Through the Glass

by Lisa J. Hobman

  The gallery, and the bar, were only a short cab ride back to the rather plush, well known hotel where Franco had insisted Felicity stay for a while until she found somewhere more permanent. It was very elegant and elaborate but it was the kind of place you needed to experience with someone. Not alone. And she was oh so alone, feeling that ten times more when she arrived back there on an evening and had time to herself. Time to think and reminisce.

  ~~~~~

  Whilst on the way back to her hotel suite, Felicity rode the elevator with what appeared to be a newly married couple. They kissed and fondled each other with little regard for their fellow passenger. Felicity rolled her eyes as the young man held the woman in a possessive embrace and nipped at her neck with his teeth, completely oblivious to Felicity’s presence. Thankfully, she left the elevator before they went any further. She felt like she had been temporarily thrust onto the set of some erotic movie and was annoyed at the fact that they blatantly ignored her coughs whilst trying to draw their attention to the fact that they had company.

  Finally, she reached the sanctuary of her luxurious and over-the-top suite. Falling back onto the plush sofa, she switched on the television, and of course, there it was on the screen, the well-known movie where the girl looks across at the empire state building just as it lights up with a heart and she realises that her Mr. Right is probably waiting for her at the top. Jeez, the whole city was mocking her very presence.

  Grabbing her bag, she rummaged around in it until she found the card that Vitale had given her. She read it with interest. Vitale DeLuca, Managing Director, DeLuca Pharmaceuticals. Wow. He was a big wig alright. M.D. of a drug company. Obviously a drug company that was doing quite well judging by his expensive suit.

  She placed the card back in the bottom of her bag as Jim suddenly sprang to mind. Okay, so he wasn’t Italian, dark or mysterious. But he was warm, sexy, and hilariously funny. Passionate…yes, he was that, too. She groaned as she realised once again that she had blown it with him.

  She resolved to focus on work. Romance was something she could, would, and should live without. Jim was someone she would have to learn to let go of.

  Work.

  That was the answer.

  ~~~~~

  Monday morning was bitterly cold. She was beginning to become accustomed to this February, New York weather. The skyscrapers went a little way to shielding her from the icy chill, but she still wished she had a little more appropriate clothing. She would have to go shopping.

  Shopping in New York.

  Alone.

  Blurgh. She could ask Lia to accompany her. That would probably be best, as Lia would know the best places to shop. Although after Friday, she was unsure as to how much, other than art, they had in common.

  She sat in her office thumbing through some more of the paperwork that Chester had made a pig’s ear of. Lia had called and asked if she wanted to join her for lunch but she had declined. Sarah, the receptionist who was heavily pregnant, had gone to her prenatal visit, and Kyle, the other gallery assistant, had met his wife and daughter for lunch, and so the gallery had been closed for an hour. Not something Felicity would usually do, but on this one occasion, when everything was just so disorganised, it didn’t feel that it mattered too much.

  Her head was throbbing, and typically, she didn’t have any headache pills with her. She decided to go and raid the cupboards in the break room and see if someone, anyone was either around to give her some or had left any in a drawer or cupboard. She hunted through half a dozen drawers but to no avail.

  A door through the break room had intrigued her for days now. She hadn’t noticed it before last week, but when she asked Lia what was through there, she was told it was just a stock room where old damaged, paintings were kept ready for insurance claims. How many damaged items could there be to warrant a whole room?

  This was not something that had ever been an issue before. Not something she had heard of. Not something that was needed in the London gallery. It was becoming so very clear why Chester had been let go, and she knew that as the new manager, it would be her job to deal with damages and insurance. Oh joy.

  She decided as no one was here to give her lame excuses it was time she took a look in that storeroom. Wondering what the hell else Chester had done. It had to be him. Lia had seemed sympathetic to him. She showed some kind of misplaced loyalty. But Lia was just a nice girl who would do anything for anyone. She must have respected her former boss a great deal. At least she had some admirable qualities, which is more than could be said for the man himself.

