“That would be fine,” Emily said. She was watching Riley, though, and she was definitely acting much colder than when we had first arrived. I hoped she would still be willing to answer questions, if I needed to ask her anything in the future.

“Great,” I said. “George. Riley.”

I nodded toward the door, and the three of us stood and filed outside. Just before I shut the door behind us, I turned to wave at Emily and said, “Thanks again.”

Emily responded with only a slight smile that didn’t quite look genuine.

We made our way down through the lobby and back outside, where Riley quickly turned to me and said, “Sorry about that, Nancy. But you don’t really believe any of that, do you? DeSantos didn’t use Terry Lawrence. If anything, it was the other way around.”

Truthfully, I wasn’t sure what to believe. I knew there was no such thing as curses, but as far as the relationship between the two photography partners, I just didn’t have enough information.

“Why do you think it was the other way around?” asked George.

“DeSantos was much more talented than Lawrence,” said Riley. “Everyone knew it. Lawrence was jealous of DeSantos long before they had their falling-out.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked.

“There are plenty of interviews and articles from that time. I could send you some resources if you want.”

“That would be great,” I said.

“And anyway,” continued Riley, “DeSantos was just as hurt by the ending of their friendship as Lawrence was. People were so focused on the gossip that they stopped giving DeSantos the artistic credit he really deserved.”

“Thanks, Riley,” I said. “For telling us this and for finding Emily in the first place. You’ve helped a lot.”

Riley nodded and then told us she was going to hang out at the hotel for a bit, before finally heading over for another look at the exhibit. George and I waved at her as she disappeared inside.

“Well, talking to Emily sure was a dead end,” said George as soon as Riley was gone.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Cursed photographs? Don’t tell me you’re buying any of that, Nancy.”

“Of course not,” I said. “But I don’t think talking to Emily was a waste of time. Don’t you think it’s strange how eager she was to talk to us or how long it took her to come up with an explanation for being in town? I think there’s something going on with her.”

“It’s possible,” said George. “But how do we find out for sure? Do you have any more leads to follow?”

I didn’t. I shook my head at George before looking up and down the street. There were plenty of small businesses around, and people walking nearby who might have been locals or maybe some more DeSantos fans.

“Let’s explore the town,” I said to George. “We’ll talk to as many people as possible. Someone will have to know something.”