is?”
“Mmhmm. Applied thinly over a darker color, with a touch more in the brightest spots—lights it right up.”
He studied the image a moment longer. Then he exhaled and shook his head. “That’s witchcraft.”
I chuckled, pocketing my phone again. “Nah. I used to mix the exact color too, and that was just such a pain in the ass. Then someone showed me that trick, and…” I whistled. “Talk about a game-changer.”
He glared at his painting. “Yeah. Shit. Now I want to give it a try.”
“Well, now you have all the time and space to try it.”
Looking around the room, he smiled. Really smiled. “Yeah. I do. Fuck, I don’t have to get in as much painting as I can, and then shove everything into a closet before it gets in anyone’s way.” His shoulders sagged as more tension left his muscles. “Wow.”
It grated on me that the people in his life had made that a novelty for him. Sure, space sometimes came at a premium, but from the way he’d described it, his art had basically been everyone else’s annoying inconvenience. Truth be told, I was amazed he’d stuck with it. And I was glad he had, since he was clearly determined and talented, and it clearly made him happy. Maybe now he could put more time and energy into it, and he could really spread his wings as an artist.
Beside me, Kelly shifted his weight, and he glanced at the box where he’d been storing the in-progress painting. “I, um… I guess I could pull some more of these out. Put them where I can see them and maybe finish them.”
“You want a hand?”
He met my gaze, and with a shy smile, he nodded. My heart fluttered. He was clearly self-conscious of his work, especially his unfinished work, but he was willing to let me see more of it.
As we continued unpacking the paintings, I pulled another canvas out of the box and carefully removed the paper. It was a gorgeous stylized butterfly, all white against a black background. The background looked like it wasn’t quite finished—as if he were adding some textures and details—and he might’ve been intending to add to the butterfly as well, but the wings… Holy shit.
I couldn’t even put my finger on how he’d done it. The outermost edges were more opaque, and gradually faded inward as if the wings were partly transparent. The gradient had a streaked effect that was so smooth, I was sure if I touched it, the paint would be wet.
“Wow.” Turning to Kelly, I gestured at the wings. “This effect… It’s amazing!”
Kelly smiled. “It came out really cool, didn’t it? The method was so stupid easy, I couldn’t believe it worked.”
“Method?”
“Yeah. You squeeze out a line of paint on the canvas, then put a ball chain in it. You know, like the kind you pull to turn a lamp on?” He pantomimed pulling a lamp chain.
Brow furrowed, I nodded.
“Right, so you lay out the chain next to the paint, and then you take both ends and drag it through.” He pointed at the wings. “Boom. Wings.”
I blinked. “You… That’s it?” I peered at the painting. “That was just…”
“Mmhmm. It took some practice to get the lines to go in the direction I wanted, but after that, it was easy.”
“Well, shit.” I shook my head and leaned the canvas against the wall by the others. “I might have to try that.”
Kelly tilted his head. “You didn’t know about that method? Really?”
“Nope. But with results like that, I’m definitely going to give it a try.”
He watched me for a moment, as if he didn’t quite understand what I’d said. Then his expression softened into a sweet smile. He didn’t say anything, though. He just pulled another canvas out of the box and started unwrapping it, still smiling the whole time.
I let the subject go, and we continued settling him into his new art room.
And damn, I really was going to have to try that ball chain technique.
Thirty-Four
Aaron
Miraculously, my two cases from hell did not, in fact, last forever. One accepted the plea deal from the DA on Monday morning. The one idiot had still insisted on fighting tooth and nail in court to prove his innocence, but by Wednesday, I had finally convinced him that perhaps it was in his best interest to consider the DA’s offer. After all, a sentence of six months’ probation, a hefty fine, and mandatory alcohol treatment weren’t the worst thing that could happen to someone in