Deadly Little Secrets by Jeanne Adams Read Free Book Online

Carrie McCray, the Prometheus Gallery, and the Bootstrap Foundation. Something was there, she could feel it, and even before the burger was gone, she was beginning to see the shape of it.
    â€œHoly shit!” Ana dropped the last French fry into the trash and let her fingers fly over the keys. The gallery’s patron list read like a close duplicate of her list from the cold case. Turning to the second screen, she pulled up the information on Bootstrap. “Look at that,” she crowed, noting four patrons of Prometheus listed on the platinum patrons list of Bootstrap as well, and every one of them had been scammed out of high-dollar art.
    â€œSomething new?” Pretzky demanded, rounding the corner.
    Once again, Ana jumped. “Jeez, will you quit sneaking up on me?” she snapped, forgetting whom she was talking to. “You’re gonna take a year off my life at this rate.”
    Pretzky smirked her smirk and said, “Keeps you on your toes. Told you to break the habit.”
    â€œI’ll be on the damn floor needing CPR at this rate,” Ana muttered, embarrassed that she’d been so immersed as to not hear Pretzky’s approach.
    â€œSo? What do you have?”
    â€œNot that much,” she stalled, not wanting to reveal something she hadn’t fully researched, fully documented. “Just another thread to tug, which is pretty much cause for celebration since yesterday I had diddly-squat.”
    â€œDiddly-squat? How quaint. So? What is it?”
    â€œJust a gallery in the city. It’s very prominent, and it’s also connected by patronage to ninety-seven percent of the list of those with fraudulent works.”
    â€œAnd that? What’s that?” Pretzky pointed to the second screen showing the logo of the Bootstrap Foundation and its donors.
    â€œThere’s a fundraiser at the gallery tomorrow night, I decided to cross-check the art patrons list with the list of donors at the charity. Seventy-five percent duplication, and of the duplicates, all are on our fraud list.”
    â€œCoincidence?” Pretzky said facetiously. “I think not. So, get yourself to that gallery opening, talk to some people, poke around.”
    â€œIt’s invitation only.” Ana didn’t want to involve Jen if she could help it.
    â€œI can call Washington if you want.” Pretzky’s grin was feral. It was as if she could feel how much Ana now hated going out in the field for that kind of assignment. Since Rome, everything was hard. It was hard enough doing interviews, calling people cold. Once upon a time she’d enjoyed it, seen it as dress up and catch the bad guys, even though she wasn’t a trained covert-ops agent.
    Data was her deal. She needed to stick with it.
    And Pretzky knew she didn’t want to call DC for help. DC tended to jump in and take over, which every regional bureau despised. More than that, Ana didn’t want anyone in DC hearing her name before her hearing with the Panel of Inquiry.
    â€œNot yet, thanks. I think I may have an inside track. I’ll let you know.”
    â€œDo that,” Pretzky said as she stalked away.
    Great. Now she was going to have to agree to go with Jen. Jen would take it as a sign that she was weakening on the dating thing. Ugh.
    On the other hand, it wouldn’t hurt to drop by a gallery opening. Check out the legendary Carrie McCray, maybe get a chance to assess Jen’s millionaire, Jack D’Onofrio, in person. She might even see some nice art. However, even though she had a degree in art, what some people defined as art frequently baffled Ana.
    Ana braced herself, picked up the phone, and called Jen. Before she even got more than a hello out, there was a whole new spate of Jack-this, and Jack-that. Evidently she’d just hung up with the man himself. He was out of town, on the East Coast in some kind of hush-hush meeting, so Jen hadn’t expected to hear from