  She tried the handle but the door was locked. Incensed that as the manager of this gallery there were rooms she couldn’t even access, she rifled through drawers looking for a key. None materialised. With her anger increasing she decided that someone must have a key. Lia wasn’t due back for an hour, and so Felicity nervously went to her desk first, feeling guilty but also entitled to look in that room. No key there. Next she searched Sarah’s desk and then Kyle’s. Nothing. Back to the kitchen, she rifled through the drawer nearest to the door once more. Nothing. One last-ditch attempt found her on a chair sliding her hand along the top of the door frame. And bingo! Sure enough there was a key secreted on the top of the frame amongst the dust bunnies. Why were the contents of this room so protected when they were damaged stock? She took the key down and decided to try the door.

  The key fit, and with trepidation at just how much money Chester had seemingly lost for the company, she dreaded what was behind the mysterious door. She flicked on the light switch and walked in. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, as she saw several stacks of paintings. There must be thousands of dollars of damaged canvas here! Her heart raced. What the hell had caused this? How could Chester have been so lacking in care? How the hell would she explain this to Franco? He would go all out to ruin Chester who was already ill by all accounts.

  She flicked through the canvases to see if any could be salvaged. But confusion washed over her. She shook her head and went back to the start. What the—? She pulled out canvas after canvas, which showed no damage. Not in any way. So why? She froze when she pulled out two canvases she recognised as pieces by well-respected artist Edward Vincent, who was known for producing valuable one off paintings. So why were there two canvases here which were identical? And more to the point why were there two of this painting when she had sold the original to a wealthy businessman in London? Looking closer she inspected the signature and numbers denoting that this was, indeed, a one off. Oh no! They were copies! Forgeries! Gathering speed she flicked through the canvases again.

  Copy after copy marked up to be one off original pieces. Copies of paintings that were worth tens of thousands of dollars, and considering how many of them were here in this room, it would amount to millions of dollars. Forgery. Oh. My. God. Her heart rate increased further and she began sweating. Someone was using this gallery to sell forged artwork. Shit! This can’t be happening! She quickly closed and locked the door taking care to leave everything as it was. She needed to think. Who knew about this? Who was in on it? Did Franco know? Surely not. Franco was a genuine man with a passion for originals, especially one off pieces. There had to be an explanation that didn’t include Franco.

  She returned to her desk and stared at her phone. Who could she trust with this? She snorted. Of course, Jim would be the only one she would trust with this kind of thing. He was sensible and level headed. He would know what to do. She picked up the receiver but immediately put it back down. She couldn’t just call him out of the blue. That would be ridiculous. She felt like she was ready to scream.

  She surmised that Chester was somehow involved but couldn’t prove that yet. Considering she was an Oxford graduate from Hampshire, this kind of thing was relatively new to her, and she had not one single clue as to how to go about solving such a crime. She was no detective. And she could be implicated in this, too, if the criminal behind it found out she knew. This was not good. So not good.

&nb
sp; Suddenly, Lia breezed in. “Hey there. Brought you a cupcake from the little bakery across the street. They are sooo delicious.” She rolled her eyes as she spoke.

  How sweet. Lia had worked here awhile. She would know wouldn’t she? If dodgy dealings were going on? Or would she? She had been sympathetic to Chester before. But she was so nice. Maybe she just felt sorry for him? She couldn’t possibly be aware. “You okay, Felicity? You don’t look too good. You’re…real pale.” Lia’s eyes showed her concern.

  “Erm…no…I don’t feel too good. I think I have a migraine coming on.” She rubbed her temples.

  “I have some pain pills.” Lia stepped closer to Felicity’s desk. “I could bring them to you.”

  “That would be great… Yes, please, Lia.” Felicity nodded but it hurt to do so. Lia disappeared and quickly returned with the tablets and a glass of chilled water. Felicity downed two of the tablets and took a large gulp of water. “Thank you so much.”

