"Are you planning to?"
"I haven't decided yet. I had numerous requests for prints, and I'm thinking I may go that route instead. I may keep the originals and sell prints. I haven't decided for sure yet."
"Do you have the originals here, or are they at the gallery, or do you keep them locked up someplace?"
"No, I have them here."
"All of your paintings, or just the ones that were in the local show?"
"Just the ones in the show here. My older ones are in a friend's attic in South Carolina. We made a container to hold them and she's storing them for me."
"Did whoever broke into the house bother your paintings?"
Lilly paused, and looked at Dalton. "Had we brought them home yet?"
"I don't think we had," he answered. "I think they were still at the gallery."
"They were," Lilly said. "They were still at the gallery because they were having prints made of most of them."
"That's right," Dalton said. We didn't bring them home for a couple weeks after the show."
"After the break-in?" the sheriff asked.
"After the main one, yes."
Deputy Sherman was quiet, deep in thought. "Did you have them at the house when they broke in the second time?"
"We had them, but they weren't in the house."
The sheriff sat up straight. "Where were they?"
Dalton and Lilly looked at each other, trying to remember. Dalton tried to explain. "We built a box-like container to put her paintings in while we took them down there. We put them back in that box to bring them back. Once we got them back here, we decided they would probably be best if we just keep them in that box, so we did. We weren't sure where to keep them, so we left the box on the truck for a few days while we talked about it. We eventually decided the walk-in closet in one of the guest rooms would be a good place for it. Clay and I took it upstairs, but I'm not sure when exactly. It was after the break-in, but before they broke into the truck."
"You're sure about that?"
"Yes. They tore everything up in the truck. I'm sure they would have torn the paintings up, too." He looked at the sheriff. "Do you think they were after her paintings?"
"That's crazy," Lilly said. "They couldn't be after them. I'm not a known artist. Why would they want them?"
"Whoa," Sheriff Sloan said. "First we have to figure out if that, in fact, is what they were after. That's one thing I think we should look into, but can anyone think of anything else? It seemed to me they were looking for something specific, not out to steal anything. If it's not your paintings, what else could they be looking for?"
"Well," Dalton said, "I do have a thought about that, but let me share it with you and see what you think."
Chapter Eighteen
"I'll be happy to listen to any ideas anyone has. Go ahead, Dalton," Sheriff Sloan said.
"Well, it does seem like too big a coincidence that the gallery was just broken into," Dalton said. "Why don't we talk to Mr. Freeman, the curator, and tell him about the break-in at our house. We can see if anyone was interested in her paintings that stood out, or that was asking unusual questions, or anything like that. Maybe someone liked a certain painting because it reminded them of a spot they're familiar with. If they tried to buy it and were told she's not ready to sell yet, maybe they decided they wanted it, even if they had to steal it."
The sheriff and Deputy Sherman looked at each other and nodded. "I think it's sure worth talking to the curator about it," the deputy said. "Dalton could be right. Maybe someone thought a spot looked familiar, maybe someplace at their grandparents' place when they were growing up or something like that, and they want it. Worth talking to him about, anyway."
"Absolutely," the sheriff agreed. "We'll go talk to him tomorrow morning."
Lilly had been listening carefully and had a question for the sheriff. "Can Dalton and I come with you when you talk to him?"
"Why do you want to be there?"
"Well, we got along really well with him. If he knows you're asking these questions with our blessing, maybe he'll be more willing to talk about people asking about my paintings. We can tell him he doesn't have to be concerned about the information being confidential or anything like that."
"Good point," Deputy Sherman said. "He may consider that confidential information and not feel comfortable giving it out unless she's there, Sheriff."
"I agree."
Dalton reached over and squeezed her hand. "Good thinking, honey." He turned to the sheriff then. "You said a little bit ago with four of us talking one of us might pick up on something others miss. That might be true with Mr. Freeman, too."
