Clay Richardson is a well-known artist who owns his own gallery. Quint Hawk, a police detective, makes contact with Clay when he sees a portrait Clay has painted in the window of the gallery -- a portrait of a homeless young man who was murdered just days before. Unfortunately, Clay has no idea who the subject was. Several months later, Quint contacts Clay to again ask about one of Clay's paintings. The subject has been murdered, as has a third man in another of his paintings. The reclusive artist and the handsome detective are drawn to each other as they try to determine what is happening and why. They come up with a plan to catch the killer -- a plan that could end up in their deaths before they can decide if there is more to their feelings than a couple of very good nights in Clay's bed.

The Element Case

“Surely you don’t think I had anything to do with their deaths.”


Instead of answering Clay, Quint took another envelope from his pocket, removed a photo, and handed it to him. “Do you recognize this guy?”


Clay barely nodded, beckoning for the detective to follow him into the storage room behind the gallery. Going to one wall, Clay shuffled through the canvases stored in the racks, finally pulling one out. It was the same size at the other two Element ones, a foot-and-a-half by two foot


“What do you call this one?” Quint asked, studying the painting.


“Element of Frustration.” Clay contemplated it for a moment. “I debated whether this one was sellable or not. Amanda said it was and hung it for a few days. Then she took it and a couple of other ones down to make room for paintings by one of the other artists we handle.” He shrugged. “So maybe I was right and it’s not.”


Chapter 4