"Yes." Nick paused beside a desk and surveyed the cluttered surface. "He must have known. He was the cautious, careful type. He'd have left town as soon as he got his money."
A glint of gold on the floor caught his eye as he turned away from the desk. It winked at him from under a table. He bent down and scooped up a small cuff link. An elegantly scrolled letter C entwined with a smaller O was inscribed on it.
"Find something interesting?" Leo asked from the other side of the room.
"No." Nick dropped the small bit of beautifully wrought gold into his pocket. He would have to pay another call on his uncle to ask him why one of his cuff links had been found in the secret room of a master forger.
"Any idea why someone would have done this?" Leo asked.
Nick glanced at more papers lying on the floor. "I think whoever went through this room was trying to cut off the money trail."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a pattern to the papers that have been pulled out of the drawers and the desk. Most of them relate to routine business matters. Receipts, bills, orders, that kind of thing. Some are real, some are forged."
Leo glanced at the papers. "So?"
"I have a hunch that whoever went through this room was trying to find any records Wilkes might have made regarding the sale of the forged copy of the Chastain journal."
"You mean the man who ordered the fake journal came back because he figured out that Wilkes might have made some incriminating records of the deal?"
"It's one of a couple of possibilities." Nick thought of the cuff link in his pocket. "Money leaves a stain that is just as permanent as blood. Very hard to wash out."
Leo slanted him a sidelong glance. "You sound like you know something about the subject."
"Anyone who runs a large business has to know something about it. A money trail can be dangerous." Nick was suddenly annoyed with himself. "I should have considered that element of the matrix more closely. I've been concentrating on other factors."
"Think the guy who did this found what he was looking for?"
Nick surveyed the room. His attention was caught by the broken lamp. "I don't know. But it's clear he was in a rage when he did it."
"How can you tell?"
Nick gestured toward the smashed lamp. "It didn't fall accidentally. It was hurled against a wall."
"Whoever tore this place apart was real mad, huh?"
"Yes."
"Maybe he was scared, too," Leo offered. "Maybe like the forger, he figured out that you'd come calling."
Zinnia held the phone in one hand and used the other to flip through the latest copy of Architectural Synergy as Wilhelmina continued her tirade.
"The entire family is appalled." Wilhelmina's voice rose to a shrill pitch. "Absolutely appalled. How can you shame us like this? What will that nice Duncan Luttrell think when he sees that dreadful picture in that cheap tacky tabloid?"
"You'll be glad to know that Duncan called an hour ago, Aunt Willy. We had a pleasant chat."
"Thank God. Such a nice man. How on St. Helens did you explain that disgusting photo?"
Duncan had been kind, understanding, and very sympathetic. He had, however, offered a gentle warning about the folly of risking one's reputation with a man such as Nick Chastain. Zinnia had resisted the nearly overpowering urge to tell him to mind his own business. She knew that Duncan meant well.
"I told him the same thing I'm telling you. Mr. Chastain has hired me to restore the interiors of his new property. He was showing me the house."
"That isn't his property. It's the old Garrett estate."
Zinnia smiled. "Better start calling it the new Chastain estate."
"Nonsense," Wilhelmina sniffed. "That would imply that it belongs to the legitimate branch of the Chastain family, which it most certainly does not."
"Has anyone told you that you're a snob, Aunt Willy?"
"Someone in the family must maintain standards."
"I know, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Look, I've got to run. I've got an appointment in a few minutes. Goodbye, Aunt Willy."
"I haven't finished, yet-"
Zinnia pretended not to hear Wilhelmina's squawk of protest. She hung up the phone very gently.
She exhaled deeply, tossed the magazine aside, and leaned back in her chair. Morosely she eyed the heavy glass paperweight that sat atop a stack of sketches.
The sketches had been made for a new client who had phoned a few minutes earlier to fire her. The client had been horrified by the photo in Synsation.
Business was drying up quickly. She wondered if she ought to accept Nick's offer of a real job. She needed the money and the designer in her was excited at the prospect of redoing the classic interiors of the new Chastain estate.
But the part of her that was falling in love with Nick found it difficult to accept the fact that another woman would live in the house once it was completed. Better not to pour her heart and soul into that particular project, she decided. Things were dicey enough as it was.
On impulse, she reached for the phone and punched in his private number. Feather answered.
"Yeah?"
"You have a lovely telephone personality, Ms. Feather. So warm and welcoming. Is Mr. Chastain back yet?"
"He just walked in the door with your brother."
"Leo?" Zinnia was so surprised she nearly dropped the phone. "What's he doing there?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"Put him on the phone, please, Feather."
"Mr. Chastain or your brother?"
"My brother," Zinnia snapped.
There was a short pause and then Leo came on the line. He sounded energized. "Hey, Zin, you'll never guess where Nick and I were when you called earlier."
"What's going on, Leo?"
"We went to the forger's house."
Zinnia felt her jaw drop. "The forger who did the fake Chastain journal?"
"Right. Alfred Wilkes. Nick got his name from somebody named Stonebraker and we drove over there. The place had been ransacked. Wilkes was gone but Nick thinks someone searched the place to find any kind of financial paperwork that would have linked him to the forgery."
Zinnia clamped her hand very tightly around the receiver. "Let me get this straight. The two of you went to see this suspected forger together?"
"Yeah."
"Without bothering to tell me your plans?"
There was a short pause before Leo rushed into explanations.
"Things happened kind of fast. Nick said there was no time to lose. It was really weird, Zin. The guy had a secret door built into his icerator." He broke off abruptly. "Hang on, Nick wants to talk to you."
"Good," Zinnia said through set teeth. "Because I have a few things to say to him."
"Hello, Zinnia." Nick's voice was as cool and controlled as always, just as if last night had never happened.
"How dare you go to that forger's house without me?" Anger made her chest suddenly tight. "We're supposed to be partners. That means we consult with each other before we take action. Either we work together on this project or you can forget the whole plan."
"Calm down, Zinnia."
"I will not calm down. I'm furious. Listen to me, Chastain, we had an agreement. You promised to share information with me."
"I had to move quickly. As it was, Wilkes had already skipped. I'll tell you everything over dinner."
"Forget dinner. I've got other things to do tonight." The depths of her rage and anguish stunned her. She realized that both were far more powerful than the situation warranted, but she could not squelch the emotions.
"Zinnia, give me a chance to explain the situation."
"The only thing I want to know is why my brother is involved in this."
"Leo showed up just as I was leaving. He was concerned about the photo in Synsation."