"Another good point," the sheriff admitted. "Why don't you two meet me at my office when it's convenient for you in the morning, and we'll go talk to Mr. Freeman."
***
The next morning on the way to the sheriff's office, Dalton and Lilly talked about some of the questions they wanted to ask the sheriff about their break-in. Had they had any other break-ins in the area? Had they gotten any fingerprints from anything? Had they found any clues at all from their vehicles that had been towed to the lab? Dalton suggested they bring all those questions up in front of Mr. Freeman. Maybe something the sheriff says would make him think of some small detail.
He ran his idea past the sheriff on their way to the gallery. After a few moments of thought, the sheriff agreed. "If you want to do that it's fine with me. Just keep in mind you'll be making your break- in more public. Mr. Freeman will know some of the details about it, and he may pass the information on."
"So you're afraid we'd be tipping our hand," Dalton said. "I see your point, Sheriff, but I don't think Mr. Freeman had anything to do with our break-in. If he did and we tell him about evidence you have, such as something you found in one of our vehicles, he may try to get the evidence back, or do something to cover it up. That would be a clue in itself, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose it would, Sheriff Sloan agreed. "If you don't mind him knowing more about your case, I'm good with it."
"It's decided then," Dalton said.
At the gallery, the sheriff explained the situation to Mr. Freeman. "Dalton and Lilly are here because there's been a break-in at Dalton's house, which is where Lilly's staying, as well."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Mr. Freeman said.
The sheriff continued. "Theirs has been rather ongoing. They've broken into the house twice, and each of their vehicles. Now, since your gallery has been broken into, we're all wondering if the two events are related in some way. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions along that line, trying to connect the two events?"
"Not at all, especially if it will help catch this guy," Mr. Freeman said.
They all sat down in Mr. Freeman's office, and looked at the sheriff. "Lilly, you and Dalton know more about the art business and how it works. Why don't you begin with questions you have? If there's anything I want to follow up on, I will. I might suggest one thing, Mr. Freeman; if anything you hear this morning from any of us, whether directed to you or not, sets off any alarms or reminds you of anything, no matter how small you think it may be, say something. Sometimes the tiniest little thing turns out to be the clue we need to put together the whole thing."
"Okay, although I'm not sure I'll be any help. I'll try, though."
"Thank you," Dalton said. He looked at Lilly, who looked a little overwhelmed. "Why don't I get us started, and, Lilly, jump in anytime you think of something you want to ask."
"Okay," Lilly said, looking thankful.
"Mr. Freeman, I know Lilly considers this to have been a very successful show, and I know you had several prints made from several of her pieces."
"Yes, I did. She sold quite a few prints, and I would agree it was a very successful show. I'm hoping she'll let us have another show some day."
"I think she's hoping the same thing," Dalton agreed. "Can you tell me if anyone showed an interest in any of the paintings, yet didn't ask about purchasing a print?"
After thinking Mr. Freeman shook his head. "Not really. There were a few people that said a certain painting reminded them of somewhere, but it was just a casual comment. A couple people asked if a painting was of a real place. When I said yes, they asked where, because it looked familiar, but they couldn't quite place it. I told them all the same thing; that they're local areas, but the artist didn't want the specific locations given out."
Dalton tried a different strategy. "I know she had a few offers to buy paintings. Did anyone seem adamant about buying a painting; didn't want to take no for an answer?"
"Not that I can remember."
Dalton and Lilly asked a few more questions, and Deputy Sherman asked a couple.
Finally, the sheriff spoke up. "Let me ask a very general question. Was there anyone that stood out at the show; maybe they expressed an interest in a certain painting but didn't buy a print, or maybe they just didn't seem like they belonged at the art show?"
"No. Well, wait, I'll take that back. Now that you mentioned it, there was one man, but he wasn't at the show. The next few days after the show I displayed some of her pieces in my front window. There was a man that came in and asked about one of them. He said he was walking past and the one caught his attention. He asked how much it was, said he wanted to buy it. I told him the artist hasn't decided to sell yet, but she was selling prints. I asked if he'd like a print and he said no, he wanted the original."
