Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [126]
David hesitated. "He's very private."
"He works the black market," Riley interjected.
"Let him talk," Paige said. "What happened next, Dad?"
"I remember thinking that I needed to get home. I cut through the alley. And then—" He stopped. "There were footsteps behind me. Someone was running. I was struck by a terrible force. I felt myself falling." He shook his head. "That's all I remember."
"You hit your head on the pavement," Paige said.
David drew in a breath, then let it out as he nodded.
"Why did you think you needed to get home and not back to the store where my grandmother and I were waiting?" Riley asked.
David glanced at Riley, then back at his father. "I wanted to speak to you," he said to Wallace. "A long time ago I saw a box that you had, and I thought it could be the one that goes with the dragons. I didn't realize you also had the other dragon—"
"What? He has the box?" Riley interrupted.
David didn't answer. Neither did her grandfather. The two men were staring at each other, a look passing between them that spoke of unfinished business. Paige couldn't help wondering just what her father knew and what else her grandfather was hiding.
"The box you saw was from the Ming dynasty," Wallace replied. "It has no connection to the dragon."
"I find that difficult to believe. It looked exactly the same."
"I don't care what you believe."
"Where did you get the dragon, then?" David asked.
"From a private collector. I thought I might one day find the other dragon and the box. Until then, I would keep the dragon safe." Wallace turned abruptly, putting the dragon back into the safe before anyone could move. He slammed the door shut and flicked the combination lock. Paige was startled by the movement. Her father, too, seemed taken aback. But Riley ... She could feel the angry energy emanating from his body. She glanced over at him and saw a determination in his eyes that told her he wasn't about to let her grandfather end the conversation so quickly.
"I'd like to see that dragon," Riley said.
"I would, too," David added.
Wallace shrugged. "It's no one's business but mine."
"My grandfather had one just like it," Riley said. "And he worked for you. You were friends."
"We were friends until Ned betrayed me," Wallace replied. "I gave him a job. I treated him like a brother. And he paid me back by stealing the dragon and setting fire to the store to cover up his crime."
"That's a damn lie," Riley said.
"It's the goddamn truth," Wallace said, his eyes blazing. "And you gave me the proof when you and your grandmother showed up on television with the dragon he'd been hiding in his attic all these years."
"I don't believe you. My grandfather is an honest man."
"Then how did he get the dragon?"
"I don't know. But then, we don't know how you got yours either, do we?"
"I told you, a private collector—"
"You also told us only a minute ago that you only had one," Riley reminded him. "Now you're saying you had two, and my grandfather stole one."
For the first time, Wallace looked confused. "Yes, well, I had both originally."
"But not the box?" David asked, rejoining the conversation. "Are you sure the box I saw didn't go with the dragons? If you had both dragons, where was the box?"
"That box wasn't part of the set."
"Open the safe," David said. "I want to see the dragon again."
"No."
"Dad almost died because of that dragon," Paige interjected. "Don't you think he has a right to see the matching one?"
There was a strange glitter in Wallace's eyes as he looked at David. "I'm sorry you were hurt. That shouldn't have happened."
"Why are you sorry? You didn't have anything to do with it." David's eyes narrowed, the expression on his face changing several times. "Did you have something to do with the robbery?" he asked in shock.
"I'm eighty-two years old. You think I go around knocking people off in alleys?"
"Maybe not just anyone," David said slowly, his mouth set in a grim line. "But I'm not just anyone, am I?"
Paige had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Dad, you can't believe—"
"Can't I?"