been in contact with her?”
“Yes. I could do that. Do you have a business card?”
Tessa shook her head. “No. My client prefers anonymity and doesn’t want anything traced back to them. Nashville royalty, so to speak. But I have a number where you can reach me if you come up with anything regarding Mia.” She rattled off the number, and then they said their goodbyes to Connor and Nadia, who appeared just as they left the building.
They climbed into the SUV.
“How did it go?” Ben and Eric asked at the same time.
“Let’s get on the road before we start having a conversation,” Tessa said.
She pulled out of the parking lot. Megan filled them in on what happened, and they were quiet until Megan told them the zinger. “Connor emailed Mia about the Death of Magic painting.”
The rearview mirror showed Ben’s and Eric’s shocked expressions. “We’ve been under the impression that you hadn’t found Mia. What if that isn’t the case? Maybe she found you,” Tessa said.
“Why would she have reached out to me?” Ben asked. “Damn, I need my memories back!”
“Should we email her?” Megan said.
“And say what? Where are you? Did you reach out to me and give me information about the painting? Oh, by the way, I’m not dead?” Ben blurted.
“Plus we need to think about Lily,” Tessa said.
Eric chimed in. “If we send an email and she emails back, I think Jonas could track the IP address, but that might not give us much.”
“I think we should at least try and email her,” Megan said. “She left Lily with Evelyn and told her she’d be back in a couple of weeks. Something must have happened to her.”
Tessa turned the corner. “And maybe we’ll get lucky and Connor will find someone who has been in contact with her.”
“You were pretty impressive with the story you came up with,” Megan said.
Tessa smiled. “Him bringing up Mia threw me for a loop, but it’s an opportunity.”
“What was the phone number you gave him?”
“It’s Ben’s burner phone number. You still have it, right?”
“I do.”
“At least we have something to try. Let’s talk about what the heck we’re going to put in the email to Mia.”
Tessa could feel Ben’s eyes on her before she looked at him in the rearview mirror. He nodded. She hoped they were one step closer to figuring out a way to put a stop to this curse and, fingers crossed, a way to give Ben his memories back.