Page 23 of Ruthless Cross

"That's possible. But whoever killed him was at the event last night, and they had an invitation. There was no sign of forced entry anywhere. They came through the front door and probably left the same way. Do you know if Arthur had any problems with anyone at the museum or with anyone in the art world?"

"No, I don't." She cast a quick look at Marcus, who wasn't paying them any attention. He was quite wrapped up in his friends. "You don’t think Marcus had anything to do with this, do you?"

"Like I said, I'm just following up on witness statements. How well did you know Arthur, Victoria?"

"Very well. He was a generous contributor to the museum. I also know him personally, because his wife, Juliette, works for me. We've been to many social events together. He's practically family. His death is tragic."

While her words were appropriate, he didn't quite feel the emotion behind them, but then Victoria had always hidden her emotions.

"Was there something else?" he asked as she lingered, giving him a somewhat awkward look.

"I probably shouldn't say this, but I heard a rumor recently that your father might be back in business."

His gut tightened. "Who told you that?"

"Arthur. He mentioned it last week."

"What exactly did he say?"

"That when he was in Paris last month, he heard Sam might be stealing and selling again. He wanted to know if I knew anything, but, of course, I didn't. I haven't spoken to your father in almost twenty years."

He didn't know what to make of her statement.Why had Arthur been talking about Sam at all?They didn't know each other. They weren't old friends. Whatever Arthur knew about his father had come from him, and that had been a very long time ago.So, why bring up Sam now?Was his father the real reason Arthur had sought him out?

"I should get to my meeting with Marcus," Victoria said. "The museum wants to buy one of his pieces. His work is amazing. Have you seen any of it?"

"I haven't, but I heard he's good."

"He's a true artist. He paints with every emotion. His work is provocative and intellectually intense. He's going to be one of the biggest artists of his generation. Anyway, let me know if I can help, Flynn. Juliette is not just my employee; she's my friend."

"I'll do that."

As Victoria joined Marcus and his female friends, he thought about what she'd told him. She'd deliberately tried to point him in the direction of his father.Was that because she honestly believed Sam had been involved, or because she had another motive, perhaps a desire to protect someone else? But who would she be protecting, and why would she want Arthur dead?

He couldn't turn her into a liar just because he hadn't liked her when he'd first met her. But he could do a little more digging into her life and into her relationship with Arthur.

Chapter Six

Callie sufferedthrough hours of her mother's bewilderment, followed by anger, tears, crying, shouting, and finally a sedative. Then she'd sat next to her mother's bedside for another hour, reliving every painful, guilty moment of what had just transpired. Her mother had called her a traitor when she'd finally figured out that she wasn't going to see Arthur, that she was going to be hospitalized for her mental issues.

She'd felt like a traitor, too. When her mother's anger had turned to desperate pleas, she'd wanted to run out of the hospital and take her mother with her. But she couldn't do that. And she hadn't needed the doctor or the nurses to tell her that, even though they had. She'd been down this road before. While the hospital freaked her out, her mom had always gotten better after treatment, and she needed her mother to be well. She couldn't stand the thought of her trying to hurt herself because she'd lost Arthur. She had to leave her here, where she would hopefully get better. What happened after that, she had no idea.

Would her mother forgive her when her brain cleared? She had in the past, but was this one time too many? Would the loss of Arthur completely break her mom down?

The door opened, and she got to her feet as Dr. Clarke walked in. He gave her a compassionate look, having been with her most of the past few hours. "She's going to be sleeping for a long time, Callie. You should go home. You've been here all day."

"I hate to leave her here alone. She gets so scared when she wakes up."

"We're going to take care of her. She won't be alone."

"But she needs me." As she said the words, she felt the heavy weight of that need pushing toward the floor; it was all she could do to stay upright.

"She needs treatment. And we can give her that. We can help her get through this crisis. She'll also be safe here. She can't hurt herself."

"I just hate seeing her like this again. She was so good for so long. I had started thinking it would last."

"What happened last night was extremely traumatic for anyone, but for your mother, it was especially so."

"I know. She had to see another husband die. Two completely different events, but the result was the same."

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