Hooper, Kay - [Hagen 09] Read Free

once very well off, but isn't now."
    "That was my reading. And she moved the way Kyle
does." he said, referring to one of Raven's close friends.
    Beginning to look even more interested, Raven said,
"That expensive private school look. Every inch the lady."
    "Right. Now, all this in itself doesn't mean much –
at least probably not to us. But there were a couple of other things.
She knew there was a safe behind the desk, even though I'd put the
painting back in place before she came in. I implied I was in the
room with dishonest intentions; she immediately looked at the safe
and suggested I'd been trying to open it. And I recognized her."
    "Who is she?"
    "I don't know her name yet, but she's the living
image of the woman in this portrait." Dane nodded toward the
painting they were standing in front of.
    Raven turned her head to study the painting, her eyes
widening a bit. It was the portrait of a young woman done just after
the turn of the century. The woman's gown was a soft rose color with
a modest neckline and tightly cinched waist. She held a single pink
rose in slender white hands, and wore no jewelry. Her hair was
golden, her eyes a clear blue, and there was a look of mischief
behind her half smile.
    "She's lovely." Raven looked at the brass
nameplate attached to the ornate frame, and read aloud, "Jennifer
Louise Chantry."
    "I checked the other paintings a few minutes ago,"
Dane told her. "The majority of these family portraits
are Chantrys. Garrett Kelly, unless through a female line, doesn't
have an ancestor to boast of on these walls."
    "So why does he own the house?"
    "That's what I was wondering. Granted, a lot of
these old Southern places have changed hands a number of times, but
it doesn't feel right to me."
    Raven was silent for a moment, then asked, "What's
your feeling about the girl in the study?"
    "I think she was taking back something others."
    "Kelly's a compulsive gambler," Raven reminded
him. "Maybe she lost it to him."
    "He won't play cards with women," Dane said
flatly.
    After a moment, Raven shook her head. "As you said,
I don't see that this helps us. At the same time, all we have to go
on is that Kelly's head of security tested our defenses at least
once. We knew somebody was trying to get at Josh, and during that
attempt a couple of weeks ago, he left a nice, clear thumbprint on
the apartment's electronic lock. Clumsy, to say the least."
    "I suppose there's no question about the print's
being Brady Seton's?"
    "None. Zach triple-checked. No criminal record, but
Seton was in the military, and his prints are on file. His last
known, and present, employer is Garrett Kelly."
    "How about a little icing on the cake?" Dane
said dryly.
    "What?"
    "In Kelly's safe, I found, and removed, one half of
a set of plates used to counterfeit one-hundred-dollar bills. And it
wasn't made by an amateur."
    Raven's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Curiouser and
curiouser," she murmured.
    "I'll say. Aside from his gambling, Kelly doesn't
have a smear anywhere on his name. Not even an unpaid parking ticket.
So what's he doing with a counterfeit plate? And where's the other
one?"
    "And how, if at all, does it tie up with an attempt
to get at Josh?"
    "Beats the hell out of me," Dane confessed.
"But I have to admit I'm intrigued."
    A bit restlessly, she said, "Damn, I wish I didn't
have to fly back to New York first thing tomorrow."
    "The whole point of your being here tonight,"
he reminded her, "was to find out if this lead was worth
pursuing. I'd say it's a definite yes. I'm in now; Kelly's already
invited me to one of his pseudosecret card games tomorrow night. We
agreed from the beginning it'd be best to let me work this joker."
    "I know. But I really hate leaving you alone down
here with no backup. If Kelly's counterfeiting on any scale at all,
then he's Into some pretty big stakes. It could turn out to be a real
mess, Dane."
    He hesitated, then smiled. "Well, I won't exactly
be alone. Remember that friend of mine who helped