Page 40 of Girl, Sought

‘Like who?’

‘Art historians, archeologists, professors. A handful of people aren’t going to know the value of everything, so I have to find people with the right knowledge.’

‘And if you appraised Eleanor Calloway’s collection, who appraised Alfred Finch’s?’

'I… can't say. How am I going to explain to them that I ratted them out to the FBI because they thought they might be a serial killer? This industry is already rife with paranoia, and my workers are no different.'

Ella knew a brick wall when she saw one. Vanessa was warring between moral obligation and professional risk, and it seemed that the scales tipped in the favor of money. Ella wished she was surprised.

‘So tell me this: who in this company has access to every collector’s details? Because that’s who we’re looking for.’

Vanessa stood abruptly and walked to her window. Outside, Chesapeake's historic district sprawled in all its orange-brick glory. Her eyes darted to the squirrel-thing, then back to Ella. ‘You recognized Creed’s taxidermy immediately. Why?’

The question caught her off-guard. ‘Lucky guess.’

‘I don’t believe that.’

‘And I don’t believe your reasons for withholding your workers’ names. What’s really going on here?’

Vanessa slowly turned back to Ella. ‘Nothing’s going on here. We’re just a very niche business, and I can’t afford to lose anyone.’

‘Really? Because for a company that barely exists online, you seem to be doing pretty well. Hell, all I could find about your company was something about a burned-out museum.’

'Ah, yes.' Vanessa's lip curled slightly. 'My white whale. Three years of negotiation, only to have it all fall apart over ownership disputes. Typical.'

Ella sensed a minor shift, like this was something Vanessawantedto talk about. If she could get Vanessa on a verbal roll, she might open up.

‘What kind of ownership disputes?’

‘The usual mess that comes with old specimens. Questions of consent, proper documentation, ethical concerns about display and sale.’ She waved a hand dismissively. ‘Academic politics at its finest, especially as we wanted the actual museum itself as well as the specimens inside.’

‘As in the building? Why?’

‘Owning a space to publicly display things has its... advantages. I’m sure you understand.’

Ella guessed she had to read between the lines here, but she remained at a loss. ‘But you never actually accessed the collection?’

‘Never got past the preliminary inventory stage. Why do you ask?’

‘Professional nosiness.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie. The thought of a museum full of the world’s most bizarre specimens sitting idle somewhere out there tickled that curiosity nerve. ‘So, Vanessa, what do I need to do to get the names of your employees? Or contractors?’

Vanessa sat back down and sighed. ‘Look, I only have two employees. Myself and those two are the only people who see everything relating to every transaction.’

‘And their names are?’

‘Get a warrant and I’ll tell you. I can’t sell my workers out.’

‘Even if one of them is a murderer?’

‘What evidence do you have? No one here is capable of murder. Who’s to say your killer isn’t a fellow collector? Or someone who just happened to know Eleanor and Alfred?’

‘Very well.’

Ella stood abruptly. There was nothing else to learn here. She needed to get a warrant and get the names of everyone who worked at the Curated Value Group before nightfall, otherwise there might be another body on the pile.

But before she left, she nodded again toward Austin Creed’s taxidermy squirrel. ‘Out of curiosity, how much is that thing worth?’

‘Collectables are an odd thing. Most people wouldn’t take it for free, but to the right kind of collector? Anything up to $5,000.’

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