It Takes a Photographer Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Blurb

  Copyright Statement

  Dedication

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  About the Author

  Titles by Edward Kendrick

  Blurb

  Olivia is a photographer working at Rory and Lou's art gallery. While taking pictures at the party Clay and Quint throw to celebrate the adoption of their son, she captures what seems to be a murder in the building behind them.

  Lou and Quint take it upon themselves to investigate—unofficially at first—with the help of Rory and Gideon Monahan. When they find out the presumed victim is alive and denying anything happened, they dig deeper. Things heat up as Rory goes undercover to try to learn the truth while the others delve into the backgrounds of the people involved and Olivia finds more photos relevant to the case.

  Now all they have to do is find out what the photos really show, and if what looked like a murder may be even more than it seems.

  Fireborn Publishing Copyright Statement

  It Takes a Photographer...

  Copyright © 2016 by Edward Kendrick

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-943528-96-7

  First eBook Publication: August 2016

  Cover Artist: Allison Cassatta

  Photo Credit: 123rf

  Editor: Jamie D. Rose

  Logo copyright © 2014 by Fireborn Publishing and Allison Cassatta

  Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER INTERNATIONAL AND PAN-AMERICAN COPYRIGHT CONVENTIONS: Payment for this title grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file on any/all personal electronic devices personally owned by the purchaser, now or in the future, and to maintain backup copies of the file for the purchaser's personal use. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or electronic storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. File sharing, with or without payment, is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States DoJ, Division of Cyber Crimes, in partnership with Interpol. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison, and a fine of $250,000 per offense.

  Please remember that authors are paid per legal purchase. We thank you for your support of author’s rights and their earnings. If you spot illegal cut-rate or free copies of this work being passed on peer-to-peer or other pirate sites, even those masquerading as legitimate retailers, please let us know at [email protected] or via the author’s personal email.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

  This book is written in US English.

  PUBLISHER

  Dedication

  For everyone who enjoyed the series.

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: written by Lewis Carroll

  Rear Window: Paramount Pictures

  The Denver Post: Denver Post LLC

  Xanax: Pharmacia & Upjohn Company

  Chapter One

  "He's beautiful," Trev said, tentatively touching the baby's cheek.

  Quint smiled proudly. "We know. Beautiful, handsome, cute, um…" He glanced at Clay, who was holding their son.

  "Sweet, darling, adorable?" Clay kissed Jamie's forehead.

  "You do know," Zack pointed out, "until he gets a little older, some people will think he might be a girl with that name."

  "Blame his mother," Quint said, glancing fondly at Amanda's niece, who was sitting a few feet away. "Wendy found it in some romance novel and insisted it had to be his."

  Wendy nodded. "My first gift to him. My second was giving him to you and Clay to adopt."

  Rory joined the small group at one end of the building's rooftop patio above Quint and Clay's loft. "I can't think of a better gift for everyone concerned. They'll be great parents."

  "Thanks," Quint replied. "For damned sure, we're going to try."

  Clay wagged a finger at him. "And your first step is not swearing in front of Jamie." That earned him laughs from everyone within hearing range.

  All of Quint and Clay's close friends were gathered on the patio to celebrate the finalization of Jamie's adoption that morning. Amanda, the manager of Clay's gallery, was the reason that the adoption had happened in the first place.

  *****

  Eight months earlier

  "Okay, do you want to tell me why you're in such a funk," Clay asked Amanda. She'd been wandering around the gallery, straightening paintings for the past hour, looking as if she'd lost her last friend.

  "It's my niece, Wendy," she blurted out. "She's pregnant."

  "That's wonderful."

  "No it's not. She's sixteen."

  "Okay. That's not so wonderful."

  "Tell me about it. My sister is…" She shook her head. "Wendy kept it a secret as long as she could." Amanda smiled wryly. "It wasn't that hard at first, given that she's always been on the plump side. Anyway, she finally told her parents, and they're furious."

  "Oh boy."

  "They threatened to kick her out, so I volunteered to let her stay with us until the baby's born. She arrives in the morning."

  "What about the father?"

  "She won't say who he is." Amanda sighed. "I'm not sure she knows. She's…a bit promiscuous. I hate to say it, but I suspect that's because she's not thin and svelte the way most of her friends are, so she sleeps around to prove to herself she's got some worth."

  "That's sad, but, unfortunately, it happens." Clay gave her a hug. "You'll survive this. At least the gallery's closed tomorrow, so you can get her settled in."

  "One blessing."

  "Is she planning on keeping the baby?" Clay asked.

  "I don't know that she's made up her mind yet. If you want my honest opinion, I hope she puts it up for adoption. She's got her whole life ahead of her and being tied down, raising a child…" Amanda shook her head.

