"Calm down, Nick," Octavia said soothingly.
She was very conscious of Carson, who was just outside the front door now talking to a man who had a dog in the back of his truck. She did not want the boy to overhear this argument.
When Arizona and Virgil had left the gallery a few minutes earlier, she had slipped behind the counter. She had deemed it prudent to put a bit of distance between them. Given Nick's simmering outrage, it was clear that he was not thrilled with the idea of having been drafted. But the counter did not seem nearly wide enough.
"Pay attention. I. Am. Not. A. Real. Private. Investigator." Nick spaced each word out very carefully and deliberately, as though talking to someone from another planet who might not have a good grasp of the language. "I do not have a license. I do not investigate for a living. I write fiction for a living. And you know that as well as I do. Why did you and Virgil agree to go along with A.Z.'s zany scheme?"
"Because we don't have a lot of choice," she said briskly. "As you pointed out, there aren't any real investigators here in Eclipse Bay, and I agree with A.Z. about Sean Valentine. He's a good man, and he is no doubt a very competent cop. But I'm pretty sure that he intends to waste a lot of time looking in all the wrong places."
"Don't tell me you agree with Arizona's conspiracy theory? You really think Valentine should look for the culprit up at the institute?" Nick spread his hands. "Give me a break. That's nuts and you know it."
"I doubt very much that the painting was stolen by someone at the institute," she said coolly. "But that still leaves a lot of rocks to turn over and I don't think Sean will do that. I've got a hunch he'll concentrate on the Heralds."
Nick was silent.
"I knew it," she muttered. "He does think it was someone from the Incandescent Body, doesn't he?"
"He intends to do some background checks on some of them," Nick admitted. "It's a logical place to start. The Heralds constitute the largest group of newcomers and unknowns in town who would have had knowledge of the painting and where it was stored."
"That's not true. There are more newcomers and unknowns up at the institute and Chamberlain College."
"Okay, maybe. Technically speaking. But it's unlikely that many of them would have heard about the painting so soon. With a few exceptions, they're considered outsiders here in Eclipse Bay. Not full-fledged members of the community. Most of them are not hardwired into the gossip circuit. The Heralds, on the other hand, knew everything about the Upsall almost immediately because Photon and A.Z. told them."
"Others could have known, too," she insisted. "You know how word spreads in this town."
"Come to think of it, you're right," he replied curtly. "There are a lot of suspects, aren't there?"
She did not like the way he said that. "Not a lot. Some."
"Jeremy Seaton, for instance. Heck, you showed him right where the painting was stashed. You even let him take a really close look at it. And he's into art. Probably knows some underhanded dealers back in Portland or Seattle who would be willing to take a stolen Upsall off his hands, no questions asked."
Shock reverberated through her. It took a moment to recover. Then she flattened her palms on the counter very close to his own big hands and leaned forward so that they were only inches apart.
"Don't you dare imply that Jeremy took the painting," she said softly. "That is beneath contempt."
"You want a private investigator on the case? You gotta expect some uncomfortable speculation."
"You brought up Jeremy's name only because you don't like him very much," she said through her teeth.
"Just trying to be logical. That's what we investigators are paid to do."
"You know something? When A.Z. came up with the idea to hire you, it struck Virgil and me that there was some merit to the plan. After all, who would know Eclipse Bay better than a Harte? And with your family history and clout here in town, you can talk to anyone. Get through any door. People will take you seriously and open up to you."
He took his hands off the counter. "Because I'm considered one of the locals?"
"Yes. You've got access in a way that Sean Valentine does not." She moved one hand slightly. "And that's why I went along with A.Z.'s scheme. But now I'm having second thoughts."
"Good."
"I agree with you," she went on smoothly. "I think that with your poor attitude, it is highly unlikely that you will be of any use to us."
"Yes, he will," Carson said very earnestly from the doorway. "I'll help him."
"That's very nice of you, Carson, but your father is not interested in working for me, so I'll just have to investigate without him."
"Do you know how to be an investigator?" Carson asked, intrigued.
"I've read all your father's books about John True. How hard can it be?"
Nick's eyes went very narrow. "What's this about investigating on your own?"
She raised one shoulder in a deliberately careless shrug. "I don't see that I have much option."
His mouth thinned. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Oh, yeah."
"This is a really, really dumb idea, Octavia. Stay out of it. Let Sean Valentine do his job."
She watched him just as steadily as he watched her. Damned if she would let him intimidate her, she thought. She was Claudia Banner's great-niece. She could handle a Harte.
"That Upsall was in my custody," she said. "I feel responsible for the loss and I intend to do whatever I can to recover it."
"You're trying to force my hand and I don't like it."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sure you do. You can't do this without me and you know it, so you're doing your best to manipulate me into a position where I have no choice but to play private eye for you."
"I wouldn't dream of trying to manipulate you," she said austerely. "I'm sure it would be impossible."
He folded his arms across his chest. He did not try to conceal his irritation.
"Okay," he said at last. "You win. I'll ask your questions for you."
"Thanks, but I really don't want you to do me any favors."
"I'm not doing you a favor," he said. "I'm doing it for A.Z. and Virgil." He glanced at Carson. "Come on, son, let's go. We've got things to do."
"Are we going to be private eyes?" Carson asked eagerly.