Mountain Heiress: Mountain Midwife by Cassie Miles Page B

version of Harrison Osborne, even if he did want to get rid of her. “Let’s skip the tea and go back in the other room. I have some questions.”
    Striker was already heading for the door. Before he left, he glanced back over his shoulder at Zach, who was still watching him. For a moment, they stared at each other, communicating on a primal male level as though they were a couple of chimps warning each other off. She wanted to believe that Zach won that confrontation, but she wouldn’t forget Striker’s hostility. The handyman seemed like the most obvious person to stage a break-in at the Roost.
    In the display room with the portfolio in front of her on the coffee table, Gabby sat on the sofa. “Mr. Fox said the inventory wasn’t complete. Why is that?”
    “Give me a break,” Osborne said. “It’s only been a few weeks, and it’s time-consuming to track these things down. Some of the paintings are on display in museums or at schools. Others are in other galleries and haven’t sold.”
    She watched Zach saunter through the gallery and take a position beside one of the front windows. From there, he could see the parking lot and make sure that Striker got into his red truck and drove away. Having Zach on her side gave her the confidence to believe that she might just find her way through this mess and come out the other side in one piece.
    She opened the portfolio to the front pages that listed paintings that had been sold and their sale price. “This goes back twenty-five years. There are hundreds of listings.”
    “That’s not an inventory I threw together overnight,” Osborne said. “Sales figures need to be updated every year for accounting and for taxes. Michelle had copies.”
    Gabby made a mental note to search Michelle’s office for these records. “How do you keep track of it all?”
    Osborne sat cross-legged on the rug opposite her. “When Michelle completes a painting, I fill out a single-page Certificate of Authenticity, signed by her and by me. After the work is purchased, I send the certificate to the new owner and keep a copy for my files as a record.”
    She flipped through the portfolio to the pages for unsold artworks. Each painting had a photograph and a brief description, including details such as size, title, date and asking price. “Is this the certificate?”
    “It’s the same information. The original signed certificates for unsold paintings are valuable, and I have them locked away in my safe.”
    Zach left the window and sat beside her. “You’re supposed to turn all that stuff over to the lawyer, right?”
    “When I have everything completed, yes.”
    Leaving the portfolio open on the coffee table, she thumbed through page after page, amazed by her great-aunt’s output. “There’s a lot in here.”
    “Michelle was prolific.”
    Gabby stopped on a page that had information about the painting but no photograph. “Why isn’t there a picture?”
    Osborne toyed with his necklace and licked his lips. “Michelle told me about these paintings, but I never saw them.”
    Zach asked, “How do you know they exist?”
    “Read the descriptions,” he said. “They’re very specific, and she wanted a record.”
    When she leaned forward to read, Zach did the same, moving closer so he could see the page. His thigh brushed against hers. The rough fabric of his jeans rubbed against her skirt and the bare skin above her knee.
    With an effort, she concentrated on the written description. Her voice was only a little bit breathless when she said, “This painting is titled Tarot Arcana VI. It’s only three inches by five—a little bit larger than a playing card.”
    “I never saw these last five Tarot paintings, numbered VI to X.” Osborne scowled at the book. “It’s a shame. She did others in the series, and they’ve acquired a reputation. I know at least three collectors who would bid on these paintings.”
    “But you haven’t seen them,” Zach said.
    “If I had, I would