The Keeping Read Online Free PDF Page A

my
feet up for the next eight months if I didn’t demand
otherwise.”
    Mel grinned
inwardly. She’d been right last night when she had seen Elise
rubbing her stomach. “Eight months? So you really did just find
out. Those home pregnancy tests are getting more and more accurate,
aren’t they?”
    “Pregnancy test?”
Elise frowned. “Actually, Kane just scented that...” She stopped
and looked flustered for a moment. “I mean, Kane just...er...”
Someone called her name again, and she appeared relieved to have a
reason to abandon the conversation.
    Sipping her water,
Mel pondered what Elise had meant to say. Kane just scented...what?
‘Scented’ was a strange word to use. Dogs scented things, and from
the glimpse she’d had of the man, he was anything but a mutt. For
all that she’d love to pursue the conversation, it obviously made
Elise uncomfortable, so Mel decided to drop it before risking
alienating what was possibly her newest source. Elise’s husband,
while gorgeous, was not her primary concern.
    Eventually, Elise
returned with the lasagna Mel had ordered. She looked a bit leery,
as if fearing further questions. Trying to reassure her, Mel
commented idly on the weather and Elise started to relax. Through
the course of the meal, Mel kept the conversation light whenever
the waitress happened to stop by her table offering more water or
breadsticks. By the time she finished the meal, Elise was chatting
easily to her once again. Deciding to make her move, Mel cautiously
introduced the subject that was foremost in her mind.
    “Well, I suppose
I’d better hit the streets again and see if anyone is willing to
talk to me about the local artists.”
    “Who, in
particular, are you interested in?” Elise asked idly, while writing
up the bill for the meal.
    “A local
photographer, named Ryne Taylor. He used to live around here, but
no one seems to know where he went.” If she hadn’t been watching,
Mel probably wouldn’t have noticed the way Elise’s fingers suddenly
gripped the pen tightly. “Do you know anything about him?”
    “Ryne...Taylor did
you say? No, I don’t believe I do. Of course, I only moved here in
October.” Elise shrugged and kept her eyes on the bill.
    “Oh. That’s too
bad. Well, I’ll just ask around town then.” Mel could sense that
Elise was lying, but having learned from her experience at
Bastian’s, decided not to press the issue, in case she needed the
young woman for something else in the future.
    Elise handed her
the bill and turned to leave, but then hesitated. Mel watched as
she chewed on her lip. The server seemed to be gathering her
courage before turning and posing a question in an overly casual
voice. “Why are you asking about this particular photographer? I’ve
never heard of him, so his work can’t be that good.”
    “Someone who
bought one of Mr. Taylor’s pictures raved about the quality of his
work, and I thought I’d better check him out.”
    “Oh.” Elise
frowned and traced an idle pattern on the table cloth with her
finger. “Um...do you know what the subject of the picture was? If
it was displayed at Bastian’s, I might have noticed it once when I
was shopping in the mall.”
    Mel hesitated, but
could see no problem in admitting the truth. “I’ve seen a few of
Taylor’s pictures but not that one in particular. Supposedly,
though, it was a picture of some wolves.”
    Elise swallowed
hard and nodded. “Well, I have to get back to work. Maybe I’ll see
you later.” She looked at Mel briefly, worry apparent on her face,
and then left.
    “Right. Later.”
Mel raised her hand in a perfunctory salute then narrowed her eyes
as she watched Elise walk briskly away. The girl knew something,
the question was what? What was the mystery surrounding this
photographer and his present whereabouts?
    *****
    Mel spent the
afternoon at the Smythston library, looking through back issues of
the local paper for any mention of Ryne Taylor. He did have an
exhibit a