  *****

  That evening, when Quint got home from work, Clay told him about Wendy. He had an ulterior motive, other than just filling his partner in on his day. Recently, they had been dancing around the idea of adopting a child.

  "There are hundreds, thousands, of kids out there who need families," Quint had said at one point, "and too few people willing to adopt them. We could. We're stable. We're old enough to get what it takes to bring up a child."

  "You're serious," Clay had replied, surprised, but maybe not as much as he could have been, knowing his caring detective.

  Quint had shrugged. "I know I haven't said anything until now, but I've been sort of thinking about it. If you don't like the idea…"

  "It would be a big undertaking. Not something we should just jump into. That said, I think it's a wonderful idea."

  When Clay finished telling him about Wendy, Quint understood immediately where he was going with the story. "If she does plan on putting the baby up for adoption—"

  "Are we ready to step in? Maybe?" Clay smiled. "No, not mayb
e. Definitely."

  That was all it had taken. It hadn't been easy at first. They'd met Wendy a week after she'd moved in with Amanda and her husband. The girl was sweet—and scared, not at all surprising as far as Clay was concerned. She had spent the next two months—before the baby was born—vacillating between keeping it and letting them adopt, after she'd accepted that they wanted to.

  "I have no problem with it being you," she'd said more than once. "It's just—"

  "A mother's love. We understand."

  *****

  It was a bright, sunny spring day when Wendy delivered a healthy baby boy. Quint and Clay were there, along with Amanda. When they walked into Wendy's room, she was lying with the baby in her arms, looking exhausted but elated.

  She's going to keep him, after all. Clay's spirits sank.

  "His name is Jamie," she said softly, looking up at them. "Do you like the name?"

  "It's beautiful," Quint replied.

  "Then you won't change it, once he's yours?"

  Clay shook his head, barely able to get the "no" past the lump in his throat.

  Quint, being Quint, was a bit more practical. Pulling up a chair, he sat, looking between Jamie and her. "Are you sure?"

  She nodded. "It took a long time to make up my mind, but he deserves a real family, not a sixteen-year-old single mom." She stroked Jamie's head. "I had plans, before this happened. I still do. College. A job. Maybe I'm being selfish, but that won't happen if I have to take care of him, too. I couldn't give him the life he deserves."

  "You're not being selfish," Quint replied. "You're doing what's best for both of you." He smiled. "Of course, I'm a little prejudiced when I say that."

  Wendy managed a weak laugh. "You might be, just a bit, but that's okay. Do you want to hold him?" When Quint nodded, she handed Jamie to him.

  Clay watched Quint holding Jamie for the first time, and tears came to his eyes at the look of love in Quint's expression. He knelt beside them, taking one of Jamie's tiny hands in his, and he felt the same love flood him. "Welcome to the world," he said softly. "We'll do our best to make it the world you deserve."

  *****

  It took the next six months for the adoption process to be completed. As they went through the formalities, Clay and Quint made certain Wendy was involved. "After all," as Clay had told her repeatedly, "you are his birth mother. As far as we're concerned, we'll let you see and be with him as often as you want until you leave."

  Wendy grimaced, replying, "Going home should be fun. Not."

  She had reason to feel that way, since her parents had barely acknowledged Jamie's birth, other than to call to make certain Wendy was all right.

  "You'll survive," Quint told her. "You're one strong young lady."

  "And I have Aunt Amanda, if I need her."

  "You couldn't have a better person in your corner," Clay said adamantly.

  Wendy continued living with Amanda, but spent time at the loft as well, helping Clay and Quint with Jamie. It was a learning curve for all of them as they dealt with feeding, diapers, and all the other things involved with caring for a new baby. When the adoption was finalized, the men decided to throw a party to celebrate and to give Wendy a happy send-off before she went home.

  *****

  "Okay, no one move," Olivia said, aiming her camera at the group surrounding Clay and Jamie.

  Olivia had volunteered to take photos of the gathering, even though she was an invited guest. "After all, it is what I do." That was true. She was a professional photographer, as well as working at Rory and Lou's art gallery when she was needed. Kevin, the gallery's only other employee, had introduced her to them soon after they had decided to make Valencia Gallery—which had been set up as part of a sting operation—the real thing.

  Now, she and Kevin were engaged, and today he was following her around, carrying her camera cases. "That's why I agreed to marry him," Olivia quipped when Trev had commented on that a few minutes earlier. "He makes a good workhorse."

  "I am her slave, eternally," Kevin had added, winking at Trev.

  "Where can I find one of those?" Trev grinned.

  "Right behind you," Zack replied, wrapping his arms around his lover.

  Olivia immediately took several shots of them before heading toward Clay and Jamie. "I said, don't move," she grumbled when Quint struck a pose with his hand on Clay's shoulder. "Okay. Never mind. That's great…or not." She laughed when he raised two fingers behind Clay's head to make horns.

