Painted Ladies

/>

Three Weeks in Spring

(with Joan H. Parker)

Training with Weights

(with John R. Marsh)

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

Publishers Since 1838

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700,

Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin

Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England • Penguin Ireland,

25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin

Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) • Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd,

11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India • Penguin

Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division

of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd,

24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

Copyright © 2010 by The Estate of Robert B. Parker

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned,

or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials

in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Published simultaneously in Canada

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Parker, Robert B., 1932-2010.

Painted ladies / Robert B. Parker.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-101-44387-3

1. Spenser (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Private investigators—Massachusetts—

Fiction. 3. Art thefts—Investigation—Fiction. 4. Art thieves—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3566.A686P

813’.54—dc22

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

http://us.penguingroup.com

For Joan: live art

1

My first client of the day (and of the week, truth be known) came into my office on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and sat in one of my client chairs. He was medium-height and slim, wearing a brown tweed suit, a blue paisley bow tie, and a look of satisfaction.

“You’re Spenser,” he said.

“Yes, I am,” I said.

“I am Dr. Ashton Prince,” he said.

He handed me a card, which I put on my desk.

“How nice,” I said.

“Excuse me?”

“What can I do for you, Dr. Prince.”

“I am confronted with a matter of extreme sensitivity,” he said.

I nodded.

“May I count on your discretion?” he said.

“Sure,” I said.

“I’m serious,” he said.

“I can tell,” I said.

He frowned slightly. Less in disapproval than in uncertainty.

“Well,” he said, “may I?”

“Count on my discretion?”

“Yes!”

“At the moment, I don’t have anything to be discreet about,” I said. “But I would be if I did.”

He stared at me for a moment, then smiled.