Page 61 of Skin Game

“Take that off him.”

The foul rag was ripped off his head, and Gabe blinked. They were in a garage or office. Garage office? It was empty except for a single empty metal chair.

“This is all a little too Bond-like for my comfort. Can’t we just go into someone’s kitchen and talk this out over a cup of tea? I don’t even like tea, but I’d drink it tonight. Make an effort to meet you halfway and all that.”

A woman stepped out from behind him.

Thewoman.

Gabe squinted. Maybe he was feeling the effects of being hit on the head. He could literally feel his brain sputtering.

Standing in front of him was Althea Mortine. It was times like these that Gabe hated being right.

“Althea, what’s going on? Surely, we could’ve had a civilized conversation?” About what, he had no idea.

“Cuff him to the chair.”

The goons dragged him forward and started to push him down into the chair. He was right, voice number one had belonged to Randy Witherspoon, because of course it did. Here was Monday returning to kick him in the ass on Thursday. Or was it Friday already? Friday hadn’t had a chance to really fuck him up yet.

“Is he yours?” Gabe asked Althea. “He needs to practice better hygiene.”

Abruptly, he was dragged to standing again, with the person behind him saying, “We need to cut the ties off his wrists too.”

Once that task was taken care of, Gabe was forced to sit again, and a handcuff was attached to his left wrist and then around the arm of the chair.

“Seriously, I’d like to know what is going on here.”

“Where is it?” Althea demanded.

“Where is what? No one asked about anything. I have no idea why you brought me here or what you’re looking for.” He kinda thought he did have an idea but wasn’t planning on letting on.

Gabe had always encountered Althea Mortine behind the desk at the sheriff’s department, although in December he’d met her and Elton at the Geoduck for brunch once. Never had Gabe entertained the thought that the mild-mannered older woman was some kind of criminal mastermind. She’d been pleasant, made a decent cup of coffee. He thought they’d bonded when John Stevens took over the station and held Rizzihostage. She worked for the Twana County Sheriff’s Office, for fuck’s sake.

“Your mother stole from the family. I want the Crevans back.”

Ah.The family. But also,I, notwe. Interesting. Not Colavito-style Family but her family. Blood. She wanted the artwork back for herself.

Really, Mom?

“I hate to be the one to break it to you, but my mother died last fall.”

Althea’s lips curved into the semblance of a smile. It wasn’t a smile of comfort; it was an evil grimace that creeped him out.

“Elton told me you picked up some of her things that had been in storage.”

Gabe’s heart clenched. Elton was going to be devastated to learn that Althea was behind this latest fuckery. He wondered how long she’d been pumping him for information and when Althea had discovered that Heidi Karne was Gabe’s mother. Maybe she’d known all along.

He figured she must have known about him almost from the moment he’d arrived on Heartstone. With her job at the front desk of the TCSO, Althea was positioned to find out a lot about the people of Heartstone. Her “friendship” with Elton was merely an added bonus.

“I did, and I went through it all. There was nothing interesting.” Not unless you counted Alfred and the notebooks.

“You might not have realized that what you were looking at was important. But Randy and William brought the boxes, along with you.”

Ah. Number Two was William. Good to know.

“I’ve been through those. There’s not much there. Certainly not a hand-drawn map with X marking the spot.”

Althea’s left eye twitched, and Gabe smirked. An eye twitch meant he was achieving his goal of getting under her skin.