  “Maybe you should go home… I mean back to the hotel? You look so very pale. We can manage here. It’s been quiet all day.”

  As much as Felicity hated to admit it, Lia was right. Plus she needed to distance herself from her discovery for a while and think. Formulate a plan. She stood and wobbled, the pain in her head causing the dizziness and a wave of nausea to wash over her. She grabbed her bag by the strap, but everything fell out as she did.

  “Here, let me help you there.” Lia crouched to put the items back in Felicity’s bag. “Come on, I’ll walk you out and hail you a cab.” Lia put her arm around Felicity’s waist.

  “You’re being so lovely. I do appreciate it.” Felicity smiled.

  “Hey, that’s what friends are for.” The two women walked toward the exit.

  Lia hailed a yellow cab and waited until Felicity got inside okay. She instructed the driver where to go and waved goodbye to Felicity. “I’ll call you later,” Lia called with the look of concern still in place. Felicity held her hand up in a wave but was struck by dizziness again as she turned her head.

  Back in her suite, she sunk onto her bed, not really knowing how she managed to coherently pay the driver and make her way up to her rooms. The events of the day had just about knocked her sideways, but she couldn’t think about it now. She decided to let sleep take her and she would think more tomorrow. Thankfully sleep came quickly as the pain pills kicked in and she drifted off.

  ~~~~~

  A phone was ringing somewhere. Felicity opened her eyes and carefully sat. She realised it was her cell phone that was in fact making the noise. She clambered of the bed and stood. Her head felt much better but there was still a dull ache at the back of her skull that reminded her of why she was here and not at work. The room was dark apart from the light of the lamp in the corner. She fumbled around and managed to find what she was looking for.

  “Hello?” she croaked.

  “Finally!” Lia sighed heavily at the other end of the line. “I was getting so worried, Felicity. I was ready to send for paramedics or something. How’re you feeling?”

  “Oh…you know…fair to crap.” She yawned.

  “Well, do you want me to come over and look after you? I have nothing planned. I could bring you some food up?”

  Bless her. “No, no, it’s fine, Lia. Probably better if I get some more sleep. I feel completely drained.” She rubbed her head again. “What time is it?”

  “It’s after eight. I wanted to give you long enough to sleep off the migraine. Do you get them often?” Lia’s question stopped Felicity for a moment.

  “Do you know… I don’t remember the last time I had one. It’s probably over a year ago now.” Felicity actually knew the last one she had was on the day she left Jim.

  “Well, something must have triggered it. I think you should consider seeing a doctor. I can recommend one if you’d like me to. But for now, get some more sleep and stay home tomorrow if you feel bad. Honestly, Felicity, we can manage without you for a couple days.”

  “That’s very sweet, Lia, but I have a serious job to do at that gallery. I can’t afford time off.”

  Lia sighed. “Okay, you’re the boss. Sleep well. You have my cell. If you need anything just call, okay?”

  “Okay, thanks again, Lia. I really appreciate it.” She hung up.

  ~~~~~

  The next time Felicity awoke it was to the sound of her alarm clock. With trepidation she lifted her head, anxiously awaiting the thud, thud, thud of her headache. Thankfully it didn’t happen. Pulling herself to a sitting position, she suddenly remembered what had caused her headache to get so bad in the first place. She let out a long groan. She had to really think through what to do next about their little stash of art forgeries, and to ensure it was dealt with as soon as possible but without any innocent parties being implicated.

  She climbed into the shower, turning the dial as hot as she could stand it. Maybe she could scald some ideas into her brain and wash the remnants of the issues down the drain? Neither of those things happened. Dammit. She readied herself for work, blow-drying her blonde hair roughly and pinning it up into chignon. She applied a little makeup and put on her charcoal grey pantsuit. She was ready.

  When she arrived at the gallery, Sarah was already there, making a pot of fresh coffee. She smiled at Felicity as she arrived. “Good morning, Felicity. Kyle called. He’ll be a little late in.”