The sheriff asked, "Do you know who he was?"
"No, sorry, I don't. When I said the original wasn't for sale, he looked a little upset, but he left."
Dalton was instantly interested. "Can you remember anything else he said? Did he maybe mention why he liked it; if it reminded him of someplace?"
Mr. Freeman sat up straight. "Yes. I'd forgotten, but I mentioned that they were all paintings of local places, and he kind of mumbled something about he knew right about where that one was."
All four of them were now interested. The sheriff asked, "Do you know which painting it was?"
Mr. Freeman shook his head. "No, I don't. I'm sorry, but I don't even know how to narrow it down. I rotated paintings in and out of the front window. I'd sent the majority of them off to have prints made, and I sent them one at a time. As they would bring one back, I'd send another. I rotated all of them between the front window and inside. I do that all the time, trying to keep something new in the window. You never know when a painting will catch someone's attention as they're walking past."
The sheriff nodded. "Did he ask you who the artist was, or where she lived?"
"No, but the sign was still up introducing Lilly as a local artist. It has her name, but no address. He could have seen that. I don't believe he commented on it, but that doesn't mean he didn't see it."
They asked a couple more questions, but Mr. Freeman didn't have any other information he could share. They thanked him for his time and left.
Dalton addressed the sheriff on their way back to the station. "I'm certainly not a detective, but that sounds to me like it may be an important lead. Am I wrong?"
"I would tend to agree with you," Sheriff Sloan said. "We don't have anything else to go on, so I think it's definitely worth following up on. It leaves us with a lot of questions, though."
Lilly agreed. "Yeah. Like which painting was he looking at, and how did he know the location?"
Dalton was a little apprehensive. "Does that mean whoever this man was has been on the ranch; has seen the site personally?"
Deputy Sherman offered an opinion. "That would seem most logical to me. Or maybe a neighbor that can see the same general view from his land, as well."
Dalton seemed upset at that thought. "Whoa, wait a minute, Detective. I know we can't rule anyone out, but I know all my neighbors and have for some time now. I can't think any of them would do such a thing."
"Well, remember," Sheriff Sloan said, "we don't know yet if this is even related to the break-ins. I think it's worth looking into, but I agree when Deputy Sherman said it seemed most logical to him that it may be someone who's been on your ranch."
Dalton nodded, more content with that answer. "So what do we do now?"
"Lilly, could we look at the paintings? Deputy Sherman and I haven't seen them. Maybe if we look at them, something will stand out to us. And Dalton, if you and Lilly look at them with this new lead in mind, maybe you'll see something you hadn't seen before. Maybe we can figure out which painting this guy was interested in, and if we can figure that out, maybe we can figure out who he was and what his interest in the painting is all about."
"That sounds like a good place to start, Sheriff," Dalton said. "We can go home and get them out. It's worth a try."
An hour later, Dalton and Lilly had the paintings all on display in the guest bedroom. Some were on a few easels she had, some leaning against the wall or a piece of furniture. The four of them made their way around the room, looking at each piece carefully.
"You really are very talented, Lilly," the sheriff noted.
"Thank you," Lilly answered shyly. Dalton smiled to himself. She was so humble about her work. He loved that about her.
They finished looking at all of them, and Dalton was a little frustrated. "I didn't see a thing. Did anyone else?"
"Not a thing," the sheriff said. "Either his interest in the painting isn't related to the break-ins and vandalism, or we missed something. It's possible you or Lilly could look at them again in a day or two and you'll notice something you missed."
"Do you suppose it's okay to leave them out here," Dalton asked, "or should we put them up again? If whoever it is breaks in again and is looking for one of them, they'll get what they want and we won't know who it is or if they'll be back."
