Page 86 of Stuart Woods' Smolder

“I wish.”

“Which one?”

“Which one what?”

“Whichemployeewas she talking to?”

“Oh, the skinny guy with the perfect haircut. He was sitting at the desk.”

“Tristan?”

“How would I know his name?”

“Did you hear what they said?”

“A word or two, but nothing that made any sense.”

Simon took a deep breath. “So, let me make sure I’ve got this right. One of your employees was looking into pieces that my people have obtained, and now she’s come intomygallery.” He cocked his head. “Hold on. Was she aware of the anonymous tip?”

“She might have been.”

Simon groaned and looked at the ceiling.

“But I told you I fired her,” Dalton said quickly. “We don’t need to worry about her.”

“You also started this conversation by saying we might have a problem. So, do we or don’t we?”

Dalton had no answer for that.

Simon stood. “Show me who she talked to. I want to be sure.”

They went into the showroom.

Dalton pointed the guy out and whispered, “That’s him.”

Simon clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouthseveral times, then motioned for Dalton to follow him back into the employee area.

“Are you going to talk to him?” Dalton asked.

“Not yet.”

“He might be the guy who sent in the tip.”

“He’s not. That person has already been taken care of.”

“Really? How?”

“Thatis none of your business.”

“Right, okay. But what are we going to do about Monica?”

“That’s her name?”

“Yeah. Monica Reyes.”

“Youare going to tell me everything you know about her, then you’re going to take a walk, while Phillip and I figure out how to clean up your mess.”

Chapter 27

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