Guarding Raine Part 15

But she's determined for some reason to hide that fact from me, andmaybe from herself, as well.

That's the angle I can't figure out.

" Lifting a shoulder, Trey asked, " Does it matter?

You can handle things here, can't you?

Raine doesn't look big enough to give you too much trouble.

" Mac snorted at that, but remained silent. His partner had no ideajust how much trouble Raine Michaels could be, and he'd be hard-pressedto explain it to him. She hadn't actually done anything, after all. Itwasn't her fault that everything about her seemed to bother him in someinexplicable way. No, that was due more to his need for a vacationthan anything else. " How busy are you right now?

" he asked his partner: " Have you taken on any more cases in the lastfew days?

" Trey gave him a rundown of current clients, the approximate lengthof each ease and the manpower and equipment needed for each. Mac nodded. They were pretty busy, busier than he would have liked at themoment. They had been expanding fairly rapidly in the past year, andhiring more men as needed. It sounded as if every one of them wasgoing to be kept active for a while, "I spoke to a Detective Ramirez,who's in charge of Raine's case.

" " Did you get anywhere?

" Shaking his head, Mac replied, " Got the usual confidentiality runaround.

Not that I expected any different.

He wouldn't say what leads, if any, he's been following.

I have no idea whether or not he's run checks on some of the people

closest to Raine.

" " Do you suspect the threats have been made by someone she knows?

" Trey asked. Lifting a shoulder in response, Mac answered, " It's a

place to start.

I don't like not knowing anything about the people who have access to her.

I'd like to get some information on a few of them.

It won't be easy.

The comings and goings around here resemble a subway station.

" He handed the list to Trey. Trey perused the names, a frown marring

his brow. " How many of these people are in and out of here in a

day?

" " Lots," Mac answered dryly. " She isn't even sure who comes some days.

When she's painting she's kind of in a world of her own .

' "Okay,"

Trey said, pocketing the list.

"I'll see if I can pull some strings, get these names run through the

police computer for records."

"I won't even ask how you'll get that accomplished."

Mac knew.

from experience that Trey would know someone on the force, most likely

a woman, who would be only too happy to do such a favor for him.

"Anything else?"

When Mac shook his head, both men rose.

"I'll get on this right away, then,"

Trey promised.

Walking across the room, he asked, "What kind of artist is Raine

Michaels, anyway? Have you seen any of her work?"Mac shrugged indifferently."She paints."Trey looked at him with mock patience."Very astute, Mac. I'd gathered as much when you spoke of her pictures. Are these hers on the wall here?"They moved to examine the paintings Trey indicated."Looks like these are all hers,"he noted, looked at the signature in the corner.Each was signed simply Raine.Each bore the unmistakable stamp of the same artist.Both men examined the paintings, four in total, in silence."She's talented,"Trey said, his voice tinged with surprise."I haven't heard of her before. Is she shown anywhere?"Mac shrugged.He didn't have the interest that Trey did in the creative world."She's got a show coming up soon,"he said."She's been getting ready for that, She has an agent, if that means anything.

Andre Kla.s.sen."

He nodded in the direction of Trey's pocket.

"He's on the list."

Trey's eyebrows rose.

"He's no slouch, either. He wouldn't take her on if she didn't show

promise.

And if these pictures are a sample of what she can do, she'll go far."

Mac studied each of the pictures in turn.

All were done in a similar manner.

The scenes were slightly out of focus, as if they were being viewed

beneath water.

Each painting depicted people, in crowds or as couples.

He looked closer at one that showed a man and woman standing side by

side in what, at first glance, would seem to be intimacy.

It was only upon closer examination that he noticed each had a hand reaching for the other, and the hands weren't quite touching.

That one point seemed to accent the~ slight distance between the two,

adding to the overall effect of incredible yearnin.

g.

"You can barely make out the features of these people. Why'd shesmudge them up like that?"Trey chuckled."You're a philistine, you know that? It looks as if Raine Michaels favors a form of Impressionism. An artist who does it really welldoesn't need everything in the picture to be clear in order to conveyemotions and a message."

Taking one last look at them, Mac wondered if the almost surreal viewof reality in the pictures was indicative of Raine's grasp of theworld.

If so, it depicted almost perfectly the person described by herfafiaity, a woman who saw things differently, who reacted to eventswith a maddening naivete.

He couldn't deny the effectiveness of the technique in her paintings.

He was no art patron, but even he could feel the emotions she'd captured there.

Such a viewpoint in her personal life, however, could be downright

dangerous.

He turned away from the pictures.

He couldn't afford to think of Raine as more than a client.

This glimpse into her perception of the world around her made her seem

too human, more than a case.

Emotionless objectivity was the quality he brought with him to each job, the quality he was paid handsomely for.

Somehow that element receded in the presence of her talent.

He made sure his eyes avoided the paintings as he walked Trey out of

the room and through the front door.

Raine woke up, her heart pounding, chills chasing up and down her

spine.

Panting, she pulled the sheet closer around her, scooting up to lean against the white wicker headboard.