“Mom, Anne Robinson and Terry Snyder are here,” she said excitedly.
“Who?”
“You really don't know?”
“No clue.”
“They've only the hottest new Hollywood power couple ever. Oh, I can't believe it!”
“Believe what, Emma?” Chip asked as he returned with four glasses of champagne neatly arranged on a silver tray.
When Emma told him, his eyes widened.
“I'm impressed,” he muttered as he stared at the movie stars. “Looks like Brooks pulled out all the stops.”
Chip held out the tray, and after we'd each taken a glass, he offered a toast to the Roadrunner.
“To the Roadrunner!” we said in unison as we clinked glasses.
“Another celebrity,” Chip said, motioning toward the door where Brooks was greeting a lanky man who towered over his petite wife. In her sparkling red sequined cocktail dress, she was garnering as much attention as her husband.
“Is he a basketball player?” Susan asked Chip.
“Is he! He's the star of the Phoenix Suns.”
“I wonder how Brooks was able to entice the celebrities to attend,” Susan said, “but, I guess if you have enough money, anything's possible.”
“He probably comped them suites for the weekend here at the resort,” Chip guessed. “But where's the star of the show? We haven't seen Ulysses Durand yet.”
“Probably around the corner in the back room,” I surmised.
Like the Roadrunner, Brooks's new gallery had a free-standing wall in the center, which partially divided the space, providing more display areas for paintings.
“Shall we?” Chip asked. “I'd like to meet him.”
Susan and I agreed, but Emma hung back.
“Later, Mom? I'm going to try to talk to Anne and Terry. Maybe I can take a selfie with them.”
“OK, Emma. Good luck!”
Chip, Susan, and I rounded the corner into the back room of the gallery, where several people had gathered around the famous artist. There didn't appear to be an opening to join the group, so we bided our time by looking at the paintings until Ulysses Durand left his admirers and began making his way around the room, greeting guests as he went. We held our ground and as soon as he came to us, we quickly introduced ourselves and let him know how much we enjoyed his artwork.
“It's great to have some other artists here,” Ulysses said genially. He was a short man of about sixty with gray hair who wouldn't normally stand out in a crowd. “I know a couple of local artists. I hope they'll be here tonight.”
He looked past us and broke into a smile.
“Here's one of them now. Please excuse me.”
We turned to see our friend Ralph leaning heavily on a cane.
“His arthritis must really be bothering him,” Susan said. “I've never seen him use a cane before.”
We were surprised when Ulysses embraced the old man. Ralph didn't seem quite as enthusiastic in his greeting as Ulysses had been, but that wasn't unusual since Ralph tended to be reserved.
The two stood in front of the largest painting in the room, discussing it, until a new group of guests came into the back space, and Ulysses moved on to talk to them.
Ralph spotted us and motioned us to come over
“Sorry. I don't mean to be rude,” he apologized, “but my knee's killing me today.”
“Let me find you a chair,” Chip offered. “There must be one around here somewhere.”
“No, no,” Ralph protested. “I don't want to be a nuisance. I'm all right standing here. Funny thing is the knee wasn't even bothering me yesterday. Unfortunately, it would have to kick up a storm today.”
“Aren't you scheduled to work in the gallery tomorrow?” Susan asked. “I can fill in for you, if you like.”
“I just may take you up on that. Can I let you know in the morning?”
“Sure. No problem.”
I was glad that Susan had volunteered because I couldn't. Tomorrow Emma would be returning to college in Southern California, and we were planning on leaving for Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix at nine in the morning, the same time the gallery would be opening for the day.
“I take it you know Ulysses Durand,” Chip said to Ralph.
“Yes. I do. Thirty years ago, he was my star student.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning author Paula Darnell is a former college instructor who has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Iowa and a Master of Arts degree in English with a Writing Emphasis from the University of Nevada, Reno. Artistic License to Kill is the first book in her Fine Art Mystery series. She's also the author of the DIY Diva Mystery series and The Six-Week Solution, a historical mystery set in Nevada. She resides in Las Vegas with her husband Gary and their Pyrador Rocky.
VISIT HER WEBSITE
pauladarnellauthor.com
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