Fourth Dimension Fine Arts & Antiques, Thursday, 9/24

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

After a particularly amusing day, and a very nice couple nights, Sophie was enviably cheerful at the gallery. The new exhibit was up, she had coffee and tea, and coffee cake from J,GoB, and the beginnings of another small scheme in the works.

Autumn digital art was on display, waiting to be bough, and please help yourself to drinks on the sideboard.


[open and OCD free]

Comments

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

After doing her time in the station Reese went out for her patrol and stopped by the gallery for a quick chat with Sophie. She was trying to be more sociable, this was her beat after all.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Dani," Sophie said, smiling as she came in. "Unless you're on-duty, detective. How goes your day?" And with a slightly mischievous smile, "Better than yesterday?"

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"On duty detective, I'm afraid," she said. "So very much better than yesterday."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

Sophie poured herself and the detective coffee, and had to smile. "Did you get many complaints? 'I woke up a man, fix it?'"

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Like you won't believe," she said with a roll of her eyes, "the paperwork's gonna last us at least three weeks. When I said I wanted more work, paperwork wasn't what I had in mind."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"I am so sorry," Sophie said, laughter in her voice as she handed over the cup. "I found it... interesting. Not something I would have wished to last, but definitely an enlightening change for only one day." Her tiny smirk might hint at why, but she certainly wasn't going to come right out and say it.

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

Reese was familiar with that smirk and mentally facepalmed. She didn't need to know that. She really didn't. Sometimes there were drawbacks in being too observant.

She pretended to be interested in the art, "These look new."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"They are. I try to change the exhibit every two weeks. Just enough time to find an audience, and sell what is likely to find a home here." She noted Dani's reaction, and restrained her own smile. Sophie tilted her head, studying one of Gina Signore's. "Autumn, augumented. As it were."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"It's good," she said, spoken by one extremely unfamiliar with art. Then she thought of Ted. "Are paintings good investments?"

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"They can be. Especially new artists. There's a risk that they'll be only flashes of brilliance, but true talent can last for decades. Of course, there's old stand-bys that only appreciate, but can be difficult to insure correctly. Monets, Van Gogh, Vermeers; they only become more priceless over time." She tilted her head to study Dani. "Are you interested in buying something for yourself?"

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"A little, uh, I think my financial adviser's getting antsy I'm doing nothing with my money," she said.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"You have more than a policewoman's salary to invest?" Sophie asked, mildly surprised, then said, "It certainly wouldn't hurt, as investments go. There are auction houses in the Alexandria and Baltimore area that could net you good paintings, or sculpture, if you prefer." She tilted her head, studying the detective. "You might suggest it to him, and see what amounts he thinks you could afford to spend."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

Reese shifted uncomfortably. "It's not really mine, I inherited it."

She already had an orange farm and a solar farm both things she didn't need. She felt she had too many farms for a person who didn't really like farming. Art might be a good thing to add. "I'll do that, maybe he has some ideas."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

Ah. That explained it. In Sophie's experience, police with money were either corrupt, or came into money by accident. It made more sense with Dani's attitude that it was the latter. "I see. Feel free to give him one of the gallery cards, if you like, if he wishes to e-mail me questions. I doubt anything here would truly be to your taste... you do want something you can live with, as well as an investment, am I correct?" Sophie took one of the gallery cards from the caddy, and handed it over to Dani. "There are art catalogs as well. They'd give both of you a better idea of what you're interested in."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"I'll have Ted contact you," she took the card to study it briefly before pocketing it. "And, yeah, something to live with as well invest. I don't want some butt ugly, no offense, painting staring down at me every time I pass the hall or something."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Quite all right. Some investors are only interested in the monetary value, after all. I've always felt that rather misses the point." Sophie gave her a whimsical look. "Rather like buying coffee for the scent, and never drinking it. And I shall put Ted in touch with some reputable agents along the coast here, if he likes. Auctions can be rather difficult if you've no experience at bidding for yourself." Sophie looked around her own gallery with satisfaction. "Not everyone feels comfortable negotiating as well as judging art."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"I think Ted'll handle things just fine, he's been chafin' for something to do with the money for months now." Reese shrugged, "Figure I'll let him off the leash."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"I hope he enjoys himself," Sophie said, laughing lightly. "Not one to believe that money in the bank is enough, is he? The type to say you're losing money if it's not earning more?"

