Page 152 of Over Her Dead Body

Daniel closes the door behind him. Reid remains standing until I point to the chair.

“Sit.”

He does.

Reid has known me long enough not to fill silence immediately.

Eventually, everyone does.

“Where is the painting?”

He takes a moment.

“I asked you a question.”

“Safe.”

“That is a condition. Not a location.”

“You don’t need the location.”

I wait.

He gives me nothing else.

“You stole a painting from a family who believed they purchased it legitimately, immediately after Emma questioned its provenance.”

“I needed it gone.”

“And now everyone wants to know why.”

“What would you have done?”

“I would not have walked into the house using Emma’s name.”

“It got me inside.”

“And left her paying for your access.”

His eyes shift.

“Those men had no reason to be gentle. And you knew. I’ve never considered you stupid enough to need the consequences explained in advance.”

“I told her to get on a plane. She didn’t listen.”

“Would it have changed anything?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

He doesn’t answer.

I almost smile.

People dislike questions with no flattering answer.

My phone alerts me to another email.