“I’ll be visiting Ian Crenshaw where he currently resides,” Novak explained. “And Josh Larsen. However, there’s only so much we can do. I’ve checked the police report from last October and a cell phone belonging to Mr. Larsen was never catalogued.”
I could not believe pictures existed of that night. “So he must have stashed it somewhere.”
A shudder ran through Gianna. “I thought this was over.”
“Thank you for coming, Officer Novak,” Chris said, standing up to shake the man’s hand. “I’ll walk you out.”
I knew Chris was getting the cop away from Gianna to ask questions which would upset her. I’d drill her dad later about the answers Novak gave him.
Gianna laid her head against me, contradictorily saying, “You need to leave, Caleb. I’m mad at you.”
“Okay, be mad, but I’m not going anywhere.”
She raised her head and a teary gaze. “Do you want to see them, Caleb?”
“See what, the pictures? No, Gianna.”
“I thought maybe you’d want to use them as inspiration for your next painting,” she said sarcastically. “Whoever took them was obviously an artist like you.”
“I’m sorry. I should have never painted them.” Or at least destroyed them the moment they were completed. Definitely never should have handed them over to Jim. “They weren’t supposed to be in the show.”
“Then why did you give them to the gallery?”
A pang of remorse shot through me. “We were broken up at the time.”
She jumped to her feet, crossing the room before spinning to face me. “So, it was payback for dumping you? Did you enjoy remembering me like that?”
“Of course not, but you weren’t supposed to ever see them.”
“Oh, but anyone at the show who wanted a sick look at me like that could?”
I leaned forward on the couch, clasping my hands together. “I told Jim not to include them. I didn’t know he’d make a peepshow out of them!”
“Gianna, everything okay?” Chris asked from where he lingered in the doorway.
“Fine,” she said, pacing over to him. “Can you give us a few minutes alone?”
Chris’s eyes darted to me before returning to his daughter. “I promised Chance I’d pick him up to see a movie. Is Caleb going to stay with you, or do you want to come along?”
“Cece is coming over later and she can stay with me when Caleb leaves,” she told her dad.
I laughed at the same time her dad grinned. “What’s Cece going to do to an intruder?”
Gianna didn’t think it was funny. “Intruder?”
Chris sighed, grasping her upper arms. “Gianna, you didn’t tell me or your mother about the problems you were having with Josh and it escalated to him really hurting you. We’re not going to make that mistake again. If you don’t want to come with me, I’d feel better if Caleb were here to keep you safe.”
With her back to me, I couldn’t see her expression but I doubted it was thrilled. “If it makes you feel better, then Caleb can stay,” she told him.
Mimicking Chris’s earlier words to Novak, I said, “I’ll walk you out.”
“To the garage?” Chris asked in amusement.
“Yep.”
Out in the garage, Chris waited next to his car for me to talk. “What did Novak say to you?”
Chris glanced over my shoulder, probably to make sure the door was closed. “Basically that they weren’t going to do jack shit unless there was a physical threat to Gianna. But I’m hiring a private detective who’ll have monetary incentive to find out who’s sending the letters and email.”
“Have you told Gianna?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. I plan to talk to her about it when I get home tonight.”
“I’ll take good care of her. I can be here whenever you’re not home.”
He opened the door to his SUV and rolled down the window after getting in. “Fine, but you’re not allowed upstairs.”
Suppressing a smirk, I said stoically, “Of course, sir.”
Blue eyes like Gianna’s narrowed. “And quit touching her in my presence.”
“Yes, sir.”
Not fucking likely, sir.
He backed out of the driveway and the large garage door lowered. Gianna stood in the mudroom as I went inside. “Miss me?”
“You understand that I broke up with you Friday night?”
“Not that again,” I said in a harassed tone as I picked her up around the waist and carried her into the kitchen. “Now, I’m hungry. Feed me, woman.”
Pushing away, she called out over her shoulder. “There’s leftover pizza in the fridge!”