The man appeared at her front door just as she threw it open to usher the kids out to the van.
She stared at him blankly for a moment, frowned and then smiled reflexively as he greeted her with a broad grin and a friendly, "Good morning! Miss Keller, I believe."
"I, uh, yes, I'm Bryn Keller. I'm in a bit of a hurry though. If lean help you...?"
"Well, I'm hoping I can help you."
"Who is it? Who is it?" Brian demanded, trying to push his way past her. Bryn caught the top of his head with the palm of her hand and pushed him back behind her.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, curiously assessing the stranger. He was medium height and of medium build. Hishair was neither dark nor light, nor were his eyes any particular color. They were kind of an opaque gray. He might have been thirty or forty or even older. He was dressed in brown slacks and a short-sleeved tan shirt.
"Well, I'd like to buy something you have."
"Buy something? I'm afraid I haven't got anything of value."
He laughed easily. "Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. I can see you're in a hurry, so I'll get right to the point. I know you took a bunch of pictures of Lee Condor yesterday. I'm one hell of a fan of his! I'm prepared to pay you five thousand dollars, but I want the lot of them. For a private collection, you know."
"Five thousand..." Bryn echoed, frowning with incredulity. If she believed for one moment that this idiot might be serious, she could be well tempted. But he wasn't serious. And besides, she thought uneasily, even if he was, she didn't think she would dare, no matter how tempting his offer. Lee owned those pictures, and all rights to them. It was stated in the contract. And she still thought of him as having the potential to be a dangerous man.A very dangerous man. She wouldn't want to cross him in a business deal.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid even if you offered me half of Tahoe I'd still have to turn it down. Lee Condor owns those pictures."
The stranger's smile turned to an ugly scowl. "You're being a fool, you know. Just tell him that the film was overexposed or something and you can find yourself quite a bit richer."
"Nice thought," Bryn said wearily, "but sorry. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
The boys had all grouped behind her. Bryn allowed them to push through so that, between the four of them, the annoying stranger was pushed off the porch. She hurried the boys into the van and hopped into the driver's seat, waving to the man who still stood watching them. "I hope I locked the door," she murmured absently.
"You did, Aunt Bryn," Keith assured her. "I saw you." "Good," she murmured back. "Thanks, Keith." A few minutes later she forgot the episode. Traffic was at its horrendous best. She was still thinking about the pictures, but she was thinking that she wanted to get to Kelly's as fast as she could, pick up the proofs and dump them into Barbara's hands. One headache out of the way!
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Kelly had the proofs ready. He was a lanky young man who looked more like fifteen than twenty-five, but Bryn was always thankful that she had stumbled on him a year ago. When she found herself in a jam, he was great--and more, he was talented.
"These are only proofs, of course, Bryn, but I think you're going to have some great shots. The backgrounds are wonderful. Looks like you managed to avoid any flaws. And Condor, what an interesting subject! I'd love to photograph him. All this commercial stuff, you usually get 'pretty boys.'
Condor's face has such character. A painter would go crazy with him."
"Yeah, thanks, Kelly. I hope I did get some good shots. Well, let me pay you."
"Only a few of the backgrounds will give you problems, and those will be so minimal that--"
"Kelly! Please! I can't tell you how much I appreciate this rush job, but I'm still in a hurry!" She wasn't really--she had the day off--but she didn't want to talk about Lee.
"Okay, Bryn, let me just tally you up. And hey...I really don't mind the rush at all. Just remember me when you get rich and famous, okay?"
"It's a promise, Kelly. But I don't think either of us should hold our breath!"