Someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me.” A dark-haired, bearded man was standing behind him. “I wanted to ask about one of the paintings.” He was tall and thin, wearing a black suit that probably had cost more than Jason’s car. He would have been handsome if he hadn’t had a lurid, purple scar that slashed across his face.
“Certainly,” Jason said, smiling and looking him straight in the eye. “Which one?”
“The Tree.” He handed over a card with an obscene monetary figure scribbled on the back. “I must have it.” His accent was impossible to place, vaguely European. But the name on the card seemed perfectly ordinary—Lucas Black. “I can have the money wired to your account tonight. When can I expect delivery?”
“We’re holding all the paintings until the show closes next month,” Jason said, trying not to sound like he was about to break out into a dance of joy. If news of this sale leaked out—and he would make sure it did—Laura’s career would be made. He heard a strange sound behind him and looked back. The dog that had come in with Laura’s mysterious model was backed up against the back door, his teeth bared and his hackles up.
“That will be satisfactory,” Black said. “Call my office in the morning with the account information, and they will give you the delivery address.” He nodded, a polite, courtly gesture that didn’t quite hide the glitter of triumph in his eyes.
“The artist will be back any minute now,” Jason said. “I’m sure she’d love to meet you.”
“Oh, we’ve met.” He smiled. “Tell her I’ll be in touch.” Nodding again first to Jason then, strangely, to the dog, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
THE END
Other Little Red Hen Works by Lucy Blue
Novels:
The Last Winter Knight
The Haunting of Goody Crum
The Butterfly: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure
The Dragon
My Ain True Love
Playing Hamlet
The King’s Tutor: For the Love of the King Chapter 1
The King’s Possession: For the Love of the King Chapter 2
The King’s Harlot: For the Love of the King Chapter 3
Let’s Misbehave
Voodoo Heart
Six Gun Lover
Dead-sperado
Writing as Fiona Falcon (fantasy and historical paranormal romance):
Midwinter
Writing as Penelope Peacock (contemporary romance):
Jane’s Billionaire Christmas
Writing as Ramona Raven (paranormal romance):
Eat the Peach
Writing as Malinda Mockingbird (steampunk romance):
Miss Annabel Lee and the Clockwork Wolf
Mr. Hot Gay Vampire 1989
About the Author:
Lucy Blue lives in Chester, South Carolina, with her husband, Justin Glanville, an artist, illustrator, and aspiring RPG designer, and their shockingly bad but brilliant Jack Russell terrier, Luke. She holds an M.A. in English literature from Winthrop University.
She used to be a mid-list writer of historical fantasy romance for Pocket Books back when mid-list writers were still a thing. For Pocket, she wrote the Bound in Darkness series, a trilogy of dark vampire romances, and the Falconskeep series, gothic faery tales of a witching dynasty in the castle culture of medieval England. Her books have sold thousands of copies in paperback and e-book worldwide and have been translated into German and Italian. Her very first book, a collaboration with another author under the name Anne Hathaway-Nayne, was These Our Revels, a tie-in novel to the cult TV show Forever Knight.
Find her on the internet at https://lucybluecastle.wordpress.com/