  “Okay. Is everything alright?” Felicity enquired.

  “His daughter is running a fever and his wife is suffering with morning sickness, so he has to run his daughter to see the paediatrician.”

  “Oh dear. I hope she’ll be okay.” Felicity’s concern was fleeting and she felt a little guilty. But she needed to get into her office and formulate some kind of plan.

  Lia arrived carrying her staple take out black coffee and a bran muffin in a brown paper bag. She poked her head around Felicity’s door. “Hey. You’re looking much better today.”

  “Thanks I feel it. Lia…can I speak with you for a moment?”

  “Sure…this sounds ominous. You look serious.” Lia’s brow furrowed as she walked in and began to walk over to the chair opposite Felicity.

  “Close the door first please,” Felicity requested. Lia looked very worried.

  “Uh-oh…am I in trouble?” Lia placed her cup and bag on the desk.

  Felicity smiled as warmly as she could. “No, nothing like that. I need to speak to you in confidence. A serious matter has come to my attention.”

  Lia frowned. “Oh? What serious matter?”

  “Lia…you know the storeroom at the end of the break room?”

  “Yesss? The damages den as I like to call it…what about it?” Lia looked confused.

  “I went in to assess how many damaged pieces there are. I’m trying to get a very broad picture of what needs to be dealt with…you understand?”

  “Yesss?” Lia was still looking confused.

  “I made a rather startling discovery,” Felicity informed her.

  Lia’s mouth dropped open and she leaned forward. “Really? How much damaged stuff was in there?”

  “None. Not one damaged thing, Lia.”

  Lia touched her hands to her face. “What? I don’t understand? Where’s it all gone? Chester said it was in there—” Lia now looked panicked. Her face had coloured up red.

  “No, no there were pieces in there. Just not…damaged ones.”

  Lia shook her head. “I’m sorry, Felicity. I don’t remember Chester dealing with them all before he left. I may be coming across dumb here, but I don’t get—”

  “Forgeries, Lia.”

  “I’m sorry? What?” Lia’s face paled, and her eyes widened like a startled animal.

  “I found row upon row of forged pieces. Copies. I know this because there were several copies of Jagged Heart by Edward Vincent, a one off piece that I sold in London to a very private millionaire businessman and that one was the original. I took delivery of it in person from the artist himself.”

  “Are�
��are you accusing me of having some kind of involvement in this?” Lia’s face continued its colour journey, this time it went white and her eyes became glassy.

  “No! God, Lia no don’t be silly! Not at all.” Felicity shook her head vigorously, and Lia heaved a sigh of relief.

  Lia visibly relaxed. “Phew…I really thought I was in seriously deep shit for a moment there.”

  “No. But I think I do know who is involved.”

  “You do?” Lia looked inquisitively at Felicity.

  “I think it may be Chester.”

  Lia laughed loudly. “Chester? No way! He was so…straight laced. Honestly. He would never do something like that, Felicity…I swear it.”

  “Think about it, Lia. He was letting the pressure get to him. He was making lots of mistakes. He was in over his head. I think we need to speak to Franco.”

  “No!” Lia spat making Felicity jump. “I-I mean, no, he wouldn’t do that.” Desperation filled her voice. “There must be a mistake. Why don’t we do a little bit of detective work? We could figure it out between ourselves, then decide what to do? I’ll help. Wouldn’t it be better to go to Franco with more evidence than a room full of fakes?”

  Felicity thought about it for a moment. Admittedly, it would be better to go to Franco once they had more evidence. And she couldn’t just go accusing someone simply because he was suffering with his health. Perhaps Lia was right? They could do some digging around and see what they could find out.

  She sighed. “Yes, maybe you’re right. Maybe we should do a little digging. I don’t really know where to start.”

  “Okay, look, I know Chester. We worked together a hell of a long time. He was a good friend. I could, you know, do a little subtle digging with him. I could arrange to go see him.”