"True," the sheriff said, "but if they tear the house apart like they did the first time, they'll find them anyway."
"The only time the house is normally empty is on Saturday nights," Lilly said. "Are we going to try to catch them again this Saturday?"
"We're willing to give it another go if you two are," the sheriff answered.
"We don't have anything to lose," Dalton said. They talked a couple more minutes, setting up plans for Saturday night again, and the sheriff and Deputy Sherman left.
Dalton stood looking at the paintings after they left. "I can't help this feeling I have that the answer is in these paintings somewhere."
Lilly studied him several seconds. "Are you serious; do you really have a feeling about it?"
"I do," he assured her. "but I don't see anything right now. Let's go have lunch. Stella probably has it ready, and I'm sure she and Clay are anxious to hear if we learned anything new. We can tell them what we found out, and maybe after lunch we can all come up and take another quick look at them before Clay and I get back to work. Another set of eyes sure can't hurt." Lilly nodded in agreement.
Clay and Stella listened intently to what they learned, and were anxious to look at the paintings again after lunch. Unfortunately, again no one found anything untoward in any of the paintings.
Before the men went back to work, Lilly pulled Dalton aside. "Is it okay if I call Daphne and invite them over for dinner tonight? I'll help Stella fix something. Maybe they'll see something we're missing."
"That's fine with me," Dalton agreed. "They may see something we're missing, and it'll give you girls a chance to get together and visit awhile. I know you'd both like that."
"Thank you, Dalton," she said, reaching up to kiss him. "I'll check with Stella to be sure it's okay with her, and then call Daphne right away."
"I'm sure Stella won't mind. She loves seeing Daphne," Dalton said, "but thank you for checking with her first anyway. That's very thoughtful." He reached down and gave her a much better kiss than the quick peck on the cheek she'd given him. "Now, that's a kiss," he said with a grin as he left.
Stella and Lilly worked together easily while they fixed supper, which would include Daphne and Brian. They discussed what all they'd learned this morning. "Dalton says
he has a feeling the paintings hold the secret," Lilly said.
Stella stopped and looked at her. "He said that, really?"
"Yes. Why; what's wrong? You look upset."
"Not upset, no," Stella said slowly. "But that young man seems to have a sense about him like that. He's very intelligent and he doesn't miss a thing."
"I've noticed that much, unfortunately," Lilly said. "He seems to know everything I've been doing, even when I try to hide it."
Stella gave Lilly a knowing look. "I don't think you'll want to try hiding things from Dalton. You're right, he knows. That's kind of what I'm talking about, though. He's had a feeling about a couple of things before, and he's always been right. I don't know how he does it, but I think he picks up on small things and doesn't forget them. I know if he says he has a feeling the clue we need to solve this is in the paintings, I sure wouldn't bet against him. Maybe I'll take a quick look at them again before I go to bed tonight."
"Yeah, maybe I will now, too, since you told me that. Thanks, Stella."
That evening, Dalton specifically asked Stella to join them for supper. She usually preferred to let them have their privacy during meals, but when he said he'd really like her to be part of the conversation, she agreed. He explained to Brian and Daphne what they'd learned. "I just can't help but think we're all missing something in the paintings," he said. "Clay and Stella, I know you've heard this before and have looked at them, but I want all six of us to be aware of all the information we have. If any of you ever want to look at them, we're leaving them out in the guest room. Feel free to study them anytime you want."
Brian quickly added, "Daphne, if you want to look at them, tell me and I'll bring you over. I still don't want you out alone over here."
"Absolutely," Dalton agreed. "I don't want to see either of you outside this house without one of us with you until we get this solved."
The girls rolled their eyes, which brought warning looks from both men.
All six of them went upstairs after everyone helped Stella do the dishes and clean the kitchen. A couple of small things were pointed out at one time or another, but no one thought it could have anything to do with what was happening, so they moved on.
A Beautiful Ranch Page 23
