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“Seriously? No specialized camera gear is needed?”
“No,” Wilt deadpanned.
Linc suddenly had a light bulb go on. “Perfect. Do you still have those images of our lovely Sorcha?”
Wilt nodded. “In fact, she was the first thing I saw when the cameras were turned on last night. I don’t know if this is significant, but she was grinning like a little kid as she danced in front of the mural.”
Oh, that sweet woman. If she weren’t a ghost, he’d kiss her for this. “If you’re asked—by anyone—you’ll say it’s possible Sorcha used her supernatural powers to make sure there was no recording of last night’s events.”
Wilt swung his head to Linc. “Sir?”
“You heard me. Sorcha turned off our system.” He clapped Wilt on the back for emphasis before heading over to Ghislaine.
He had to protect Liam as much as the center. Malcolm was going to want heads to roll for this depiction, and he wasn’t getting Liam’s.
“Ghislaine,” Linc called in a low voice, prompting her to look up from her phone. “I want you to get a press release out ASAP and post as many pictures as you can justify putting online.”
She raised her brow. “Already begun, Linc. Do you think I don’t know my business? Besides, since Taylor is one of the subjects, it would be better for this to come from me. We should schedule a press conference. People are going to want to see this beauty up close and personal. I assume we’re leaving it up for now.”
“You thinking someone might want us to paint over it?” The look she gave him had his stomach clenching again. “Yeah, I thought so too. We’ll deal with it.”
“Any idea why Wilt didn’t get a notice that someone was on the property?” she asked with her usual insight.
Shit. Now he was going to have to lie to his own people. Or dance around the truth. “The system went down, but the first person Wilt saw when it came back online was Sorcha.”
The usually perfectly composed Frenchwoman nearly dropped her phone. “You have a video of her?”
Right. The press would devour that kind of story, right? “We do.”
She turned into super publicist before his eyes, her eyes hungry and as crafty as the Cheshire cat’s. “I want it, Linc. Bad.”
“Tell Wilt to give it to you,” he said, feeling a little guilty that he was making decisions like this on the fly. He’d brief Bets later.
“You should know that Veritas posted a couple of photos of the mural himself online ten minutes ago. LED lights and central images. Not the whole mural obviously. That will be our job.” Ghislaine punched something into her phone and held it out to him.
She was right. The photos didn’t do the work justice—LED illuminated shapes in a sea of black. Three stories in one night. The scope and logistics were unfathomable. “How many followers does Veritas have?”
“Nine million on Instagram alone,” Ghislaine answered. “Linc, you think we had attention before, but we’re at a whole new level now. Taylor should be called. Do you want to do it?”
He looked over to where Bets was standing. She had a crowd around her, growing every minute as more people from the village arrived after hearing the news. They were all familiar faces. Eoghan and Sandrine were gesturing to the mural with Donal while Sophie and Jamie talked to Brady with little Greta, who was dressed for school. Carrick was holding baby Emeline as Angie hustled up to Ellie and Kathleen.
Then he saw Liam approaching with Taylor beside him and inclined his head toward Ghislaine. “No need. Liam handled it. You take the lead here. Taylor’s had a hell of a first few days.”
“She’s going to be the center of attention, Linc.” Ghislaine touched his arm. “There’s no getting around it.”
No, there wouldn’t be. “Do what you need to. I’m off to do what I do best.”
He strode over quickly to where Liam and Taylor had stopped, well away from the cluster of townspeople. “Morning. Heck of a way to start your Monday, isn’t it, Taylor?”
She put her hand to her throat as she gazed at the mural. “It’s a lot to take in, that’s for sure. I mean. Veritas.”
He inclined his chin toward the mural. “Seems we have another supporter on our side. You’re a reporter. You would know how big this is. Ghislaine is point since you’re part of the story.”
“So much for her only putting in consultant hours when needed.” She nodded, looking wan. “This will be a full-time job for a while. That’s probably good for the arts center, but I feel bad about not doing my job.”
Linc patted her arm again. “Malcolm’s fault, like most things around here. Liam, can I speak to you for a moment?”
Their eyes met at last, and the younger man nodded. They walked a few feet away until they were out of earshot. “I’ll talk quickly so your mother doesn’t get all worried. Sorcha appeared on the video cameras last night when the system came back on. I’ve asked Wilt to tell anyone who inquires that Sorcha and her supernatural powers might have shut our system down last night to help Veritas with the mural. As someone who has access to the system, I wanted you to know what we discovered.”