  After more group shots, she asked Quint and Clay to pose with just Jamie. They did, with Quint holding the baby while Clay put his arm around Quint's waist as they leaned against the patio railing.

  "Wonderful," Olivia said, taking shot after shot. "Now, over there." She pointed to one of the lounge chairs. As the men moved over and sat, she took more photos of the rest of the celebrants, zooming in on Gideon and Cole, who were laughing as they chose food from the table set up at one end of the patio.

  She saw Rory, standing alone now, a beer in hand. Going over, she asked, "Where's your partner in crime?"

  "Dealing with crime," he grumbled. "He should be here soon, though, barring anything major happening at the last minute. The life of a detective…"

  "Says the man who gets sent off on jobs out of town," she retorted with a smile, patting his arm. "At least he comes home at the end of the day."

  "I know. I'm not really complaining…much."

  She left him to go take more photos of the happy parents. Then Kevin corralled her, took the camera away, and told her it was time for her to relax and enjoy the party—which she did.

  Chapter Two

  Two days after the party, Olivia strode into Valencia Gallery as soon as it opened, looking…disturbed was the first word that came to Lou's mind as she came into the office. He wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for the fact his hours at the precinct had changed. He was now working two to ten.

  Olivia had a portfolio under one arm that she set down on the desk.

  "I have to show you something," she said, flipping it open. "Tell me if I'm crazy."

  "Okay." Lou waited while she thumbed through the pictures before laying three of them out in front of him.

  "What do you see?" she asked.

  "Quint. And Clay holding Jamie, sitting on one of the lounge chairs. They all look very happy. Okay… Jamie looks more like he's about to fall asleep, poor baby."

  "Look behind them."

  Lou did, then asked, "What am I supposed to be seeing?"

  Taking a magnifying glass from her purse, she handed it to him. "Look at the window to the right of them, in the building behind them. I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't been trying to decide how to crop the photos."

  Lou did, then frowned. "It might not be what it looks like," he said, tapping one of the pictures.

  "But you do see it. It's not my imagination."

  "Yeah. He seems to have his hands around her throat. At least, I guess it's a female…or a male with long hair. Hard to tell from the profile." Lou looked up at her. "Can you… Did you blow this up?"

  She nodded, taking another photo from the portfolio.

  "What's going on?" Rory asked, coming into the office. "Oh, you have pictures from Clay and Quint's party. Great. Can I see?"

  "Just these," Olivia replied. "I wanted Lou to look at them."

  Rory rested his hand on the desk, leaning in to take a look. "So much love," he said quietly.

  "Unfortunately, that depends on where you look," Lou replied, pointing the window behind Quint and Clay in one of the photos, then to the blow-up of it that Olivia had made.

  Rory whistled out a breath. "Not so much love there, from the look of it." He glanced at Olivia. "Do you know which building this is?"

  She shook her head. "What you're seeing is all that I got of it."

  "Then we need to pay Clay a visit so he can let us up on the roof," Lou stated, piling the photos together then handing them to her.

  "Kevin and I can watch
the place while you're gone," Rory said. "Unfortunately, we're not exactly booming with business, even though it's Sunday."

  Lou nodded, offering to drive, which Olivia accepted.

  On the way over to Clay's place, she asked, "Do you really think he was killing her?"

  "Or him. It's hard to tell. The room is too dark. If they had been a little closer to the window…"

  "It was late afternoon and the sun was behind that building," Olivia replied. "I tried to enhance it, but I can only do so much."

  "And you're the expert, so that's probably the best we'll get." Lou realized he should let Clay know they were on their way over. When Clay answered, Lou only asked if he was going to be home for a while.

  "Yep. Jamie's asleep, so I'm taking advantage of that to get in some painting."

  "I bet," Lou replied, chuckling before they hung up.

  Clay let them into the loft a few minutes later, putting a finger to his lips, pointing toward the screen blocking off an area at the far end of the main room before leading them into his studio. "So what's this all about?" he asked.

  Olivia handed him the portfolio.

  "I want copies of all of these," Clay stated, spreading the photos out on his work table. Then he came to the blow-up of the window. "Or not." He looked at Lou. "Is this what it looks like?"

  "That's what I need to find out. First, though, we have to go up to the roof so we can figure out which building it is."

  "Sure. Come on." Clay turned to Olivia. "Would you mind terribly—?"

  "Staying here, in case Jamie wakes up? Not at all."

  Taking the photos with them, Clay and Lou went up to the rooftop patio. It didn't take them long to determine which building was in the photos. Leaning on the railing, Lou counted the floors from the sidewalk to the window in question. "Seventh floor, rear. It looks like it's an apartment building."