Page 21 of Ruthless Cross

Flynn moved through the crowd outside of Arthur's house, happy not to be in a uniform and therefore able to leave without being questioned. Dr. Clarke had not stopped to speak to anyone, either, so hopefully his visit to the house would not be noted in any media reports. Flynn didn't want the media coming up with stories that could create obstacles in the investigation.

He got into his black SUV and punched in Savannah's number. She'd texted him an hour earlier that they'd gotten a search warrant for Arthur's office at the courthouse, and she was taking Diego and Lucas with her.

"How's it going?" he asked. "Did you find anything in Arthur's office?"

"I'm not sure yet. We just got back to the bullpen with boxes of files and paperwork plus a hard drive containing everything on Arthur's work computer. It will take some time to go through it all. Arthur did keep a calendar on his desk. He was old school when it came to appointments, lunches, and meetings. He had a lunch meeting with the museum director, Victoria Waltham, on Thursday, the day before the exhibit. I interviewed Ms. Waltham last night, and she made no mention of that lunch, although she did tell me that she had a personal friendship with Arthur and that he was very involved at the museum. He was a major donor and used his connections in the art world to help them attain pieces that they wanted."

"That makes sense."

"The other interesting name from the art scene was Gretchen Vale. Arthur had noted a show at a gallery in Laguna Beach two weeks ago. The gallery is owned by the Vales. I'm assuming you'll want follow-up interviews with both Ms. Waltham and the Vales."

The last people he wanted to talk to were the Vales. He didn't like how this case was taking him back in time, and he was beginning to worry if that's why Arthur had wanted his help.

"Also, Lucas was able to get into Arthur's phone," Savannah continued. "Gretchen Vale's personal phone number was listed several times, and there were a half-dozen calls to an artist named Marcus Vitelli in the last two weeks. Mr. Vitelli resides in New York but was in LA for the event."

"Yes, I saw him there."

"Detective Gage took his statement. I reviewed it, and, like everyone else, he knew nothing and had seen nothing. But he's staying at the Halcyon Hotel in Beverly Hills. He checked in last Monday, and he has not yet checked out."

Flynn changed lanes. "That's not far from me. I'll head to the hotel now and see if I can catch him."

"Do you have any information for me from the family? Have you been able to speak to Juliette yet?"

"Only briefly. She's having a rough time. She became so confused in her grief that she tried to jump off the balcony."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Her daughter called in Juliette's psychiatrist. They're taking her to the hospital now. She's going to be admitted and held for at least seventy-two hours."

"That's both good and bad. She'll get help, but we won't be able to speak to her."

"Honestly, right now she's in no condition to tell us anything. She needs to get her head together if we're going to be able to get any insight from her."

"What about the daughter? Have you charmed her into helping you yet?"

He smiled to himself at that question. "Still working on it, but I think she sees the benefit of cooperating with me. She just needs to get her mother into a safe place first."

"I can understand that."

"Callie did tell me that her mother was worried Arthur was having an affair. But she also said that her mom often imagines things that aren't true. So, take that for whatever it's worth."

"Well, by the time we're through, we're going to know everything there is to know about Arthur's life."

"Yes, we will," he said heavily, a little afraid of what might be revealed.

* * *

Marcus Vitelli was having lunch in the restaurant at the Halcyon Hotel in Beverly Hills when Flynn arrived just before two o'clock. He was seated at a table with two beautiful young women, who were both blonde, sleek, and sophisticated, the perfect bookends for Marcus's dark Italian looks.

Flynn had first heard about Marcus's success three years earlier when he'd been working undercover in the New York art scene. Marcus had been only twenty-one years old then and had sold his first painting to the CEO of a Silicon Valley tech company for half a million dollars. His good looks and young, brash, arrogant charm had brought him a lot of media coverage as well.

He'd met artists like Marcus before. They rose fast but sometimes they fell just as quickly. Only time would tell if Marcus had staying power when it came to relevance and popularity.

He stopped by the table, pulling out his badge. "Mr. Vitelli? I'm Agent Flynn MacKenzie. May I speak to you for a moment?"

Marcus's gaze darkened. There was not only surprise in his eyes but also wariness. "I spoke to the police last night."

"I understand that. I'm doing follow-up. It would be best if we spoke alone. Unless you'd rather come down to my office or the police station?"

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