Page 74 of Whispers of Redemption

Cassie tried to act casual. Dropping into a chair at the kitchen table, she took another small sip of her champagne. “The police have a “Be On the Lookout” order for Brett now. And I’m sure they’ll catch him, Olga.”

“That’s good to hear,” Olga murmured, her gaze moving over the painting, inch by inch. “It appears to be fine. But I’ll keep it overnight and do a more thorough inspection in the morning. I think—” Suddenly she stopped talking.

Cassie glanced over and saw that she was inspecting the bottom right-hand corner of the painting. She looked at where Olga’s eyes were focused and saw that the upper painting had shifted slightly, a miniscule section of The Concert that was hidden underneath was showing.

Cassie’s heart began to pound as she watched Olga straighten and move back over to the disassembled wooden crate. She examined it closely, then turned to Cassie with an odd expression on her face. “Tell me something, beautiful,” she said slowly. “Who re-crated the painting after you found it?”

Cassie could tell there was no point in denying it, and she also knew she couldn’t tell the truth, that Zack had done it. So she said, “I did,” and sat up straighter in her chair, readying herself to press on with the plan. “I could tell the crate had been tampered with. I’m guessing Brett must have opened it up to look at the painting. So, after I picked it up from the station, I resecured it for you.”

Cassie continued. “Also, I wanted to make you an offer, Olga. After everything that’s happened, I would like to personally hand deliver this package to your client for you. I’ll do it on the side so there won’t be any PCS record of it. That way, nobody but you and I know I’m delivering it. And there’s no chance that Brett or anyone else will try to steal it.”

Olga was silent, but a strange light glimmered in the depths of her blue eyes.

“You know how important it is for me to do a good job for you, Olga,” she continued, feeling like she was starting to babble. “I feel responsible for all of this, and I’d like to make it up to you by—”

“Cut the crap.” Olga’s icy words sliced like a knife blade through Cassie’s chatter. Olga waved one hand toward the painting. “It’s clearly been tampered with.” She moved closer to Cassie, who resisted the urge to stand up and back away.

“I know you’ve seen it.” Olga’s eyes were hard now, glinting like blue ice chips.

Even though Cassie now knew the truth about Olga, the sudden change in her usual warm and friendly demeanor was shocking. Cassie’s mind whirred as blood rushed to her head. She forced herself to breathe slower. To think. Then she made a quick decision. Change of plan, boys.

She got up from her chair and walked over to the painting, staring at it for a long moment before turning to face Olga. “Yes, I have seen it,” her voice was hard, confident. “And I can’t believe you would ever have allowed an idiot like Brett to pressure you into letting him in on your deal.”

Olga narrowed her eyes, but Cassie powered on. “He was bragging about it, Olga. He talked all about a special art delivery job he had going on the side. He said it would bring him a boatload of money—that he’d probably be quitting his job at PCS in the very near future.

Olga turned her head aside and made a small sound of exasperation.

“Since I knew that Brett had stolen this painting, I was suspicious. So, after the police released it to me, before I brought it here, I took it home and examined it. And that’s how I found The Concert underneath it,” she said, her voice getting stronger as the lies flowed from her lips. “And remember when I told you that I caught him researching art thefts at work? Well, I saw a photograph of The Concert on his phone. A quick Google search, and it didn’t take me long to put two and two together—to realize that this was the secret art delivery Brett was bragging about.”

Olga’s face was pale and her lips were tight as she sank into the chair that Cassie had vacated. “Yes, somehow the fool figured out my entire plan. And I was forced to cut him in on the deal.” She sat in silence for a long moment while Cassie held her breath. Finally, she said, “Well, Cassandra, what do you plan to do about this?”

Cassie crossed the room to stand in front of Olga. “Exactly what I just told you. Brett tried to steal this from you, Olga. And he really screwed up everything. He can’t be trusted. Let me take his place. Let me hand deliver it to your client. All I ask is that you give me Brett’s cut.” She went on, “And like I said before, we’ll keep this a completely private deal between you and me. You know me, Olga. And you know my work. You know you can trust me to get this done right. I can leave now and drive straight through the night to wherever your client is located. Just give me the address and I’ll make certain the painting gets directly to whomever it is.”

Cassie waited, hoping she was playing it well enough that Olga was buying all of this.

She was silent for several long moments. Then Olga suddenly smacked a hand hard against the table, making her jump. “This has gotten totally out of hand,” she hissed. She looked up at Cassie, her eyes tight. “All right, Cassandra. We’ll do it your way. But we have one problem that needs to be resolved first.”

“What is it?”

Olga got up and rolled over to the kitchen counter and pulled open a drawer. “This is my retirement plan that you’re messing with. And Brett still knows about everything. I’m not willing to split my cut from this deal any more than I already have. So, if you want Brett’s share, Cassandra, you’re going to have to do something for me.” Olga reached inside the drawer, but just then, there was a soft tap at the sliding glass door opposite Olga’s easel. The two women looked over to see Brett standing there, staring at them through the glass.

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