Page 10 of Easton Island: A Wedding to Remember

As soon as she opened the door, Chester clambered across her lap and leapt to the ground, making a beeline for the gallery’s front entrance.

Stepping inside, she caught Quinn’s eye and gave her a friendly wave. “Chester and I had an errand to run and thought we would stop by to say hi.”

“There’s my buddy.” Quinn scratched his chin. “Have you had any luck finding a wedding suit for him?”

“Yes. I found his formal attire. It wasn’t easy. You know how picky he can be. I hope he likes it.”

Quinn tipped her hand back and forth. “I give it a fifty-fifty chance.”

“Me too. If he leaves it on long enough for us to make it through the ceremony, I’ll call it a win.”

A couple who had been perusing the inventory approached the counter, asking Quinn for more information about a piece of artwork on display.

Morgan quietly stood off to the side, watching as her friend filled them in on the history and background of the piece. They showed an interest in a second work of art. Once again, Quinn told them about it.

Finally deciding to purchase the original piece, Quinn made quick work of completing the transaction. They exited the store, leaving Morgan and Quinn alone.

“I wish I had half the brain and memory you have,” Morgan marveled. “I bet I could pick out any piece of art in here and youcould tell me all about it. Meanwhile, I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday.”

“I love art. Every piece tells a story.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Morgan shifted her feet. “Has there been any word from Mr. Ryze, the man who was in here yesterday claiming the artwork he bought was fake?”

“No, but no news isn’t necessarily good news.” Quinn confided she’d gotten a bad vibe from him the moment he stepped foot inside the gallery. “He was asking a lot of questions. Looking back, it was all sort of odd.”

“Odd?”

“His line of questioning. How we acquired our pieces, what the process was…stuff like that.”

“Hmm. Do you think he was on a fishing expedition?”

“It’s possible.” Quinn peered over Morgan’s shoulder. “Grady is here.”

“He called right before I walked in and said he needed to talk to me.” Morgan hurried across the room and caught up with him near the door.

“Hey, Morgan. Before I forget, thank you for inviting me to last night’s shindig. Grace and I had a great time.”

“I’m glad you could make it,” she said. “Your phone call sounded important. Is everything all right?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I was hoping Mrs. Easton would be here.”

Morgan sucked in a breath. “Why? What’s going on?”

“I got a call from the RCMP—the Royal Canadian Mounted Police department. They received a complaint about fakeartwork allegedly sold by Easton Harbor Art Gallery. A pair of investigators are on their way here.”

Chapter 5

Morgan’s mind whirled. “The police are coming here to Easton Harbor Art Gallery to investigate?”

“They were leaving the mainland when I took the call,” Grady said. “It was about fifteen minutes ago.”

Morgan did a rough mental calculation. “Which means they’ll be here soon.”

“That would be my guess.”

“I’ll give Elizabeth a call to let her know.” Quinn left to track down her cell phone.

Grady waited until she was gone. “I’m sorry, Morgan.”

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