A Bid for Love (13 page)

Carl’s expression grew worried. “That explains your face. I thought you and your girlfriend here just got into a fight.” He smiled mirthlessly at his own wit.

“Cassi. Her name’s Cassi.”

“And I’m not his girlfriend,” Cassi added. “I mean we’re friends, but we really just met and . . .” She trailed off, wishing she had kept quiet.

“So you’ve got men after a possibly fake Buddha,” Carl said into the awkward silence.

“What if it’s not a fake?” Cassi asked.

“Let’s look at it from that perspective.” Carl fingered his chin thoughtfully. “Say the Buddha is real. Why would those men want it?”

“I couldn’t guess.” Jared sat on the edge of one of the low tables next to the Buddha. “The Buddha cost four hundred thousand dollars but that would be peanuts to guys like these.”

Cassi snapped her fingers. “So it is a fake. It must be.”

“That’s my bet.” Carl looked up at Jared’s face. “But that doesn’t explain why those men want it so badly.”

“Maybe they’re trying to cover up a counterfeit art ring,” Jared said.

“That’s as good an explanation as anything.” Carl turned back to the table. “Uh, Jared, why don’t you go out to the kitchen and get us a drink? This is going to take a while, so don’t hurry.” Jared shot Cassi a puzzled glance, but did as he was asked.

Carl didn’t immediately go back to his equipment but folded his hands over his stomach and stared at Cassi. “He’s a good man, Jared is. There isn’t any better.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know him that well, but he helped me out yesterday when my friend had her baby early”

“I bet you help a lot of people, too”

“I like to think so. Maybe not as much as I should, though.”

 “That explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“The light I see around you, shining and white. The same one I see around Jared. I can always tell if people are good by the aura around them.”

“You see auras?” Cassi had heard of such a thing but had doubted it was possible. Now she found herself believing.

Carl nodded. “Ever since the accident. I believe that on some level, all people see auras and are attracted to the purest ones. Most folks just aren’t aware of it.”

“Does Jared know?”

“No. I couldn’t tell him because he’d claim that meant he was telling the truth about God, and I should become a Christian like him.” He began adjusting a knob on a machine in front of him.

Cassi was quiet as she puzzled over what Carl was telling her. It seemed he wanted to believe, but something held him back. “How did it happen?” she asked finally, wondering if he would tell her. She felt a connection with the man, a kinship she hadn’t expected, but there was nothing that guaranteed he felt the same way.

Carl looked up at her, his hazel eyes seeming much too large and beautiful for his twisted body. “Surfing accident when I was nineteen,” he said without expression. “At a competition. I would have won. I was the best.”

Cassi shook her head in sympathy. “You love the ocean, don’t you? You miss it.”

This time there was pain in Carl’s eyes. “Yes.”

Cassi wondered if there was anything she could offer that might ease the torment he so obviously suffered. She took a breath and continued. “My favorite part is the sunset, first when the rays reflect off the shining water, radiating all that beautiful gold, then the color creeps in, the pinks and reds. And finally—and this is the best part—when the sun seems to be swallowed by the ocean.”

Carl nodded. “It’s all I have left.”

“For now,” Cassi agreed. “Of the ocean, anyway. But the sunrise is just as beautiful—the dawn of a new day, unblemished by mistakes. Jared tells me you’ve become a respected authority on determining the authenticity of art. Did it ever occur to you that this talent was a gift to replace the one you lost? That and the gift of seeing auras? It could very well be your sunrise. The saying goes that whenever God allows a door to shut, He opens one somewhere else—one that may be more difficult to pass through, but better for us in the end.”

“Are you saying my life now is better than before?” Carl asked bitterly.

“Can you honestly say you would give all the knowledge, satisfaction, and recognition your work gives you for a few brief years in the surfing world?” Cassi countered. “I grew up in California, and I know there’s a lot of stuff surrounding the beach and surfing crowd that isn’t all that great. Tell me, how many white and shining auras would you see among them? And where would you fit in?”

As Cassi spoke, Carl’s eyes grew wide with anger, but by the time she had finished, he was nodding. “I’ll have to think about it.” He glanced at his equipment and then back at Cassi. “That’s another thing you share with Jared. You don’t mince words.” He turned back to his work.

