Twice Dead - Catherine Coulter [215]
Simon ordered them another round, ate a couple of peanuts out of the bowl on their table, and said, “Remember that forger Eric Hebborn, who wrote that book telling would-be forgers exactly how to do it—what inks, papers, pens, colors, signatures, all of it? Then he up and dies in ninety-six. The cops said it was under mysterious circumstances. I heard it was a private collector who killed Hebborn because a dealer friend had sold him an original Rubens that turned out to be a fake that Hebborn himself had done. Supposedly the dealer died shortly thereafter in a car accident.”
LouLou said, “Yeah, I met old Eric back in the early eighties. Smart as a whip, that guy, and so talented it made you cry. You wondering if it was Olaf Jorgenson who popped him? Hey, Simon, there’s a whole bunch of collectors who’d cut off hands to have a certain medal or stamp or train or painting. They’ve got to have it or life loses its meaning for them. Look, Simon, when you get down to it, they’re the people who keep us in business.”
“I wonder if Olaf ordered all eight paintings. I wonder what he’s paying for them.”
“Huge bucks, my man, huge, count on it. All eight Sarah Elliotts? Don’t know. I haven’t heard any other names floated around. Simon, I heard those eight paintings are owned privately by a member of the Elliott family?”
“Yes, Lily Savich owns them. And therein lies a very long, convoluted tale.” Simon rose, putting a fifty-dollar bill on the table. “LouLou, thank you. You know where to find me. I think I’ll be heading out to California soon to track down one of the major players—Abraham Turkle. He’s English, right?”
“Half Greek. Weird guy. Very eccentric, said to eat only snails that he raises himself.” LouLou shuddered. “You take care around him, Simon. Abe killed a guy who tried to rip him off with his bare hands, just a couple of years ago. So have a care. Hey, this Lily Savich hire you?”
Simon paused, cocked his head to the side. “Not exactly, but that’s about it. I want to get those four paintings back.”
“I hope the others are safe.”
“Much safer than the snails in Abe’s garden. Take care, LouLou.”
“Why are you going after Abe?”
Simon said, “I want to see if I can shake something loose. It’s not only the art scam. There are other folk involved in this deal who have done very bad things, and I want to nail them. Maybe Abe can help me do that.”
“He won’t help you do squat.”
“We’ll see. His forging days in Hemlock Bay are over. I want to catch him before he takes off to parts unknown. Who knows what I can get out of him.”
“Good luck shaking the wasp nest. You know, I’ve always liked the name Lily,” LouLou said and gave Simon a small salute. Then, when Simon left, LouLou turned his attention to that very pretty lady at the bar who’d kept looking over at them.
FIFTEEN
Quantico, Virginia
FBI Academy
Dr. Hicks said quietly, “Marilyn, tell me, how did Tammy look when she came back to the motel?”
“She had on a coat and she just ripped it apart and showed me her nurse’s uniform. It was soaked with blood.”
“Did she seem pleased?”
“Oh yes. She was crazy happy that she got away. She kept laughing and rubbing her bloody hand against herself. She loves the feel of fresh blood.”
“How did she get back to the motel? You said her hand was all bloody. Wouldn’t somebody have noticed?”
“I don’t know.” Marilyn looked worried, shaking her head.
“No, no, that’s okay. It’s not important. Now, you said she was wearing a coat. Do you know where she got the coat?”
“I don’t know. When she came to get me, she was wearing it. It was too big for her, but it covered her arm where she didn’t have one, you know?”
“Yes, I know. Mr. Savich would like to ask you some questions now. Is that all right, Marilyn?”
“Yes. He was nice to me. He’s sexy. I’m kinda sorry Tammy’s gonna kill him.”
Dr. Hicks raised a thick brow at Savich, no look of shock on his face since he’d heard it all. He just shook his head as Savich eased his chair nearer to Marilyn’s.
“She’s well under, Savich. You know what to do.”
Savich nodded.