Page 98 of Erik's Salvation
She shook her head. “Taylor, I need you to be honest with me. Did you take Angelo Bonetti’s keys from my safe?”
A gasp sounded from the woman. “What? No! Why would you think that?”
She swallowed. “Someone took the key and used it to access Angelo’s home, where they stole a fifty-thousand-dollar painting. Other than me, the only people with the code are you and Reuben.”
“Oh, shit.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Reuben.
Erik’s voice lowered. “What?”
“I gave James the code.” His cheeks reddened. “About two months ago, one of his clients wanted to see one of your listings, Hannah. You weren’t here, and I gave him the code so he could grab the key. I meant to tell you so you could change it, but it just slipped my mind.”
Hannah’s face paled and Erik pulled out his phone, once again calling Chandler, this time putting his friend on speaker.
“You need me to look into someone else?” he asked without greeting.
“Hannah’s in trouble, and we need your help.”
“What do you need?” Chandler’s tone was hard.
“You’re on speaker. Hannah’s gonna tell you.”
“Hey, darlin’,” Chandler said, his voice softening. “How can I help?”
Hannah took a moment before answering. No one rushed her. They just waited for her to gather her thoughts. “I think a man named James Paley stole a painting from a client’s home—Angelo Bonetti.”
“Shit,” Chandler cursed.
“Angelo thinks I took it,” she added.
“Double shit!” Tapping sounded. “Do you know what type of painting it was?”
Her nose wrinkled. “He said it was a…Charles Cham. And that it was worth fifty thousand dollars.”
Chandler whistled. “That’s a nice chunk of change. Okay, give me some time. I’ll see if it’s been put up for sale anywhere. I’ll also run a search for James.”
She blew out a long breath. “Thank you.”
“You got it, darlin’.”
The second Chandler hung up, Erik pulled her into his arms.
“I’m going to try to contact Angelo,” Reuben said from the door, his face now pale.
“And I’ll try James,” Taylor said quietly. “I know it’s a long shot, but I need to do something.”
None of that would help, but Erik appreciated they were willing to try. James wouldn’t answer, and if Angelo hadn’t believed Hannah when she’d said she hadn’t stolen the painting, he wouldn’t believe Reuben either.
He had a feeling this Angelo guy was a man of his word. He wouldn’t stop harassing Hannah until he had either the painting or solid evidence that she was telling the truth about not stealing it.
Reuben let her leave work early, probably because the fucking color never returned to her face. As they stepped into Erik’s house, his phone rang. Again, he put it on speaker so Hannah could hear.
“Chandler, what do you have?”
“Good and bad news. The bad news—I couldn’t find the painting, which means he may have had a buyer lined up before he took it.ButI found the next best thing.”
Hannah sucked in an audible gasp. “You found James?”
