Gideon arrived at the gallery at nine-forty-five Tuesday morning, after parking in the same lot he’d used the previous day. He saw Cole’s car a few spaces down, so he knew the man would be waiting for him. He was, pacing the sidewalk in front of the gallery.
Gideon unbuttoned his jacket and surreptitiously took his gun from the holster, holding it so no one could see it. Then he told Cole to unlock the door and turn off the security. “Wait here,” Gideon ordered, before beginning to search the gallery rooms then the office and storage areas behind them, for the possibility of intruders or an attempted break-in, although he knew he wasn’t likely to find anything—and he didn’t.
By the time he got back to the front showroom, James was there as well, looking puzzled, to say the least.
“You m
