The partygoers gave me funny looks as I crouched down and looked under the furniture. Whatever. I’d probably never see any of these people again.
No sign of Persephone.
Brooke and Casey waved at me from outside the window. I cringed, because I could tell they were up to something. Casey nudged Brooke, and they walked in the front door.
“What are you doing?” I whispered between gritted teeth.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Brooke asked. “We saw you talking to Henry.”
I groaned and looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to me or the party-crashers. “He’s still on my list.”
The ladies gave each other a knowing look. “Anyone else?”
My heart pounded. “Look at the room. It’s packed, and those people on the phone are dealers. They could potentially spend over a million dollars on a piece tonight.”
Brooke whistled. “This room is full of sugar daddies. If I play my cards right, I could kiss my student loan debt goodbye.”
“It could be. If the two of you want to mingle…” And just like that, they’d successfully crashed the party. “Make sure you have your story straight about why you’re here. And whatever you do, don’t mention my name.”
I needed to get away from the crowd for a minute and regroup. I breathed a sigh of relief when I reached the hallway, and only found a few servers assembling new trays of treats in the kitchen.
And Persephone hanging out of one of the stools.
“There you are.” I took the stool next to her and roughed her fur. “I’ve been looking for you all night.”
One of the servers looked over her shoulder, like I could’ve been talking to her, but I shrugged her off and turned to the cat.
“That crowd is too much.” Persephone’s muscles tensed under my touch. “If I stay in here, I can steal shrimp off the tray when no one’s looking.”
My kind of cat.
“How are they too much for you?”
Another look from the server that I totally ignored.
“All the scents are overwhelming. Perfume and cologne and bad food.”
“Do any of them smell like the people who took the painting?”
“Can’t tell. Too much going out there, and there’s shrimp in here.” Persephone had her priorities sorted.
“What did the thieves smell like?” She’d told me before, but I wanted to make sure she said the same thing twice. Or else she could be leading me in the wrong direction.
“Dead flowers.”
Same thing. “Have you smelled it in the gallery before?”
I could swear she wrinkled her nose. “All the time.”
“Are they here now?”
“Yes.”
My heartbeat sped up. We were in the same room with a criminal. Margaret lived here. Nicole had been here every time I’d been here, but that didn’t mean that she was here all the time. I had a feeling she was only interested in her aunt when it served her. And Henry had admitted to being here all the time and to having the door code.
He didn’t smell like flowers. He smelled like mint and vanilla, and I could not get distracted thinking about how good Henry smelled.
And he didn’t have a car. Persephone had said she’d lost the thieves when they got into a car. I peeked down the hallway to make sure the servers were busy with full trays, and then opened the back door. A light flashed, but there was no audible alarm.
No one came running, so I poked my head out the door. The alleyway was narrow, and a black luxury SUV was parked at the very end of it. Otherwise, there were only the backdoors of the other buildings that shared the alley.
The SUV could’ve belonged to Margaret. It was as sleek and classy as she was.
Or someone was planning another heist right under all our noses.
I grabbed a shrimp off the tray and gave it to Persephone.
“Thank you.” She purred in appreciation.
“Anytime.” I patted her again as she worked on her treat. This cat didn’t have trust issues. “What does Margaret smell like?”
“Treats.” Persephone licked her lips after finishing the last of the shrimp. “You do too. That was how I knew you were going to take care of me. Anyone who smells like that is a good person.”
“The treats that were in the box” –which was actually catnip—“Are those your favorites?”
Her eyes brightened. “They were. I was so hungry I was ready to start hunting mice. I’m old now, and they’re faster than me. But when I found the treat, I’m a little ashamed to admit I would’ve eaten anything at that point. When I woke up, I was stuck inside the box until you freed me.”
They lured her with something they knew she couldn’t refuse. “What did you smell when you woke up?”
“Chemicals. Dead stuff. I picked up some dreadful things on my paws wondering around the city.”
“Any more flowers?”
“Maybe.”
I stroked Persephone’s back as I thought about it. I was pretty sure I had my culprit. Now I just had to figure out how to tell Margaret I’d figured it out. And make her not turn on me in the process.
“Can you handle it by yourself? I’ll start the car.” A voice in the hallway startled me.
Persephone rose, body stiff. “That’s the smell. The person who took the painting is coming.”