ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

"How can he remember back to 1995?" Anderson re-examined the receipt.

"He was an assistant back then, but they've archived all the artwork sold since the 70's. He searched by buyer, didn't find anything, searched by painting's name, didn't find anything, and then searched by artist. He still didn't find any record. Since the receipt is dated October 18, 1995, he's faxing everything from September through November to make sure."

Shana leaned back in her chair. "Now what?"

"We wait until ten o'clock tomorrow morning. The lawyer I hired will be here and we ask him," answered Anderson.


TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 17 part 1

As Shana sat at the dining room table for breakfast, Emily ran into the room. "It's party day. I can't wait. Are the people here to do my nails?" Emily held up her hands for Shana to see.

"No, dear. They won't arrive until late this afternoon." Jane poured Emily a glass of milk. "You'll need to eat breakfast, and then lunch, rest, and have a light snack before it's close to nail time. Party time is quite a bit longer after all of that." She hesitated. "You know you won't be able to stay up much past dinner, don't you?"

"That's not fair." Emily pouted.

"What's not fair?" asked Anderson as he entered the room.

"Aunt Jane's making me go to bed after dinner tonight. I want to stay up until the party's over."

"That'll be way beyond your bedtime." Anderson held his cup for Helen to fill. "Am I providing music?"

Jane nodded. "Yes, you've hired a small band."

"Thought so, and will there be dancing?" Anderson sipped his coffee, glanced around the table, and pointed to the main breakfast entree. "What's that?"

"Breakfast pizza. I thought Emily would like it." Helen cut him a slice. "I have a fruit and granola pizza for Shana."

"Yes, somebody will be here right after lunch to set up the patio," interrupted Jane. "I'm planning on serving dinner in the dining room."

"Are you sure there's enough room? I don't like feeling like a sardine." Philip sat.

"The only thing on the table will be a few small flower arrangements with candles and the place settings. All the food will be served. This room and table will easily sit twenty."

"Have you any idea what the final count will be?" Anderson tapped his fingers.

"The seven couples I sent invitations are attending. That's fourteen plus the six of us makes twenty. I invited Jeff, but he declined."

"I'm sure he did." Philip chuckled.

"Jane, get to the bottom line, please." Anderson took another sip of coffee.

"I have made arrangements for thirty, just in case, and can easily add a few more." Jane bit her lower lip.

"So this could get out of control."

Helen quickly refreshed Anderson's coffee.

"This sounds like a lot of people. I have no problem staying in my room," offered Shana. "Really. I'll keep busy with my reading."

"I'm sorry." Anderson placed both hands on the table. "I didn't mean it like it sounded." He paused. "I really don't like dinner parties. There will be a lot of strangers in and out of my house. The caterers and their servers, the band, the set up and take down men, the bartenders, and I'm sure there will be people who I've forgotten or know nothing about."

"Don't forget the extra people the guests will bring to meet Drew. Jeff is already worried about extra security." Philip released a deep breath. "I'm in agreement with Drew on this one." He stood. "I'm going to get ready for our meeting with Mr. Gaines."

"Daddy, why don't you like dinner parties?"

Anderson looked at his daughter. "It's not that I don't like them, it's just that they're a pain." He stood. "I need to talk with Jeff. I don't like the idea of all these strangers in the house. We need to make sure they are who they're supposed to be."

"Drew's got a point." Jane looked at Shana. "We need a safe place for you to stay during the set up."

"I really feel I should help, but if it'll be easier, I'll stay in my room."

Anderson turned around. "Romeo will be by your side. Emily stays pretty close to you so Thor will be there. Axel will keep an eye on everything." He grinned. "He's good about that." After making a phone call, he added, "Jeff has added a female security guard to stay by you until all the set up is taken care of. She'll be here in about thirty minutes. A few security guards will be roaming around during the party." His eyes met Jane's. "Make sure they're fed."

Shana's shoulders slouched. "I'm causing way too much trouble."



*Please remember this is only part of a much longer chapter. I divide my chapters into three or four parts for ease of reviewing.*


Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's painting back

Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells

Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits

Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.

Helen -- Anderson's cook

Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper

Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend and confident

Kyle -- Anderson's dog walker

Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd

Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd

Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd

Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother

Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.

Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife

Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter

Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.

Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.

Hannah Jacobs -- Shana's cousin, the same age and best friend. Married within the past year and just had a baby, Sarah. Her husband, Paul.

Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator

Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father

Maxwell Gaines -- Lawyer hired retrieve the painting

Erich Berger -- Manager of the Dorotheum art auction house in Austria