Page 74 of Built of Illusions

They walked into the main room and Josie gasped. It was her work and she knew every part of it. She’d spent the last month sculpting, sketching, and painting them all. But Shane and Ang truly were geniuses. Emotion punched into her heart and had her eyes filling with tears.

The sketches and paintings surrounded the room and the piece in the middle. Eleven beautiful women looked at her from their frames.

She’d painted her favorite pose of each woman showcasing her craft. Dance, sculpture, jewelry, acting, singing and musical instruments. She’d also framed smaller sketches of them, smiling and alive. Zoey, Elena, Nadia, Anita, Ines, Doncia, Amaranta, Maresol, Alessandra, Rita, and Irena.

She’d sketched them in groups, small and large. Grouped them by profession and then by random. In many of the sketches, she didn’t show their faces, but she knew each and every one of them.

In the middle of the room, the large sculpture glittered beneath the lighting. The woman danced with joy. Her hair flowed around her and obscured her face enough that she could be any of the women on the walls.

Her radiant smile lit up the room as she lifted her hands in the joyous dance. Her skirt swirled around and she glowed with strength.

Nico’s arms slipped around Josie and he hugged her tightly. He angled them to look at the room in all directions and then buried his face in her hair. When he spoke, his voice was thick. “You’ve created such joy from such tragedy. These women will live on forever through these. You’ve given them strength and dignity and identity. You’re absolutely incredible, Josie. This is magic.”

Then he turned her in his arms to kiss the breath out of her and brushed the tears from her face. “Congratulations, Josie. You’re an absolute star.”

The clinking of crystal had them turning to find Shane and Ang holding champagne glasses. Ang handed them over. “I know you’ll switch to water, but this deserves a toast of champagne.”

Shane tapped her glass then lifted his own. “To my favorite artist.”

Josie laughed. “For today?”

Shane winked. “At least.”

They all clinked glasses and sipped. When Nico squeezed her shoulder, she leaned into him. “Thanks.”

“For what? I don’t think I did anything.”

Shane laughed loudly. “Oh, I’m sure you did something.” Then he and Ang moved off to the side.

She turned in Nico’s arms and clinked his glass with hers. “For believing me. All through this mess. All through the last month when I couldn’t quite see the vision for the pieces.”

He kissed her lightly. “Any time. You’re very easy to believe in.”

When Ang moved in again, he kept his voice low. “We have some special visitors who wanted to be here, but who may want to leave before the official opening.”

She didn’t have long to wonder as Shane walked in from the back, leading a group of people. The parents and families of the eleven women gracing the walls.

Over the past month, Josie had spoken with them all, gained their permission to include their daughters in the exhibit. She’d come to know most of them quite well and seeing them here brought tears to her eyes again.

Silence reigned as each group gravitated to the paintings that meant the most to them. Josie had made two copies of each. She’d planned on mailing them, but now she understood why Ang had insisted she bring them to the gallery.

One by one, each family approached her. She introduced Nico and explained his role in the investigation. There were tears, so many tears, but there was also laughter and joy. Nico stayed by her side, her anchor in the sea of emotion.

Mr. Gutierrez tapped his wineglass, bringing everyone’s attention to him. The loss of his daughter was obvious in the sorrow in his eyes and the lines of his face.

He smiled softly at the audience. “Thank you. I know the gallery will open to the public soon, but before that happens, I wanted to thank you for what you both have done for our girls. Thanks to you, Mr. Rivera, the man who did these awful things will never have the chance to hurt anyone again. And thanks to you, Ms. Ellis, when we think of our daughters, our girls, we can see them as you’ve depicted them here. Strong, joyful, whole. We’ll remember them as they should be remembered, thanks to you.”

Josie managed to gulp back the sobs, but couldn’t stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. By the time she’d spoken to each family and given them their paintings, she was shaking so badly, she thought her bones might pop out. The only reason she wasn’t a sobbing puddle on the floor was Nico. She held his hand like the lifeline it was and tried to compose herself.

When she said the last goodbye, he guided her to Shane’s office and she’d didn’t think she’d ever been so grateful to anyone in her life.

Nico eased Josie into the art gallery office and into a chair. She was pale and her eyes were huge. And wet.

He understood the gallery owners had wanted the appearance of the families to be a surprise, but it hadn’t been the right call. Josie had handled it, but he was worried she was going to collapse. The emotion in the room had been palpable, thrumming off the people and echoing around the space, amplifying with every conversation.

He couldn’t imagine how much more powerfully it had affected her with her soft heart and creative soul. A knock sounded on the door before it opened. The sorrowful look on Ang’s face stopped Nico from growling at him. The man handed Nico a glass of water and a small tray of fruit, cheese and crackers. Without a word, he closed the door again and left them alone.

Josie leaned her head back on the chair. “I’m sorry.”

---