Page 80 of The Edge of Always

I laugh, because that’s what I love about them. Loved about them, I remind myself.

‘Yes, they’re incredible really. It’s almost like we’ve reduced them to less than they are, making it seem like all they’re capable of is love. They’re more than that.’

Emmett is looking at me a certain way. His eyebrows are slightly raised and I know I’ve said too much. He can tell, I’m sure, that I still care about art. That that’s not the reason I gave it up.

‘How wonderful,’ Mari says. ‘And you knew Earl? This is also wonderful.’

It feels good to be talking about something safer.

‘We both knew Earl before he was discovered. We saw him paint almost all of the paintings that you have here.’

‘Then you are very lucky. I wish I could meet him in real life, yes. I am a big fan of his work.’

I like Mari. She just has this sense of calm self-assuredness about her which is nice. It’s making me be calm, too. I’m doing lots of smiles, hoping that it’ll entice her to tell me where the painting came from.

‘Yes, we were lucky. He was a great artist, but he was a great person too. We’re travelling around Paris, visiting all the places he painted,’ Emmett interjects.

Mari smiles and laces her fingers together. ‘A beautiful way to see a beautiful city.’

‘We wondered, though, if you could tell us where this painting came from? We know a collector had his other works, but is it true that this one just turned up?’

Mari gestures to the bench, and the three of us sit.

‘The truth is,’ she begins and I think that this has been way too easy – she’s just going to tell us, just like that. ‘The truth is that I have no idea who owned the painting. Everything has come through a broker. A Mr Gregor, I believe.’

‘Gregor,’ I repeat back to her. Earl’s art dealer. There is no way that man is still alive.

‘Yes.’

‘Okay, but where did Gregor get it from?’

Mari shakes her head. ‘I do not know. It took some time to verify.’

Emmett sighs next to me. It does feel pretty hopeless.

‘How did you know for sure that Earl, I mean, Spencer, had painted it?’

‘The style and the signature mostly. This Mr Gregor had dealings with Spencer before, I believe too.’

‘Do you have a contact for Gregor?’ I ask her hopefully as she shakes her head and wrinkles her nose.

‘We would rather not have dealings with him. He is a drunk, I think you would call him.’

Yep, that’s Gregor.

I never really thought I’d find out where the painting came from, but it’s disappointing to know for sure that I’ll never know.

‘It’s so odd,’ I say. ‘To think that Earl sold a painting so long after he died.’

With that Mari looks at me quickly. Reminding me of a meerkat, twisting it’s head this way and that between the painting and me. ‘Oh no, no, no. We did not buy the painting. Only loaned it. The owner, Mr Gregor said they would never give it up. I don’t know. We pay to loan it, but we would have paid much more to buy it.’

So much new information takes me by surprise.

‘Wait, what, someone still owns the painting of Luna?’ Emmett asks, articulating my thoughts.

‘Yes, exactly.’ Mari answers.

‘But you can’t tell us who?’