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

Deciding not to ask about what—though Quint’s tone of voice said it had to be important—Clay led the way inside. Once they were in the loft, he went into the kitchen area, asking, “Do you want something to drink? Like coffee?”


“Coffee’s good.” Quint pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat.


As soon as Clay had the coffee brewing, he leaned against the counter. “What do we need to talk about?”


Quint’s response was to ask, “Do you have something I can write on?”


Clay snorted, going to the studio to get a small sketchpad. He heard Quint chuckle and knew he’d gotten how inane his question had been, considering where they were. He came back, handed the pad to Quint then poured two coffees. “Cream?”


“No, I’m good.” Quint sipped it before he took his pen from his pocket and flipped open the sketchpad.


“What are you doing?” Clay asked as Quint began to write, taking a seat beside him.


Chapter 14