The Courbet Connection (Book 5) (Genevieve Lenard) Read Free Page B

of those on the spectrum. Even I was concerned that Caelan intended to move in, either here at Rousseau & Rousseau or at one of our homes.
    “Stay on the case.” Caelan’s expression showed he’d lost some respect for Vinnie because of the inane question. “I want to help you solve this case.”
    “No.” It had taken me two years to be comfortable working with other people. I was not going to allow a stranger, a neglected young man, into my professional life.
    Phillip looked at me until I paid attention to his expression. He respected my opinion, but was curious about Caelan’s information. Phillip blinked to break eye contact with me and turned to Caelan. “If you can help Rousseau & Rousseau track down forged art, we might consider—”
    “Yay! I’m part of the team.” Caelan’s expression lightened.
    “Not yet, lad.” Manny sat up, his expression distrustful. “What paintings were sold? And what is the dark net?”
    “Ask Francine what the dark net is. She’ll know. And she’ll know how to explain it to old people. I’ll just make you angry.”
    “You’re making me angry now.”
    “Oh.”
    “What paintings?” Manny asked through his teeth.
    “There was a Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet.” Caelan looked at my shoulder. “Tell Colin it was the Full Standing Figure of a Man . He’ll know what it implies.”
    Having limited insight into the workings of his mind, I studied his nonverbal cues for a few seconds. “You are proud of yourself.”
    “I’m part of a team.”
    “It’s more than that. What are you so proud of?”
    Caelan took his time to answer. He looked at my shoulder, biting his lips. “Normal people trade information.”
    I inhaled sharply at his unspoken desire to be normal. Had no one ever told him ‘normal’ is an undefinable concept? An ideal unattainable for most? Accepting one’s uniqueness was the true art of living a fulfilled life. I brought my thoughts back to the last part of his statement. “What do you want to trade it for?”
    “Time with you. Not just you. The whole team. I want to spend time with you.”
    I was about to immediately dispel that notion, but Phillip interrupted me. “As a team, we need to discuss this. Surely you can understand that. If you are going to help on this case, if you want to be part of the team, everyone will have to agree to this.”
    “And we need to check your information,” Manny said. “You’re going to have to give us more than the name of an artist and a dark net.”
    Caelan took plenty of time preparing an answer. After a minute, Manny became impatient, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair.
    Caelan looked up, his eyes bright. “Tell Francine that Silk Road has a repeat. Not Silk Road 2.0, 2.1 or even 3.0. It’s a whole new place.”
    “What the bleeding hell does that mean?”
    Caelan pressed his lips together, again staring at the far wall. The three men tried numerous methods of coaxing something else from him, but he simply sat in the chair rocking.
    Three more minutes of this and I went to my viewing room. I planned to get another two hours of work in before I went home. Colin had said he would meet me at home for dinner. Hopefully, he would be able to give more insight into Caelan’s scant revelations.

 

Chapter TWO
     
     
     
    I opened the door to my apartment, stepped into my haven and stopped in horror. To the right of the door was a coat tree. Under the coat tree was a special mat I had bought for shoes. It was that space that sped up my heart rate and breathing. Three pairs of sneakers were thoughtlessly dropped there in disarray. One pair was larger than the other two, obviously a man’s shoes. They were well worn and dirty in a way that sent a shudder through my whole body.
    Chatter coming from deeper inside my apartment forced my eyes away from the disturbing lack of neat arrangement at the front door. Beyond the sitting area to my right, three young people were seated around my dining room