“Fascinating,” Olivia said and meant it. After all, Shala had just described the pivotal scene of Nick Plumley’s novel, The Barbed Wire Flower. “How many of his paintings exist?”
“Fifty-two.” Shala grinned. “Unless there are more in your friend’s staircase.”
Olivia returned the smile while simultaneously thinking, Harris needs to comb every inch of that house.
Their lunch finished, Olivia returned Haviland to the Range Rover and accompanied Shala inside to collect the painting. Several museum employees were gathered in the curator’s office when they returned. The air was electric.
“It’s genuine!” a man stated gleefully. “And I’m intrigued by the note on the back.” His eyes met Olivia’s. “Did Heinrich Kamler have a romantic attachment to someone who lived in the house where this was discovered?”
Shala edged forward to examine the script. “I was so caught up in examining the front that I never turned it over. Jeez, you’d think I was still in grad school.”
“I don’t know much about the people who lived there, but believe me, I plan to conduct some research as soon as possible,” Olivia answered the man’s question.
“Please keep us in the loop,” he pleaded and began to package the painting. After placing it between sheets of acid-free paper, he then secured it on both sides with white cardstock and slid the bundle into a zippered canvas bag. “Consider the bag a gift. Perhaps the owner would loan us this piece for our Arts of the Coast exhibit next winter in return.”
“I’ll pass on the request,” Olivia promised and took her leave. She was eager to return to the quiet of her car and to spend two hours ruminating over the connection between Nick Plumley and Heinrich Kamler.
As she roared west down I-40, she couldn’t stop thinking about the note on the back of the painting. It made sense that the syntax seemed a little off. After all, if the author of the brief lines was Kamler, then his primary language wasn’t English. It was German.
“A bestselling novelist paying house calls on a young and naive aspiring writer, a valuable painting hidden under a stair tread, and a mysterious romance. Perhaps even a forbidden one? Local girl falls for German prisoner?” Olivia glanced at Haviland, who was sniffing at the salt-tinged air with eagerness. They were almost home.
Olivia reached over and placed a hand on the back of the poodle’s neck. “Captain, why do the most interesting things happen just when I am about to open a new restaurant?”
She was in the middle of an internal debate over whether to start digging through town records when her phone rang. The dashboard display, which included GPS and a hands-free phone, flashed Hudson’s number in electric blue digits.
“Hello?” Olivia shouted over the rush of air streaming in through Haviland’s open window.
“It’s Hudson. Kim’s in labor.” Olivia heard fear in his rough voice, and it was not the kind experienced by all nervous fathers-to-be. It was far more acute. “She’s asking for you. There’s something wrong with the baby and she wants you here. Please, Olivia. Hurry.”
“I’m coming,” Olivia replied. “Hang in there, Hudson. I’m coming.”
Chapter 6
Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.
—KAHLIL GIBRAN
For the first time in her life, Olivia didn’t know what to do with Haviland. She couldn’t bring him into the hospital and she couldn’t leave him sitting in the Range Rover for the second time in one day. Desperate, she pulled in front of The Canine Cottage and raced inside with the befuddled poodle.
One of the groomers smiled at her over the sudsy back of a Great Dane. “Hi, Ms. Limoges. We didn’t expect to see you today.”
Olivia hesitated. She hated begging for favors and it was plain to see that the groomers were very busy. “I’m in a tight spot. My sister-in-law is having a baby and I can’t waltz Haviland through the labor and delivery unit. He’s been in the car all day and he’s hot and tired.” She paused. “I never expected my sister-in-law to ask for me. I think something’s wrong . . .” She took a deep breath and finished the thought. “When my brother called, I could tell he was terrified. Can you help?”
The young woman touched the Dane on the flank and walked around the tub. “Don’t you worry about a thing. Haviland can stay here until we close. We’ll pamper him so much that he won’t even notice you’re gone.”
“Thank you so much. I won’t forget this.” Olivia kissed Haviland on the snout and rushed out to her car.
When she reached the hospital, she found Hudson prowling around the labor and delivery waiting room like a caged leopard. Caitlyn was there as well. Clutching a picture book in one hand and a ragged Barbie in the other, she seemed to be trying to shrink into her chair. Her knees were drawn up to her chest in a protective gesture, and she watched her father through dark, worried eyes.
Olivia grabbed her brother’s hand. “How’s Kim?”
He squeezed hers in return, the desperate pressure of his conveying his distress. “It’s not her. It’s the baby. Something’s not right with his heart.”
“Why aren’t you back there?” Olivia asked without judgment.
Hudson shook his head. “They took Kim into an operating room for a C-section. I couldn’t leave Caitlyn out here all alone.” Hudson swallowed hard. “A doctor stopped by a few minutes ago to explain our ‘options.’ There’s some kind of surgery that could fix the baby’s heart, but they can’t do it here. I gotta tell you—I didn’t understand what the hell the man was talking about. It was like he was talking in another language.” Still holding on to Olivia’s hand, he nearly crushed her bones with the force of his grip. “Help us. Please.”
A lump formed in Olivia’s throat, but now was not the time to get emotional. “It’ll be okay, Hudson.” She reclaimed her throbbing hand. “Go comfort your daughter. She knows something’s wrong. I’ll go back there and find out exactly what’s going on and what needs to be done.”
Olivia paused only long enough to put her hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder. “Hey. Long day, huh?”
Caitlyn nodded.
“Sit tight for a little while longer and then you and I will hunt down some ice cream. I hear this hospital has a pretty cool cafeteria.” Olivia did her best to sound calm and in control. “First, I want to check on your mom. Be back soon.”
The little girl didn’t say anything, but her body relaxed a fraction. She unfolded her legs and opened her book. Hudson took the seat next to his daughter and pretended to be interested in the illustration of a princess choosing which accessories to wear with her gold and ivory ball gown. Caitlyn leaned toward her father and whispered, “Once upon a time . . .”
Olivia pressed a button on the wall and announced herself to the nurse on duty. A buzzer sounded and the door leading into the ward was unlocked. Olivia squared her shoulders and stepped through. She walked briskly up a hallway lined with dozens of photographs of smiling babies, but she kept her gaze locked straight ahead. At the moment, it was disconcerting to see the apple-cheeked faces of those healthy infants.
“I’m here to see Kim Hudson,” she informed the nurse seated behind a low counter, and then quickly added, “She’s been asking for me.”