Deadly Little Secrets Page 0,66

messy, the torture overkill if they were simple revenge or cover-your-tracks killings.

“The money was never recovered.” Ana offered another point. “Nor were there any other art thefts of this nature, or none connected to subsequent fraud.”

“That we know of,” Dav smiled grimly.

“True, but it would have been dangerous to do any other similar crimes with the investigation under way.”

“Ah, but variations on the theme,” Dav offered, with a wink at Gates for some reason, “slip under the radar. This is how we recovered the piece I mentioned. We won’t discuss that with your Special Agent, I think, but it is, nevertheless, true.”

So they wanted to play it that way? It was odd that they’d been open with her so far, despite her deception at the gallery, and yet they didn’t want to deal openly with Pretzky.

Baxter stepped out to take a call as they moved to the office they’d met in the previous morning. It seemed like a hundred years ago. The conference table they’d used had been expanded, with several leaves added, and additional chairs were now posted around its expanse. “We will meet here, utilizing the knowledge of your SA and Detective Baxter, who has been our liaison with the local police. He is quite good, but as with all departments these days, especially in California, his options are limited.”

“I understand that.” Ana felt she had to make some kind of response. “We’ve all felt the pinch of budget cuts.”

Obviously Dav’s organization hadn’t, since both men made noncommittal noises. When you’ve got billions, what’s a drop of a few million on the market? Or on a painting or five, for that matter?

“Got a team over at your place, Agent,” Baxter said to Ana, as he came back in. “Found the bullet, where it bounced off the car. Your man’s taken the car back to your garage, now that we have pictures.”

He sat down on a heavy sigh. “So, what the hell’s this all about? And you got shot at too, Agent, yesterday I hear?”

“Yes,” Ana confirmed. “Missed me, but it was a near thing.”

“You think it’s connected?”

“No idea,” she replied instantly. “I have to consider, though.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t make any immediate sense. You have anything on all this that might tie into a nine-year-old art fraud case? ’Cause that’s my only connection to Mr. Gianikopolis and Mr. Bromley.”

“So the shot at you might be something else?”

“Maybe, but then the shot at Mr. Bromley might be something else too,” she said.

“Doubtful.” Another voice joined the conversation as Pretzky came in. The men stood, and she nodded to each of them, shook hands, and sat down, pulling out a file as she did. It was a neat maneuver, and Ana admired the smoothness of it. “Agent Burton hasn’t been on this case long, but we’ve had two incidents since she began making her calls and nothing prior to that on other cases she worked on. I’m thinking it’s related to this case.” She turned to the detective. “If your people could send me the data on the bullet you found, that would be helpful.”

“Done,” he stated, with seemingly no rancor. “I already cleared it with the city police. You have any leads on this, Agent Burton?”

“Nothing solid that would lead me to believe I’d hit a nerve with anyone. You know what I mean.”

Gates scowled at them, then said, “Your computers got hit, then you got shot at, then we got shot at when we were together. It’s all connected somehow. We didn’t know you till you reopened the case. I think you’ve turned up something someone doesn’t want unearthed.”

Pretzky looked a bit uncomfortable, but laid it out on the table. “We need to work together on this. I’d like to keep everyone alive. I have to tell you gentlemen, my agent was very lucky yesterday. No bulletproof glass in her car.” She leaned back, looking everywhere but at Ana. “One second later or earlier, a different angle, and we’d be having this discussion without Agent Burton.”

Gates cut his eyes sharply to Ana. “It was that close?”

Pretzky nodded, saving Ana from answering. It gave her the willies to think about the bullet in the headrest, without discussing just how close it had been. She still hadn’t processed the whole incident, and obviously, based on her breakdown yesterday with Gates, she wasn’t going to deal with it well.

“Bullet lodged in the headrest, but only because Agent Burton inadvertently rolled forward.” The image of that obviously shocked everyone, since the