Read Online A Killing in Antiques by Mary Moody - Free Book Online

little harder at actually learning something, he could be a true authority.”
    When we were seated he crossed his long legs and said, “So, what gives?” I filled him in on what I knew about the murder and Billy’s trouble. He nodded and chomped and sipped until I wound down. It turned out that he was right; I did feel better eating and unloading my feelings.
    “I agree with you, Lucy. The police have the wrong man. Silent Billy doesn’t have it in him to harm anyone.”
    “I’m sure that sooner or later the police will realize that,” I said. “But in the meantime Billy’s in trouble.”
    “Don’t be so sure the police will discover their mistake, Lucy. When they have a suspect, they’ve been known to build a case around him.”
    “They can’t—” I bit the words off. I know they can. They didn’t know Billy. If they believed he was guilty, why should they look for someone else.
    “I saw Billy just yesterday,” he said. “When he delivered a candlestand to my office.”
    “Something Monty picked for you?”
    “I’m not sure,” he said.
    We finished the last morsels of our yogurt-soaked bread at the same time and leaned back to savor the rest of the coffee.
    I reached into my purse for some foil-wrapped wet napkins to wipe our fingers, and Baker reached into one of his bags for a cigarette. I held my tongue about the smoking. Baker is an adult. I had a tired old speech about the evils of smoking, but I had listened to myself once, and it stunk worse than the smoke.
    “I used to ask if people minded if I smoked,” he said, “but now that the whole world has seen fit to become sanctimonious about it, I’ve quit asking. Besides, this is a roller-coaster business for many of us, Lucy, and smoking helps to even out the jolts.”
    I suppressed a laugh. It’s true that we’re in a wildly bumpy business, but Baker is well cushioned from jolts. He’s richer than God. He has old money and new money and in-between money, and he has lots of it. The media records its fluctuations. Baker manages the managers who manage his money, but he finds none of it as interesting as antiques.
    Baker’s true love is his Learned Informer’s Antiques Review , a trade newspaper that he founded, on a whim, when he was still in school, years ago. The LIAR , as it calls itself, chronicles the happenings in the antiques world with more excitement and wit than is usually found in the antiques trade’s press. It is a weekly newspaper, and though it is heavily subscribed to, and packed with advertising, its likely contribution to Baker’s wealth is minor compared to his other assets.
    “Did he say that the candlestand was something you always coveted?” I asked. That was one of Monty’s standard marketing ploys.
    “No, that’s what I expected when he called, but it’s a Shaker piece, and I’ve never collected Shaker furniture. So he must have been telling the truth. Unless he developed a new selling technique.”
    “What do you mean, ‘telling the truth’?” I asked.
    “Well, Monty called me early yesterday and told me he had something he wanted me to see. I tried to dust him off, Lucy. I don’t want any more stuff. I’m trying to weed out, and get rid of my extra stuff, so I discouraged him.”
    I nodded. I knew that nothing could discourage Monty, but I also knew that Baker was always trying to “weed out” his extra stuff.
    “Did he tell you to reserve judgment until you saw it?” I asked.
    “That’s what I expected, but he was very mysterious, told me he only wanted me to hold the piece for him, that I couldn’t buy it if I wanted it. He said that he’d try to deliver it personally.”
    That certainly sounded like a new gambit for Monty. “But he sent Silent Billy instead?”
    “Yes, and naturally Billy didn’t say a word about it. He came in, put it in my office, tipped his cap, the way he does, and left.”
    “Was there anything unusual about the candlestand?”
    “I don’t think so, Lucy. I