Cassi smiled gently.
I’ll bet your aura is white and shining too.

She thought the subject closed, but Carl glanced up at her again. “You have some thinking to do, too,” he said. “About Jared. You may have to chase him, but he wants to be caught.”

Before Cassi could reply, Jared came back into the room. “What took you so long?” Carl asked.

“You didn’t have any clean glasses, so I had to wash some. I did the rest of the dishes while I was at it.”

Carl’s head was turned from Jared, but Cassi could see the smile that played on his lips. She guessed that he’d known very well that there were no clean dishes and just as well that Jared would wash the entire dirty pile.

Carl flipped a switch on his machine before reaching for the glass Jared held out to him, gulping down the contents in one shot. “Yuck,” he said, making a disgusted face. “Orange juice. Couldn’t you have brought me a beer?”

“Sorry,” said Jared, “but I want you sober for this job.” Carl snorted and Cassi laughed.

Carl pulled the machine toward him and twisted it in the direction of the Buddha, bathing the statue in light. The machine attached to an extendable arm, which gave him the ability to move it into exactly the right position, and a built-in viewer permitted him to see how the light reflected from the Buddha. For long minutes Carl stared through the viewer, pausing every now and then to change the light, jot down a few notes, or to ask Jared to turn the statue. When he was satisfied, he moved to another machine and directed sound waves toward the Buddha, scribbling more on his pad. Then he used yet a third machine, whose purpose Cassi couldn’t identify. Finally, he turned the machines off.

“It’s fake, all right. But someone’s gone to an awful lot of trouble to make it appear real. They used paint that has almost the same emission and absorption spectrum as the original. But where I could really tell was when I did the depth check with sound waves. This Buddha is not as thick as the original—or it’s not made of the same material. Then I checked it with this,” he pointed to the third machine. “The magnetic resonance proves that the middle is not the same consistency as the outer layer. Part is even hollow, though I’m sure it weighs the same, or it wouldn’t have come undetected as far as it has. That means it’s probably made from a heavier clay.”

“Or maybe it has something in it,” Cassi said.

Carl grinned. “You’ve been watching too many movies.”

 “And reading too many books,” Cassi agreed.

“So it’s a fake.” Jared sounded dazed, as if unable to believe what he was hearing. Cassi knew she’d feel the same if she had just spent four hundred thousand on a forgery.

“Absolutely. I can do a paint analysis to prove it. The chemicals will be able to tell us the age.” Before Jared or Cassi could say anything, Carl laid the Buddha on its back, picked up an instrument, and shaved off a tiny piece of glaze on the bottom. Then he wheeled across the room to mix it with his chemicals.

Satisfied that all was going well, Carl put his hand on his chair’s controls and wheeled to the doorway. “That will take a few minutes. While we wait, Jared, call me a taxi. One of those special ones that take wheelchairs.”

“Why? Where are you going? We can take you.”

Carl shook his head. “No way. Much as I like you, Jared, you’re dangerous to be around right now. I don’t know what’s going on with your Buddha, but whoever is behind this forgery put a lot of effort and money into it, and I’m not about to get in the way. Me, I’m going to Mexico. There’s a girl I met the last time I was down there, and I’ve been meaning to visit her. Name’s Maria, and she writes to me all the time. She’s not like these American girls who want money
and
a man who can walk. Money is enough for her. She seems to like me besides. And she’s one he—” Carl stopped abruptly and glanced at Cassi. “Heck of a cook,” he finished lamely.

“But—” Jared began. He and Cassi followed Carl into his bedroom and watched as he wheeled erratically around the room, taking clothing out of drawers, from the closet, and even from a basket of dirty clothes by the bed.

“But nothing. Cassi here started me to thinking, and I’m not about to get killed before I finish.”

Soon Carl had a pile on the bed and began to pack it rapidly into a suitcase with surprising neatness. “Shut that for me, Jared, would you?” Carl said when he was finished. “The paint test should be finished. And I still haven’t heard you call the taxi.”

“You’re completely serious.” Jared ignored the suitcase and followed Carl back into the workroom. Cassi hurriedly shut the case and carried it with her.

