While Decker was taking in Max’s lecture on Tiffany, Rina stole away and took a closer look at the poster of The Kiss by the Austrian master. Amid the swirls, squares, and starbursts of color and gilt was a very erotic painting, the man smothering a beautiful woman’s face with a passionate kiss on the cheek. She studied it until she heard her husband’s voice.

“Are you with us, darlin’?”

Rina scooted over to his side. “Sorry.”

Max said. “The original Kiss is in Vienna. But if you want a close-up look at one of Klimt’s masterpieces, the Neue Museum on Fifth has the original portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. If you haven’t seen it, you should.”

“I have seen it,” Rina said. “I just forget how arresting he is. You have to wonder how a mind works to have created something so beautiful . . . dreamlike.”

Max said, “He was influenced by a lot of ancient art, specifically the Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna.”

Talk about perfect timing. Decker raised his eyebrows. “St. Vitale Church. The mosaics of Justinian and Theodora.” When Rina and Max stared at him. “Imagine commissioning all that artwork in a capital where they never even lived.”

Max said, “You’ve been to Ravenna?”

“No, but it’s on my bucket list.”

“Since when?” Rina asked. “Where is Ravenna? Greece?”

“Italy,” Decker said. “It was once the capital of the western Roman Empire.”

“Now you’re just showing off,” Rina said.

Decker smiled. “Impressed?”

“You had me at St. Vitale Church.” Rina turned to Max. “Thanks for showing me your unbelievable pieces. I think I’ll go upstairs and stare at the bling. I promise I won’t interfere with your client.”

“Dawn?” Max gave a dismissive wave. “She’s one of those women who’s status rich but cash short. We’ve been working together for years. She buys a piece from me retail and then sells it back to me wholesale in order to buy another piece . . . which she pays retail. It’s a happy arrangement. I make money and she appears to have an extensive jewelry collection. As far as her friends are concerned, she is dripping in diamonds because she never wears the same piece twice.”

AFTER RINA HAD left, Max gave a sly smile. “So where’d you pull that rabbit out of your hat? Or is art history a secret love of yours?”

“We detectives are tricky folk.” Decker walked over to a green Majorelle love seat. “Can I sit down or . . .”

“The furniture is not only beautiful, it’s usable. Be my guest.”

“Thanks.” He gingerly put his rear on the cushion. Max sat opposite. Decker said, “I interviewed your sister-in-law.”

“No love lost, correct?”

Decker’s shrug was noncommittal. “After doing hundreds of these kinds of things, you get feelings when someone is lying. She’s not lying. She didn’t have anything to do with the theft.”

“I believe you. Did she implicate me?”