Page 28 of Tracing Her Stolen Identity
“It has to be Miles,” Skylar said, her arms crossed over her chest in a tight embrace. “No one else I can think of would hate me enough to go through this much to set me up.”
Reece could, and his name was Silas, but he knew better than to say it. Skylar was stressed enough, and tossing her brother into the mix wouldn’t help matters. Instead, he gently tugged her arms off her chest and rested them on her lap. “Remember what Selina said about keeping your posture open and not tense for the rest of the day.”
The scathing look she sent him would have made a weaker man cower. “Thank you, WebMD, for your insight into living in my body.”
Mina snorted, and Reece sent her a glare that did nothing but make her grin wider.
“I’m still digging up dirt on Miles Bradshaw,” Iris said, speaking for the first time. She stared at the table, not making eye contact with anyone, which wasn’t unusual. She’d been in an accident as a child that left her with a traumatic brain injury. “He’s a disgusting individual, I can tell you that.” Iris finally looked up and met Sky’s gaze for half a second before she dropped it again. “If there’s a way to tie him to this, I’ll find it.”
“Thanks, Iris,” Reece said with a smile, knowing she’d never see it but appreciating her nonetheless.
“No thanks needed. I’m doing the job that I’m paid to do.” Cal cleared his throat, and Iris grimaced. “Sorry.” She glanced at Sky again. “I had an accident when I wasyounger, too. It scrambled my brain and messed up the pathways that would have helped me in social situations. I apologize for my bluntness. It’s not that I don’t care. It’s that I don’t know how to show it.”
“You’re fine, Iris,” Sky assured her. “I appreciate that you’re here helping me. Honestly, bluntness is good, especially in this situation. Coddling isn’t necessary when my life and livelihood are at stake.”
Iris nodded once as though she agreed with everything Sky had said. “Miles Bradshaw is a boil on the backside of life,” she said, jumping right back into the situation at hand.
“I couldn’t have said that better myself,” Sky agreed.
“I thought I was stunted socially, but this guy has zero filters and zero humility. If someone isn’t stroking his ego and calling him pretty at all times, he takes it as a personal affront.”
“It’s like you’ve met him or something,” Sky muttered. “Miles is all of those things.”
“And more,” Iris said, holding up her finger. “Turns out, he prides himself on being an aficionado when it comes to sussing out fake art.”
“Spoiler alert,” Sky said, “his art is the fake art.”
“That is correct,” she agreed. “Or, at the very least, it’s copied art.”
“Meaning?” Cal asked as he tried to follow the conversation.
“Meaning he may make the art, but he’s using other artists’ ideas. Maybe he changes the colors, but the designs are always a copy of someone else’s work.”
“Is this something I can have my police contact look at him for?” Cal asked, and Iris sat blinking at him in confusion.
“He means, is it something Miles can be arrested for,” Reece clarified for her.
“Oh! No, I mean, not really. He changes it just enough to claim it’s ‘original,’ even when the design is recycled. It’s kind of like fan fiction. It resembles the original story, but they change it enough so it’s not obvious plagiarism.”
Sky motioned at Iris. “Exactly that. And it’s not illegal to use someone else’s design—it’s just lazy. If you look through his portfolio, you understand why no one wants to carry his work in their galleries. The galleries and shops around Duluth are looking for unique pieces. Even when he can convince someone to take his work—that’s usually due to a hard guilt he lays on them—the art doesn’t sell and they sever ties with him quickly. He can’t take constructive criticism, either. And not about his art, because art is in the eye of the beholder, but about his propensity to push people away rather than engage. Miles doesn’t have a future in the art world as it stands now. Maybe if he came up with something original, he could move to a different city and find a place for it. First, he’d have to change his entire personality. I don’t see that happening.”
Cal leaned toward Sky and Iris. “Personal opinion time. Do you think Miles is capable of vandalizing these galleries?”
“Yes,” they said in unison, lifting his lips into a smile.
“Most especially because of his hatred for Skylar,” Iris said. “I found some posts on a public forum board that were anything but complimentary.”
Sky rolled her eyes as Iris handed out some papers to everyone. “All I could do was sort through and find some of the best ones. There was a lot to choose from. Sorry, Skylar, but he doesn’t like you.”
Sky’s laughter filled the room. It lifted Reece’s heart and brought him back to life. If Sky was laughing, she was going to be okay.
“Sweetheart, that is not information I didn’t already have. The last altercation we got into was in February. Long story short, he got mad when another art gallery dumped him.”
“Tell them why,” Reece encouraged her, wondering if this was the crux of the problem all along.
“I could prove that some of the art he sent them was manufactured.”
The room was dead silent for a beat before Cal whistled. “That sounds like motive to me.”
