Chapter 9

Hailey, over here!” Turning her head, Hailey strained to find Paige, but her voice was lost in the crowd. The reception area of the Sparrow Center was full to capacity. Finally, she caught a glimpse of Paige, making her way toward the punch bowl with a full glass pitcher. Hailey squeezed through, making her apologies as she went.

Reaching Paige, she said, “I’ll give you a police escort.” Walking ahead of her, she called, “Excuse me, make way for the punch.”

When they reached the punch table, Paige threw her arms around Hailey, hugging her tight. “Isn’t this great?”

The excitement in her voice was contagious. Nodding in agreement, Hailey answered, “It’s wonderful! I never imagined a crowd this size. Where did they all come from?”

“Who cares! They’re here!” Paige laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to be in charge of the guest book?”

“I’m just taking a quick break for some punch. Aren’t you supposed to be giving tours?”

Paige waved to someone across the room before answering. “I brought my last group back here and found the bowl empty. Karlee said she’d keep an eye on it, but she’s too busy playing hostess with David.”

“The mayor just left, and a senator just walked in. I’ve been assigning all the big shots to David and Karlee or Robert for the tour. I think every member of the citycouncil has been here, along with the police chief, the fire chief, and the building inspector. You did a fantastic job with advertising, Paige.”

“Thanks. All the big shots got invitations, but most of these people just saw it in the paper. David said he’d be grateful if fifty people showed up.”

Hailey shook her head in awe. “There are at least six pages full in the guest book. I’m sure there have been well over a hundred and fifty people already, and we’ve got two hours to go.”

“What a miracle,” Paige said.

“The decorations are perfect. Everyone’s been commenting on them. Did you end up spending the night here? When I left for work yesterday afternoon, you were still cleaning!”

Hailey fingered the satin ribbons on the pink linen tablecloth beside her and looked around the room. Arched above each doorway was a swag of pink and blue ribbons, tying together two columns of helium balloons twisted together with curled ribbons that swayed softly when anyone passed. Pink and blue balloons hovered on the ceiling, with yards of curled metallic ribbon dancing just above the crowd.

“Do you really think so? I wanted it all to be just right. And to answer your question, it took a few bags of cheeseburgers and a couple dozen milk shakes to bribe—I mean, reward—Pastor Stevens’s youth group to help last night. They’ve really been great. Several of them are talking about starting a volunteer program here.”

“I talked to a lady from a senior citizen group in town that wants to start a grandparent program. I can’t believe how supportive people are being.”

“Kinda restores your hope, doesn’t it?”

Hailey agreed. “Well, one for the road, and it’s back to work. I’ll trade you jobs in a bit if you want.”

“Deal. My voice is giving out!”

❧

Later that evening, Hailey returned to the reception area with a group of ladies from a local church. The crowd had thinned, so she was able to point out the mural that covered most of one wall. Tall African grasses in varied shades of green and brown surrounded a giant thorn tree. The women laughed at the playful gray rhino that hid behind the tree, his bulging sides showing on each side. His great horn and one small eye peeked around the tree, and a look of triumph was on his face. Behind each plant and tree were other animals playing hide-and-seek. A lion with a full, shaggy mane stood on his hind feet and leaned against a tree, covering his eyes with huge paws.

“All of the murals in the building were designed by Paige Stern, sister of the architect who designed the Sparrow Center.”

There were murmurs of approval from the women. “Such talent!” exclaimed one woman.

“And what a beautiful sense of humor!” said another.

Just then, Hailey caught a glimpse of Paige peering out of the door to Robert’s office and pointing in her direction. Her other hand shielded her mouth as she whispered to someone inside the room. The look on her face resembled that of the mischievous rhinoceros.

Hailey raised her eyebrow and smiled sweetly at the ladies. “Yes, humor is certainly one of her many gifts.” As she ushered them to the punch table, she kept one eye on Robert’s door.

She didn’t have long to wait before Paige approached her, almost breathless with excitement. “Just stay here; there’s someone I want you to meet.” Before Hailey could even think of a question, she was gone.

Suddenly, in front of her stood a tall, deeply tanned man with thick black hair. Paige was clinging to one arm, and he extended the opposite hand to her. “Hello, Hailey.”

“Hello,” she offered weakly. “I’m Hailey.”

Laughing, he replied, “I know.”

Only then did Paige begin the introductions. “Hailey, this is Philip; Philip, this is Hailey.”

Not knowing what was expected of her, Hailey looked from Paige to Philip and back again.

“Finally, we’ve met,” he was saying. “I’ve heard so much about you from my mother and my brother—and of course Paige.”

Hailey watched as he patted Paige’s hand, wondering what she had missed.

“Stop it, Philip; we’re only confusing her. This is my brother, and David’s brother, and Karlee’s soon-to-be brother-in-law, and the man you’re going to stand up with at the wedding, Philip Joseph Stern.”

“Oh! Phil! David and Karlee call you Phil—I didn’t recognize the name, and I didn’t know you were going to be here. Karlee never mentioned it, and—”

“You’re babbling, Hailey,” Paige teased.

“It’s what I do best.”

