“Cats,” I muttered, and picked up Eddie’s final selection, which was The Architecture Pop Up Book by Anton Radevsky, which I’d purchased on a whim at the local used bookstore. Since I hadn’t looked through it in a while, I sat on the floor and opened it, admiring the Parthenon and wondering if I’d ever see the Acropolis complex in person. Because it wasn’t just the Parthenon; it was the theater of Dionysus, and the temples, and the statues . . . which were sculptures.

It suddenly seemed like there were sculptures everywhere, but I supposed it was a frame-of-reference thing. Like thinking about buying a certain pair of boots; suddenly you saw people everywhere wearing them.

So if there were even more sculptures . . . if there were more Contis . . .

My brain did one of those snap things, and surged back to the idea that Rafe and I had started to work on, but never completed. A fake Conti. Did it make sense to create a fake Conti as a lure for the killer? Or—new idea!—how about a borrowed one? Maybe we could use the promise of a Conti and not create a fake one at all, but if we could borrow one, wouldn’t that be even better?

I pulled out my phone, found Keegan Kolb’s number, and started texting.

“Mrr!”

I watched Eddie as he galloped past me and into the kitchen. “No idea what you’re trying to tell me, pal,” I said. “Maybe you should work on your communication skills.”

“Mrr!”

Minnie: Hey, Keegan. Minnie Hamilton. Remember the other day, I mentioned a Conti sculpture?

Keegan (after a pause): You said it was stolen—did someone find it? Those things can be super expensive.

Minnie: That’s what I was wondering. It sounded like you knew a lot about Vittorio Conti, so I was hoping if you ever came across one for sale, that you’ll let me know. It might help track down who stole the one from that cottage, and keep Ryan’s name out of it.

Keegan: LOL only things I know about Conti came from an art appreciation class I had to take in college—Prof LOVED all things Conti. Didn’t get it myself, but I’m a software engineer.

Minnie: Okay, thanks.

Keegan: Any closer to clearing Ryan?

Minnie (after a pause): Some. Will let you know when I know more.

I started to thumb off the phone but saw the three dots of an incoming text. I waited, but they faded away to invisibility. Whatever Keegan had been going to say, she’d changed her mind.

“Mrr.” Eddie bumped my elbow with his head.

I pulled him onto my lap and snugged him tight. “Yeah, I know. We need to find Pug’s killer.”

Too many people had already been hurt. We needed to get Ryan in from the cold before something else happened.

*   *   *