“Look at your face and read the signs,” Carl retorted. “Those men are serious. Do yourself a favor and get rid of this Buddha as quickly as possible.”

“I’m taking it to New York tomorrow and giving it to Laranda,” Jared said.

“Good. Keep your gun handy.”

“I will, except for when I have to check it in at the airport.”

“Too bad you can’t get around that.” Carl bent over the chemicals again and motioned for Jared and Cassi to see. They knew enough about the process to see for themselves that the Buddha was a fake.

“That’s proof then,” Jared said quietly. “That paint is younger than we are.”

Cassi started to pull out her phone to call a taxi, but she’d forgotten it in the car. Instead, she used Carl’s landline. “Is there anything else we can do for you?” she asked. “Anyone we should tell or any payments to make?”

Carl shook his head. “Everything’s paid through the bank, and I can call the cleaning lady and the company I work for at the airport. Truth is, they’ve been trying to get me down to Mexico again anyway. They’ve got a lab there, and a museum needs me to date some items for them. They’ll be happy to see me. Not to mention Maria. Come on, let’s go.”

By the time Jared repacked the Buddha and Cassi picked up her box, Carl was already waiting for them at the door with his suitcase on his lap. They silently made their way into the lobby as the taxi pulled up outside.

“Well, good-bye. Take care of yourselves,” Carl said gruffly. “And here.” He took out a piece of paper and a pen from the pocket in his T-shirt and scribbled a number, thrusting it into Jared’s hands. “In case you need some fake IDs fast.”

“We won’t need them,” Jared insisted.

Carl’s lips curled. “Don’t be too sure.” With that, he wheeled his chair down the ramp and to the waiting taxi. “Carl,” Cassi called after him. “About Maria. What color is her aura?”

Carl’s smile was genuine. “White. Shining and white.” He looked at Jared. “Tell you what, Jared. On the day you get married, I will finally step into a church. Or roll, rather.” Handing his suitcase to the taxi driver, he steered himself onto the wheelchair lift. A minute later he was gone.

“I knew she didn’t want his money,” Cassi whispered.

“What?”

Cassi explained about Carl’s gift. “So that’s what he’s been hiding all these years,” Jared said. “Thank you for figuring it out.” He bumped his shoulder to hers, or tried to, but since she was shorter, the act ended up somewhat awkward. Still, he didn’t move away, and her flesh tingled at his closeness. She fleetingly wondered what she would do if he tried to kiss her.

“I guess we should get you to the airport,” Jared said, his voice oddly low. He started down the sidewalk, and she hurried to swing into step beside him.

“It’s early yet.” She still had several hours before her plane would leave, and she was loath to leave things so awkward between them. Maybe he would agree to a short walk on the beach since they were so near the ocean anyway. It would prolong their time together without seeming too forward. “Why don’t we—”

With no warning, Jared’s arm curled around her waist as he shoved her from the sidewalk and up against the building they were passing.

“W—what?”

“Shhh,” he said. “Look there, across the street at those two men. I swear they’re the ones who attacked me at the hotel last night.”

Cassi looked up to see two ordinary-looking men in casual clothing.
But they’re not wearing trench coats and dark glasses,
she wanted to protest.

The men stood with their backs toward Cassi and Jared, facing across the street where Jared had left the car. It was obvious they were waiting for something.

Or someone.

Fear wrenched in Cassi’s stomach. What were they going to do now?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The men were as tall as Jared but more muscular. They had a practiced air of nonchalance that ordinarily would have made Jared oblivious to them, but Carl’s agitation and hurried departure had made Jared more alert. As he told Cassi, he thought the men might be the same ones who’d attacked him. At this distance, however, he couldn’t be sure.

He’d been extra careful when they left the hotel, and he hadn’t seen the black sedan following them, but for all he knew they could have a host of different cars at their disposal. They could have even placed a monitoring device on his rental car. At least the men hadn’t caught up with them at Carl’s.

Cassi’s breath came rapidly. Fear showed in her eyes, the same fear that churned in Jared’s stomach. He had no doubt the men meant business.

He was still pressed up against Cassi, whose back jabbed into the rock surface of the apartment building. Her hair was in his face, and he could smell its clean scent. He reached up to push her soft curls to the side so he could study his pursuers more thoroughly.