Phil laughed. “A family trait, I’ve heard.” He smiled the same inviting smile she had seen so many times on David. “I didn’t tell anyone I was coming. I thought it would be fun to surprise everyone.”

“A family trait, I’ve heard!”

Paige interrupted their laughter. “Well, Robert’s locking the doors. Why don’t you show Philip where the food is before it gets put away—he’s starving. He’s always starving! Then you can join David and Karlee and the kids in the break room.”

Hailey handed Phil a small paper plate, which he heaped with finger sandwiches and appetizers until it threatened to collapse. Hailey laughed and took the plate out of his hand. Arranging all of his food on an empty serving tray, she added a large slab of layer cake and a handful of mints and nuts and handed it to him.

“Follow me. I’ll get you some punch and we’ll join the others.”

“You’re all right, Hailey,” he said.

She shrugged. “There are perks to being ‘family.’ ”

As they passed Robert’s office, Hailey picked up Cody’s voice. Instinctively she turned, only to see Paige sitting next to him in front of Robert’s desk, her hand on his arm. Their heads were leaning close together.

Hailey hated the surge of jealously that overtook her, and she tried to resist the thought that followed logically: Paige was trying to push her off on Phil so that she could have free access to Cody. The idea shouldn’t bother her, she argued; after all, she had purposely distanced herself from him over the past week. She hadn’t been cold, just preoccupied; and clearly, he had gotten the message and had pulled back from her, too. It had to be, but still it hurt, and seeing him with Paige only made it worse. But there were ways to hide jealousy.

❧

Paige and Cody bent over the two-page fax that had come into Robert’s office at the hospital the day before. Across from them, Robert was making notes on a yellow legal pad. Cody nodded that he had finished reading the first page, and Paige put the other paper on top. Suddenly, she grabbed his arm.

“Forrest Reed? The Forrest Reed? He’s the other artist you were talking about? The one whose works were stolen along with your mother’s?”

Cody nodded, bewildered, then looked to Robert, who reflected the same look. “You’re familiar with his work, I take it?”

“Familiar? Of course! He died about—oh, six months ago, I guess. He was big, I mean, really big. His pieces are selling for five digits—and that’s just his jewelry and pottery! His paintings. . . Cody, you’re sitting on a gold mine, I mean, if it hasn’t all been sold; even so, you’re a lawyer. From what you say, those paintings are rightfully yours, and. . .”

She left the papers in Cody’s hands and put her hands to her cheeks. “I’m talking like Hailey! I can’t think straight! This says that several of Reed’s paintings from the sixties have recently appeared on the market, yet they can’t be traced to previous owners.” She scanned the copy of a newspaper article from a Montana paper. “There’s no mention of them having been stolen, though it could be implied.” Her eyes lit up. “I bet whoever took them hung on to them until Forrest was gone! After all these years, they felt it was safe to sell them—and your mother’s paintings, if there are more of them. Do you remember any of her other pictures? Can you describe them? I could send flyers out to all of the major galleries.”

Robert nodded and rubbed his chin, then tilted his chair back and held the yellow pad up in front of him. “That’s a good idea. This fax came from a friend of mine who’s a private investigator in California. He’s good; I’m confident we’ll be hearing more from him soon. And we’ve already contacted the Missoula sheriff’s department. One of their officers, a Sergeant Gorman, remembers the case. He was a personal friend of Pampa and Millie, and the first one on the scene after the robbery. He’s ready to retire—I think he wants to go out in a blaze of glory, so he’s more than willing to put in overtime for us.”

Cody took up the story. “A detailed list of everything that was stolen is still on file. We’ll check with the sheriff’s department about sending it out to the galleries. It seems like a logical first step.”

Paige was sitting on the edge of her chair. “This is so exciting—it’s like something right out of those mystery novels Hailey is always reading. I bet she flipped when she read this!”

Cody handed the paper back to Robert. With forced casualness he said, “Haven’t had a chance to show it to her yet.”

The edge in his voice was not lost to Paige. “Well,” she said, “she’s probably never heard of Forrest Reed anyway.”

❧

Hailey was standing in the lobby talking to Phil when Cody and Paige followed Robert out of his office. A bright smile lit Hailey’s face when she saw Cody, but the smile was directed at Phil. A little too loudly she said, “I’ll be ready at seven, Phil.” With a coy wave, she turned back toward the break room, followed closely by Paige.

David had walked into the lobby in time to catch the last line. He raised his eyebrows at Phil. “Two-timing, little brother?”

Phil shook his head. “Just getting to know the family. She invited me out for dinner.”

Cody stood in the hallway, close enough to hear every word that had just been said in the lobby and also to eavesdrop on the conversation between Paige and Hailey in the break room.

Paige stood in the doorway, one hand on her hip. “So what’s with you and my brother?”

“Who knows? He’s really sweet. We’re having dinner tonight!” The sparkle in her eyes looked like it had been pasted there. Paige was confused but not fooled. She turned and saw Cody staring in her direction. His eyes told her that he’d heard. Paige shrugged, a gesture that told him it didn’t make any more sense to her than it did to him.