Read Rarities Unlimited 03 - Die in Plain Sight for Free Online Page A

its height, Benford Savoy III, called Three, a rich man’s son who supported artists because he enjoyed the bohemian life.
    Sometimes she wondered what had happened to those unknown artists, the talented ones who lost their art in booze, or the women whose art disappeared under the weight of cultural disinterest and the intricate demands of motherhood. So many of them tore themselves apart and left nothing to mark their passage from art to death.
    A feeling of foreboding went through her, the kind of rippling of the skin that her kids laughingly called sure evidence that not all the witches had been burned in Salem. Even as she tried to dismiss the chill beneath the warmth, she wished that her husband was beside her and her children and grandchildren gathered around. She felt…haunted.
    Something was wrong. Somewhere.
    Of course there is, she told herself briskly. Something is always wrong somewhere. No need to take it personally, even if I do have witches in my ancestry. Well, druids, actually, but they burned just the same.
    Whatever. Everything is fine with those I love.
    And if she told herself that often enough, she might believe it. Part of it was that she hated having Don half a world away. And most of it was something else, something that couldn’t be touched or known, simply accepted.
    “Ms. Donovan?”
    The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. Susa flipped a switch on the seat arm. “Yes?”
    “The Donovan requests that you ‘turn on your goddamned cell phone.’”
    “Oops,” Susa said, reaching for her big purse. “I didn’t expect him to be awake. Isn’t it the middle of the night in whatever godforsaken hunk of real estate he’s visiting?”
    “Trust me. He’s awake.”
    “I’m calling him as we speak.”
    The pilot, whose ears had been singed, sighed gratefully. “Good. We’re landing in twenty minutes. I’d hate to try to juggle both the Donovan on a rant and the air controller at John Wayne International.”
    Susa was still smiling when her husband answered his phone.
    “Susa?” The voice was rough yet warm.
    “I’m here, love.”
    “I miss you.”
    She caressed the phone with her fingertips as though she could reach through time and space and feel the warmth of her husband’s mouth. “Same here. I’m one lucky woman.”
    “Because I’m not around to harass you?”
    She laughed softly. “That’s not harassment. I was just thinking about the painters in Moreno County.”
    “BWM,” he said.
    Before We Met. It was the way Susa and Donald Donovan divided their lifetimes.
    “Yes,” she said. “I look down at the land and I’m haunted by the talented men who never found what they were looking for and stopped painting, and the talented women who weren’t fortunate enough to find a mate who supported their work, praised their abilities, and made painting part of raising a family. I was so lucky to find you. Have I ever thanked you for that, my love?”
    “Every time you smile.”
    “I wish I could kiss you.” She hadn’t wanted him to go and had told him so more than once before he left. For God’s sake, Don, why do you think I put up with our strapping, looming sons and quick-witted daughters if not to let them take over the business so we can play?
    But Don was as stubborn as she was, which was why they were still individuals and still together. “How are the negotiations going?”
    “Slowly.”
    “You’re going to miss the auction.” It wasn’t a question.
    “I’m afraid so.”
    “Afraid? Ha! You’re chortling.”
    “Well, smiling maybe, but not chortling. I never chortle.” He yawned hugely. “Couldn’t sleep until I heard your voice.”
    “Are you saying I put you to sleep?” she teased.
    “Eventually. Damn it, honey. I should be with you, not over here talking through interpreters to people who see dollar signs when I walk in the room.”
    “Then come home.”
    “Always.”
    “But not tonight, huh?”
    “No.” He sighed. “I swear I’m going