Read Online Gauguin Connection, The by Estelle Ryan - Free Book Online Page B

people in law enforcement. That is why I think you’re perfect.”
    “I’m an outsider.” It was like listening to Manny all over again. I wondered if the thief and the respected EDA deputy chief would find it as amusing as I that they had something in common.
    “Exactly. Already you know much more about this than anyone else. I believe that you are the one who could put the pieces together to stop this.” I was surprised to see that he truly believed this. “You already have connected… um… the poets to a lot of artworks. Surely you have found connections between forged works, stolen art and the murders?”
    I took my time to answer. “We can both agree that we know things that should not be shared. Why don’t you start by telling me everything that you can share?”
    “Just for the record, I’m the only one sharing at the moment. It should show you my willingness to trust you and also the ominous nature of this situation.” He waited for a reaction, but when I didn’t even blink, he just smiled and continued. “Do you know about the EDA connection with these murders?”
    It had become clear that Colin knew nothing of Eurocorps’ connection to all this. I thought about all those stolen weapons, but immediately remembered Manny’s frantic warnings to keep this confidential. I still hadn’t decided to trust this thief.
    “What connection?” I asked.
    “I haven’t figured out all the details.” The levator labii superioris muscle on the side of his nose raised his upper lip in disgust. “The connection goes very high. And that is honestly all I know. There are a lot of fragments of information that I am trying to use to come up with a viable theory. About the EDA, I don’t have anything but a long list of coincidences and a healthy dose of suspicion.”
    “Are you a conspiracy theorist?”
    He burst out in rich laughter and for a moment the stress lines on his face lifted. “I never thought of myself as one. Not until this came along.”
    “What makes you suspect the EDA? What are the coincidences that you’re talking about?”
    “How many artist deaths have you found?” He yet again countered with a question and I hesitated to answer him. Could I trust a criminal with information that was easily obtainable on the internet? What would Phillip do in a negotiation like this? “Genevieve?”
    “Five.” It tore me in pieces to say that one word.
    “I know of thirteen. I suppose that you only looked at Western Europe.”
    “Thirteen? All of them artists?” I decided not to ask him if he had any knowledge of murders in the last four years. That would reveal the limited scope of my research and the frustrating mystery of why I couldn’t find any more murders in the last four years.
    “Some of them amateurs, some professional, but all of them must have some connection other than being murdered.”
    “The EDA?” I reminded him.
    “Oh yes, the coincidences. I first became aware of the EDA’s presence when a friend of mine disappeared.”
    “Your friend was an artist?”
    “Yes. It was in 2006. A few weeks later his body was found floating in the Danube river about twenty kilometres outside Budapest.” His voice was controlled, but the masseter muscle bulging in his lower jaw spoke of his anger. “At that time there was a large defence meeting held in Budapest with very little publicity. The EDA was present at this meeting. That in itself made me suspicious.”
    “But how do you connect the EDA to this? I’m sorry to say this, Colin, but your conclusion has no factual base. It is all total conjecture.”
    “I told you it is only my suspicion. It’s just that at four more murders, the EDA also happened to be in the same city.” He looked at his watch and grimaced. “I have to go soon. It’s a pity. I would’ve loved to sit and talk much longer. We have much to discuss. Jenny, I can’t tell you how glad I am that I have found you.”
    “Glad?”
    “After all these years of leaving