see if my forehead was as bad as Lindsay implied. There was a definite lump now, and it felt raw when I touched it. I hadn't realized until now how sore it was. "I'll put some ice on it when I get home. There's nothing else the doctors can do for it."
"Hitting your head is sort of serious." Lindsay seemed to have picked up on the mulish attitude that had infected everyone around me today. "You need to go see a doctor."
"I will. Later. First I need to do some damage control. The museum's board of directors won't want to have anything to do with me if I'm even remotely affiliated with a murder."
"It's sort of my fault if they're mad at you, isn't it?" Lindsay said. "You wouldn't have been here if I hadn't asked you to help the quilt guild. But why would the museum's directors be mad? They can't blame you for Tremain's death."
"They won't think of it in terms of blame. More like an uneasy feeling that it won't reflect well on them when it hits the news that three people affiliated with the museum were at the scene of a murder."
"I guess it will be okay if you take care of that before you go see your doctor," Lindsay said. "Just promise me you'll keep your cell phone in your pocket all the time, in case you pass out again."
"I promise."
"My grandmother will be so disappointed that Tremain never got publicly discredited," Lindsay said. "I've been collecting a bunch of information for when the prosecutor was finally convinced to file fraud charges, but I suppose there's no point in keeping it now."
"Hang on to your notes for a while longer." I didn't want to mention the possibility of homicide charges being brought against Dee and Emma, but if that did happen, having information about Tremain's other victims might be useful. "Perhaps you could make a copy for me too."
"Sure." Lindsay spoke a little too fast, as if she'd been hoping I'd want to see them. "Do you think the killer's name is in there?"
"It's possible."
"And don't forget his partner," Lindsay said. "She was mentioned in some of the articles. I bet she did it."
It was a better theory than Wolfe's. Today's meeting could have been what had opened her eyes to her partner's frauds, and she'd confronted him before everyone else returned to the shop. Of course, that was assuming she hadn't known what Tremain was doing all along. What if the fake quilts weren't even his idea but were Alyse's? For all I knew, her silver items weren't any more legitimate than the quilts.
"I don't suppose you have a file on the partner too?"
Lindsay shook her head.
"Do you have time to check her out? And see what you can find on collecting silver, and maybe whether there are any other dealers in antique silver around here."
"I'll have it for you first thing tomorrow."
"I'm not in that big of a rush. You must have other work on your desk, with a higher priority."
Lindsay looked away. "I'm sort of on vacation. Taking some personal days to help with the quilt show."
Lindsay was lying, but I knew from past experience that I wouldn't get the truth out of her until she was ready to talk. I had to wait until Lindsay was ready to share her problems voluntarily. I just hoped she was ready before she got fired.
I stood up to leave. "Just get me the information whenever you have the time."
Lindsay blocked me from leaving. "First I want to see where your cell phone is and that the battery is fully charged."
As an only child of distant parents, I'd never really experienced anyone hovering over me, so my first instinct was to push Lindsay away. I knew Lindsay was only trying to help, though, and she didn't need any more anxiety right now, so I went along with her demand. I unzipped the messenger bag. There wasn't much inside. When I'd left home this morning, I hadn't planned to do any appraisals today. Otherwise, it would have held hefty reference books by Barbara Brackman and Eileen Jahnke Trestain, possibly even a few of the more obscure ones that the elderly local book store owner had
"Hitting your head is sort of serious." Lindsay seemed to have picked up on the mulish attitude that had infected everyone around me today. "You need to go see a doctor."
"I will. Later. First I need to do some damage control. The museum's board of directors won't want to have anything to do with me if I'm even remotely affiliated with a murder."
"It's sort of my fault if they're mad at you, isn't it?" Lindsay said. "You wouldn't have been here if I hadn't asked you to help the quilt guild. But why would the museum's directors be mad? They can't blame you for Tremain's death."
"They won't think of it in terms of blame. More like an uneasy feeling that it won't reflect well on them when it hits the news that three people affiliated with the museum were at the scene of a murder."
"I guess it will be okay if you take care of that before you go see your doctor," Lindsay said. "Just promise me you'll keep your cell phone in your pocket all the time, in case you pass out again."
"I promise."
"My grandmother will be so disappointed that Tremain never got publicly discredited," Lindsay said. "I've been collecting a bunch of information for when the prosecutor was finally convinced to file fraud charges, but I suppose there's no point in keeping it now."
"Hang on to your notes for a while longer." I didn't want to mention the possibility of homicide charges being brought against Dee and Emma, but if that did happen, having information about Tremain's other victims might be useful. "Perhaps you could make a copy for me too."
"Sure." Lindsay spoke a little too fast, as if she'd been hoping I'd want to see them. "Do you think the killer's name is in there?"
"It's possible."
"And don't forget his partner," Lindsay said. "She was mentioned in some of the articles. I bet she did it."
It was a better theory than Wolfe's. Today's meeting could have been what had opened her eyes to her partner's frauds, and she'd confronted him before everyone else returned to the shop. Of course, that was assuming she hadn't known what Tremain was doing all along. What if the fake quilts weren't even his idea but were Alyse's? For all I knew, her silver items weren't any more legitimate than the quilts.
"I don't suppose you have a file on the partner too?"
Lindsay shook her head.
"Do you have time to check her out? And see what you can find on collecting silver, and maybe whether there are any other dealers in antique silver around here."
"I'll have it for you first thing tomorrow."
"I'm not in that big of a rush. You must have other work on your desk, with a higher priority."
Lindsay looked away. "I'm sort of on vacation. Taking some personal days to help with the quilt show."
Lindsay was lying, but I knew from past experience that I wouldn't get the truth out of her until she was ready to talk. I had to wait until Lindsay was ready to share her problems voluntarily. I just hoped she was ready before she got fired.
I stood up to leave. "Just get me the information whenever you have the time."
Lindsay blocked me from leaving. "First I want to see where your cell phone is and that the battery is fully charged."
As an only child of distant parents, I'd never really experienced anyone hovering over me, so my first instinct was to push Lindsay away. I knew Lindsay was only trying to help, though, and she didn't need any more anxiety right now, so I went along with her demand. I unzipped the messenger bag. There wasn't much inside. When I'd left home this morning, I hadn't planned to do any appraisals today. Otherwise, it would have held hefty reference books by Barbara Brackman and Eileen Jahnke Trestain, possibly even a few of the more obscure ones that the elderly local book store owner had
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