Page 2 of Donovan Blake: Passion

“May I see it?”

“Of course, please follow me.”

“Do you mind if I stay here and have a look around?” Phoebe piped up

“Be my guest,” Peter replied. “We’ll be just down the hall. There’s a brass sign on the door that says Security Room.”

“Is there a security company that’s alerted if there’s a break-in or an issue with the system?”

“Yes, but unfortunately the local office is about thirty minutes away.”

“I see. Keep the faith, Peter, I’m fairly certain I can at least tell you the how. The who and why should become apparent fairly quickly.”

* * *

Walking across to the windows, Phoebe looked for signs of disturbed dust on the frames, but they were all pristine. The room had wooden floors covered by three, large, Persian rugs. Exquisite furnishings offered two conversation areas, a drinks cabinet, a desk, and a tall, antique secretary. Everything appeared to have been left untouched, including several exquisite figurines she was sure were extremely valuable.

“Who are you? What are you doing in here?”

The sharp female voice had come from the doorway. Slowly turning around, Phoebe saw an attractive young woman probably in her late teens. But her curly red hair fell around her shoulders like a thick, unruly mane, and she was wearing garish makeup.

“I asked you a question!” the girl barked. “Who are you and why are you in here?”

“You must be Jane. My name’s Phoebe, and I’m here—”

“Oh, you’re one of the people here to investigate the theft. You’re an heiress, right? Daddy told me about you and your boyfriend? What’s his name?”

“Donovan Blake, and I am very much looking forward to introducing you,” Phoebe replied with a wide smile. “It will be…shall we say… interesting.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. But it’s such a shame about the portrait being stolen. I don’t suppose you have any idea how it could have happened?”

“Me? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m leaving. I refuse to stand here and be insulted.”

As she stormed angrily from the room, Phoebe looked directly into one of the cameras and moved her left hand through her hair.

CHAPTER TWO

Inside the security room, Donovan was watching Phoebe and Jane on a monitor. Seeing Phoebe’s subtle signal he broke into a grin. She always knew if someone was lying, and gesturing with her left hand was the signal.

“I’m completely baffled,” Peter exclaimed. “They didn’t steal anything else, and there are so many valuable pieces about the place much easier to handle than the portrait. I don’t mean to repeat myself, but I just don’t understand.”

“They probably already have a buyer for the portrait. It may even have been requested,” Donovan remarked. “But I suspect it’s still in the house.”

“What makes you say that?”

“From what I understand there were no disturbances when this happened. It couldn’t have been loaded into a van or truck. Your gravel driveway would have woken someone up.”

“Ah, yes, you’re probably right,” Peter murmured with a nod.

“The first thing I have to do is speak with Jane and the rest of the household. Is there somewhere private Phoebe and I can conduct our interviews?”

“I have a place already set up, and forgive me, I neglected to ask if you’d care for tea or coffee. I’m just so distraught about all this.”

“Of course you are, and thanks, coffee would be great. I’ll start the interviews with Jane since she’s nearby.”

“You don’t want to freshen up or unpack?”

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