Page 38 of Easton Island: A Wedding to Remember
“And I sincerely wish you hadn’t,” Elizabeth sighed.
“How long do you need?”
“Two weeks. I will appraise the piece and also plan to get a second opinion.”
“I want my money.” Ryze muttered something unintelligible under his breath.
Although Morgan didn’t catch what he said, Grady must’ve heard him loud and clear. He put a light hand on his holster. “It’s time for you to leave. Mrs. Easton has asked for a reasonable amount of time to appraise the piece. You’ll need to come back after she’s done.”
The man marched out of the building, complaining loudly.
“Thank you, Grady,” Elizabeth said. “With any luck, he’ll calm down.”
“And realize he can’t pull a fast one,” Quinn said hopefully.
A commotion outside the front window caught Morgan’s attention. “I knew it was too good to be true. Ryze is back.”
Quinn eased past Grady. “Great,” she groaned. “He isn’t alone.”
Chapter 15
Quinn squinted her eyes, studying the group of people who were holding signs. “What do the signs say?”
Morgan tiptoed to the gallery window, peering out. “Fakes and forgeries sold here.”
Elizabeth tapped Grady MacDonald’s arm. “Can you force them to disperse?”
“Only if they’re standing directly in front of the gallery. All they’ll need to do is move off to the side, unless you contact the other store owners and they ask them to leave.” Grady told her they would likely keep moving until no one complained.
Ryze emerged from the crowd, gloating at them through the window. He said something but Morgan couldn’t hear what it was.
“I’ll tell them to move.” Grady stepped out onto the sidewalk. He pointed toward the gallery several times and shook his head.
Ryze stopped the protesters, who had begun circling around. After a brief word, the group shuffled off.
Grady waited until they were gone before stepping back inside. “Ryze is asking to speak with you.”
Elizabeth, with a determined gleam in her eye, caught up with Grady. They left, only to return moments later.
“Well?” Quinn asked. “What did he want?”
“He wants to make a deal. He’ll get the protestors to leave if I pay them for their time.”
Morgan’s jaw dropped. “Isn’t paying them to go away illegal?”
“He’s calling it worker reimbursement,” Grady said.
“How much does he want?” Morgan asked. “I mean, if it’s not too much, it might be worth it to hand out a few bucks to get rid of them.”
“Two hundred dollars per person times ten people.”
Quinn whistled loudly. “Two hundred bucks to walk around for a few hours holding a sign?”
“Yep.”
Morgan pointed to Grady. “So the only thing we can do right now is keep them from blocking the entrance?”
“Unfortunately,” he grimaced. “Maybe they’ll get tired and leave on their own.”
