Read Online Art and Arsenic (Veronica Margreve Mysteries Book 2) by Valerie Murmel - Free Book Online
Authors: Valerie Murmel
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ring of my work phone interrupted. The number was local, and my phone told me that it belonged to Linda Raven, courtesy of caller-id software.
“Hello?”
“Hello, hello, is this Veronica Margreve?” The female voice on the other end was rising in pitch and sounded out of breath. Linda was obviously panicked.
“Yes, it is.”
“This is Linda, Linda Raven. We met the other day.”
“I remember. What can I do for you?”
“The police talked to me yesterday, and today again for hours! They just left. They suspect that I killed Fred!” Her words were tumbling out fast. “Asking all those questions. I didn’t have anything to do with his death, I swear!”
“Why do you think they suspect you?” I asked, even though I knew at least part of the answer to that.
“They showed me your report, that you wrote for Fred Nordqvist. The one about IP addresses. So they know about the website.” I heard her swallow. “And the security video picked me up exiting the Nordqvist Fine Art building at 9 on Friday night.”
Ah. That was new.
“They also probably got my fingerprints from his office. But I promise, I didn’t have anything to do with his death!”
“Why were you at Nordqvist Fine Art?”
“Fred called me, told me about your report. I went over there to talk to him. We argued, but I didn’t kill him. Please believe me!”
Before I could do that, I needed to understand her motivations better.
“Why did you try the DoS?”
She sighed. “I was very, deeply upset at Fred. His gallery was stealing my business by means I thought were... questionable. The art – you know, he had another exhibit of David Cox paintings from the same collection, a couple of years ago. It was what really helped raise his profile, and I started losing customers to him. And back then, at the first exhibit, I thought that some of the art looked a little suspicious. So when this second exhibit was being put together, I started thinking about what I can do to prevent it from taking more business away from me.”
Ok, business jealousy. To be expected, given that Ravenswood sold the same type of art as Nordqvist Fine Art – 19 th and early 20 th century European.
“What do you mean the art looked suspicious?”
“Some paintings seemed a little… off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it back then.”
Hmmm. Not much to go on so far. And all phrased vaguely enough that I couldn’t prove or disprove it – just some nebulous insinuations about Fred Nordqvist's shady business practices.
“Of course, I couldn’t really say anything too widely about it, as people would think it was just sour grapes! Especially since I couldn’t really pin-point what it was that seemed off to me. Gossip in this business can be so brutal! People would start saying that I was jealous, that I didn’t know what I was talking about!” She half-sobbed into the phone.
I looked out the window towards my back yard, where three big dusty-pink tulips were blooming despite the rain and the cold, listened to her breathe in and out to compose herself, then asked:
“Why do you think I can help you in this situation?”
“That report you wrote, that’s the key evidence against me. It’s the reason I was there in the first place! I thought… I thought that you looked like a… nice person, and logical too. And if I could explain this to you, you could tell the police I didn’t have anything to do with his death! Please!” Her voice was rising again in desperation.
I had been told previously that I looked ‘nice’ and ‘harmless’, and it had come in handy when I had to interview employees in cases of security breaches or data thefts that we suspected were internal – people were not as on their guard when talking to me, and I could get more evidence.
“Please! I’m begging you!” Linda was obviously upset, and, I thought, quite sincere in her desire for my help. But that didn’t mean that she was innocent in Fred’s
“Hello?”
“Hello, hello, is this Veronica Margreve?” The female voice on the other end was rising in pitch and sounded out of breath. Linda was obviously panicked.
“Yes, it is.”
“This is Linda, Linda Raven. We met the other day.”
“I remember. What can I do for you?”
“The police talked to me yesterday, and today again for hours! They just left. They suspect that I killed Fred!” Her words were tumbling out fast. “Asking all those questions. I didn’t have anything to do with his death, I swear!”
“Why do you think they suspect you?” I asked, even though I knew at least part of the answer to that.
“They showed me your report, that you wrote for Fred Nordqvist. The one about IP addresses. So they know about the website.” I heard her swallow. “And the security video picked me up exiting the Nordqvist Fine Art building at 9 on Friday night.”
Ah. That was new.
“They also probably got my fingerprints from his office. But I promise, I didn’t have anything to do with his death!”
“Why were you at Nordqvist Fine Art?”
“Fred called me, told me about your report. I went over there to talk to him. We argued, but I didn’t kill him. Please believe me!”
Before I could do that, I needed to understand her motivations better.
“Why did you try the DoS?”
She sighed. “I was very, deeply upset at Fred. His gallery was stealing my business by means I thought were... questionable. The art – you know, he had another exhibit of David Cox paintings from the same collection, a couple of years ago. It was what really helped raise his profile, and I started losing customers to him. And back then, at the first exhibit, I thought that some of the art looked a little suspicious. So when this second exhibit was being put together, I started thinking about what I can do to prevent it from taking more business away from me.”
Ok, business jealousy. To be expected, given that Ravenswood sold the same type of art as Nordqvist Fine Art – 19 th and early 20 th century European.
“What do you mean the art looked suspicious?”
“Some paintings seemed a little… off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it back then.”
Hmmm. Not much to go on so far. And all phrased vaguely enough that I couldn’t prove or disprove it – just some nebulous insinuations about Fred Nordqvist's shady business practices.
“Of course, I couldn’t really say anything too widely about it, as people would think it was just sour grapes! Especially since I couldn’t really pin-point what it was that seemed off to me. Gossip in this business can be so brutal! People would start saying that I was jealous, that I didn’t know what I was talking about!” She half-sobbed into the phone.
I looked out the window towards my back yard, where three big dusty-pink tulips were blooming despite the rain and the cold, listened to her breathe in and out to compose herself, then asked:
“Why do you think I can help you in this situation?”
“That report you wrote, that’s the key evidence against me. It’s the reason I was there in the first place! I thought… I thought that you looked like a… nice person, and logical too. And if I could explain this to you, you could tell the police I didn’t have anything to do with his death! Please!” Her voice was rising again in desperation.
I had been told previously that I looked ‘nice’ and ‘harmless’, and it had come in handy when I had to interview employees in cases of security breaches or data thefts that we suspected were internal – people were not as on their guard when talking to me, and I could get more evidence.
“Please! I’m begging you!” Linda was obviously upset, and, I thought, quite sincere in her desire for my help. But that didn’t mean that she was innocent in Fred’s
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