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

Reese chuckled, "Seemed like you've met a few people like Ted. He's a good guy, just a little too obsessed with money. It's what got him into trouble in the first place."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Trouble? What kind?" Sophie asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Ted's a..." Reese began then reconsidered, Charlie said he didn't like being called a felon. "He had some trouble with the law some years back, he's one of those CEOs that got shafted for insider trading."

She sipped her coffee, "You remember Enron?"

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Vividly." She also remembered setting up quite a few CEO's while she worked with Leverage, and felt a pang of missing it. "Really no excuse for greed on that scale... Oh dear. Your accountant was one of them? But he was caught?"

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, got caught bad," Reese replied. "One thing I know he's not gonna do that again."

Ted's not going to pull anything with Charlie's money and he knew if the off chance that he would do anything about it, Reese would hunt him down.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Ahhhh." Sophie had never, ever been caught. There were warrants out for her arrest in-- well. Most of Europe. But that wasn't the same thing. "Yes, I imagine that he'd think twice about swindling an officer of the law." Her mouth quirked sideways. "Not the wisest decision, that."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Nope, not a good thing to do," she agreed with a wry smile. Reese glanced around the gallery again. "How do you choose what to showcase?"

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Mmm, a little what's available on the market that month; a little more, what I think might be controversial enough, new enough, to spark word-of-mouth. It was goddesses last month." Sophie paused and added, "Not that I knew we had one resident on the Island at the time."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Met the resident goddess, huh?" Reese asked with a smirk.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Sophie said, smiling. "She seems quite pleasant, and she bought several paintings, but I must admit to being rather floored by her. And that doesn't happen to me very often."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Well, when we met, she threw water on my face, so I think you made a better impression than I did."

Okay, so the water throwing was during the second time they met. Still. Sophie fared better there.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

Sophie had to laugh at that. "Yes, well. She seems perfectly nice, if a trifle nerve-rattling." She shook her head. "As does the angel living in the church; although I can't help but feel a little sorry for him. He seems so adrift, poor... being."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"The one with the church?" Reese inquired. "I... haven't really spoken to him that much."

Because more than Aphrodite the angel thing was too much.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"We had an interesting discussion of art and creativity the first time we met; and even after that shanghai'ing Geoffrey did to get him into the play--" Sophie's face split into a wide smile of amusement, "--he's agreed to work props for our next production. As well as prevent things from falling on people. If they're not meant to." Sophie gave rather a helpless shrug. "I find it helps not too think too deeply about some things here."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Or not really think about it at all," she added. A preferred Dani Reese method to everything actually.

Thankfully Sophie seemed normal, an art lover and a theater actress. Just a citizen.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

A completely normal citizen!... with a very good retirement plan.

"Yes, there's that. Although my friend Steve-- the art teacher at the school-- says I don't leave because I'm curious about what will happen next. I'm horribly afraid he's right." Sophie smiled a little ruefully. "Syrup rain, or little gremlins? A gender change or little blue men stealing my coffee maker? At least it's never dull."

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Honestly? I prefer my life to be less weird, I thought after my partner my life would be less weird turns out I was wrong."

In so many ways. After Fandom, Crews was tame in comparison.

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Your partner?" Sophie asked, curious. "Here, or back in Los Angeles?"

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Back in Los Angeles," she answered. "If he were here he'd probably love this place."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"And he's not here, because...?" Sophie asked delicately.

[gunandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"He's somewhere else," she answered, as if she'd just been asked the weather. Reese wasn't an actress but she'd done undercover and been good at it, she was also used to the question enough she's no longer startled by it. Reese smiled, "You know how it goes."

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"I do." There was always the chance that partner was the source of the inheritance; then again, who could say? Sophie had walked away from enough places herself not to push. "In any event. I'm enjoying it, in small doses. Or perhaps I've gone very gently mad, and will now be fit for nowhere else."