Chapter 1

Frank Hardy turned as a loud, crashing sound reached his ears. "Joe," he sighed, "what are you doing?"

His brother scrambled to pick up the headphones he'd just knocked off the metal stand in the lobby of the Bayport University Art Museum. "Trying to get this audio equipment for the self-guided tour." He scooped up a handful of headsets and placed them on the counter, then jiggled the stand. "This dispenser thing doesn't seem to be working right."

Frank returned to his brother's side. "Are you really going to remember enough information from this exhibit with a self-guided tour?"

"Why not?" he asked. "Put on the headset, stop in front of the painting, press the button to listen, move on to the next painting. Simple, easy, and we're out of here."

Frank shook his head. "You have absolutely no appreciation for the finer things in life, do you?"

"Frank, they're paintings," Joe countered. "I'm sure they're wonderful in their own way, but I've got other things to do. This Humanities class is sucking up way too much of my time, already. So, let's just get this over with so I can turn in my ticket stub and my report to Professor Ayres next week." He got on his knees to pick up the remaining headsets.

"Can I help you?" a female voice asked.

Joe turned and saw a pair of black pumps directly in front of him. His eyes traveled upward along a shapely pair of legs. Further still to a black skirt, cinched in with a wide belt around a tiny waist. His eyes moved to the crisp, white shirt above it, hugging the sexy curves of its owner's upper body. Joe's gaze lingered there for a moment. He noticed the long, dark, softly waving hair that reached past the shoulders. He pulled himself to a standing position, taking in full, smiling lips. His eyes wandered past a sweet, dainty nose, and stopped when they reached the greenest pair of eyes he'd ever seen.

For the first time in his life, Joe Hardy didn't know what to say. All he could do was stare at what had to be the most beautiful woman in the whole world. And she was standing right in front of him.

Frank stepped in to save the day. Clearing his throat, he extended his hand toward her. "I'm Frank Hardy. This is my brother Joe." He paused, but Joe still didn't say anything. "Um, we're students here, and we need to tour an exhibit for an assignment in our Humanities class."

The young woman smiled at both of them, and Joe thought his heart might have stopped beating. "Ahh, yes, the 'cultural experience'. Humanities 101, right?"

Joe managed to give a nod.

"Well, you've come to the right place." She gestured toward the headphones Joe had knocked over. "And, as you can see, the audio tours aren't the most reliable."

Joe swallowed hard, and finally found his voice. "I-I'm really sorry about that."

"No worries." She smiled again and Joe felt the breath go out of his body completely. "You're not the first person to do that. You're not even the first person to do that today." She glanced between them. "So, would you like a personal tour?"

"Do, do you work here?" Joe managed.

"No, Joe," Frank cut in with a grin. "She just stands in the lobby waiting for people to look as incompetent as we do; then she offers to rescue them."

Joe looked sheepish. The young woman reached out and touched his arm, smiling sweetly. "It's okay. Really. Don't worry about the headsets. I've been begging for the museum to upgrade them for an entire semester. Every time someone else knocks them over, it helps my cause." She extended her hand. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Emily Clark."

Frank shook her hand warmly, then she turned to Joe. "Nice to meet you," she said.

He closed his hand around hers, noticing how soft and warm it was. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Oh, and I'm not really an employee here," she explained. "Well, I mean I am, but it's not for the money, it's mainly for credit. I'm a student, too. I'm majoring in Art History and French."

"Really?" Joe asked. "You know, I've always been interested in art history."

"Oh, so you're not one of those guys who's only here for the assignment, then? Or because you didn't want to sit through an opera for your 'cultural experience?'"

Frank burst out laughing. "Give it up, Joe. She's got you pegged."

Emily giggled, and Joe found his heart beating faster at the sound. "It's okay. I really enjoy giving tours to people who don't know much about art." She gave him a teasing look. "But I warn you, I will try to convert you into a museum junkie. We need lots of patrons, or I won't have a job when I graduate."

Frank gazed around. "I've actually thought it would be very cool to work in a museum. Unlike my brother here, I really do like art."

Joe shot him a look, as Emily turned her attention toward Frank. "That's great to hear. What's your major?"

"Criminal Justice," Joe interrupted. He gestured between them. "It's both of our majors. Our dad is a private investigator and we're planning on going into business with him when we graduate."

"Really?" Emily's eyes grew wide. "That sounds exciting. And kind of dangerous."

"It can be," Joe replied. "It's all part of the territory."

Frank rolled his eyes and made a gagging motion at Joe over Emily's head.

"Do you work with your dad now?"

"Yeah, quite a bit, actually," Joe continued, ignoring his brother as they began walking towards the "Masters of Impressionism" exhibit. "We love the chance to solve a good mystery."

"Isn't that hard to fit in with school?" Emily wanted to know.

"No, not really." Joe maneuvered himself so that he was right next to Emily, and Frank was a step behind both of them. Frank shook his head and moved to Emily's other side.

"Dad's pretty good about the cases he assigns us to," Frank explained. "We do most of our serious work during the semester breaks or in the summer."

"Unless we just happen to stumble upon something." Joe paused in front of a large archway with a sheet hanging in front of it. "This for example," he gestured, "looks very suspicious." He grinned at Emily. "What's behind the mysterious curtain?"

Frank rolled his eyes and Emily giggled. "I can assure you," she began, "nothing the least bit exciting. At least for now. In two weeks, it's going to be an exhibit on the legends and lore of Scottish clans, though."

"Clans?" Joe repeated. "As in fighting and claymores and other weaponry?"

"The very same," she smiled.

"Oh, man, why couldn't my paper be due a month from now?" he lamented. "I actually would have wantedto check out that exhibit."

Emily feigned shock. "And you don't want to tour the 'Masters of Impressionism?'"

Joe grinned. "Well, not at first. But it's suddenly become a whole lot more interesting to me."

Frank almost groaned. Instead, he cleared his throat. "Who's your favorite Impressionist, Emily?"

Before she could reply, a loud scream tore through the air. Joe swiftly turned his head. It echoed through the sheet blocking the entrance to the future clan exhibit.