Myra continued to look stubborn for a moment. Then a resigned expression stole over her face.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” she said.
Jake nodded. “I’m not the only one working on this thing. It’s the West Coast branch’s highest priority at the moment. There are a number of avenues and leads being pursued. But the only thing J&J has at this point is a murky outline of a group that appears to have recruited some Society members into its ranks.”
“That’s it?” Clare asked, looking disappointed. “Just a vague notion of a conspiracy?”
“That and a couple of missing lab researchers, a dead technician and a dead informant,” he said. “If I’m right, we can also add Brad’s and Valerie’s deaths to the list.”
Clare swallowed hard. “I see.”
“This thing is dangerous, Clare.”
“Yeah, I get that now,” she said. “Can we assume that this new outfit is after what all the other cabals have been after? The founder’s formula?”
“They may already have it,” Jake said.
“Oh,” Clare said. “Wow.”
Myra groaned. “Not that old legend again.”
“Afraid so,” Jake said. “Let me give you a little background here. It’s not well known among the members, but the Society runs its own drug research program. The main objective is to tweak already existing psychoactive pharmaceuticals so that they are more effective on people with paranormal senses. We all know that a lot of the modern antidepressants, tranquilizers and even some painkillers have unpredictable effects on those of us who are sensitives.”
“That’s true,” Elizabeth agreed.
“The Society maintains its own private research facility but the work done there is performed under the auspices of a government agency that, of course, shall remain unnamed,” Jake said.
Clare smiled. “The government just can’t resist dabbling in paranormal research, can it?”
Jake spread his hands wide. “As we all know, it’s got a long, lurid and mostly clandestine history of doing just that.”
“Well, it only stands to reason,” Archer pointed out, “given that statistically speaking, a small percentage of people who have found their way into government work over the years have probably had some degree of paranormal talent. Some of them would certainly have encouraged psychic research.”
“The thing is,” Jake said, “from the very beginning of the research program the Council has always given strict orders that absolutely no work was to be done on the founder’s formula or any variation thereof.”
“Let me guess,” Clare said drily. “Sooner or later, a sensitive who thinks he’s a modern-day alchemist comes along who can’t resist going there.”
“That’s exactly what Fallon believes has happened this time,” Jake said. “And it looks like the freak has recruited a couple of the Society’s researchers to help him.”
Clare poured three mugs of coffee and carried them to the table.
“What made Jones & Jones think there was a cabal connection here in Stone Canyon?” she asked.
“Shortly before he turned up dead, an informant got a message to an agent telling him that the new cabal had some kind of operation in play here,” Jake said. “The informant did not know who was involved but he indicated that the individual was moving in expensive social circles.”
“Why was my family dragged into this business?” Myra asked.
“I think I can guess how that happened,” Clare said. She went back to the counter and took two more mugs out of the cupboard. “When Jones & Jones realized there was a family of socially well-connected members of the Society living here in town, it contacted Archer to see if he would cooperate. Right?”
Elizabeth, Myra and Clare looked at Archer.
“That’s pretty much how it went down,” Archer admitted. “I was assured that no one in my family would be involved in the investigation or put in harm’s way. All I had to do was provide camouflage for Jake.”
Jake leaned back against the counter. “After Archer gave his consent, I got a call from Jones & Jones.”
“Why you in particular?” Clare asked.
“Given that one of my covers is a business consulting firm, I was the logical choice.” He paused a beat. “That and the fact that I’m a hunter.”
Elizabeth blinked. “Really? I’ve never met a hunter before.”
Myra sighed. “And to think that I introduced you to everyone at the country club as a respectable consultant.”
“How is your investigation connected to Brad?” Elizabeth asked quickly.
“It wasn’t,” Jake said. “At least not at the beginning. Jones & Jones did take a look at the murder because the victim was a member of the Society who was married to another member. But as I said, it concluded that McAllister was not linked to the conspiracy. They dismissed his death as a routine police matter.”
“I have to admit that I encouraged that view,” Archer added.
“Because you thought I killed Brad,” Clare said. She felt a rush of warmth and wonder. “You were trying to protect me. You shut down an entire police investigation as well as a J&J inquiry just to keep me from becoming a serious murder suspect.”
Archer spread his hands. “That’s what fathers are for.”
Jake noticed that Myra had gone rigid in her chair. An odd expression crossed her face.
“I was also convinced that it wasn’t J&J business,” Archer said to Clare. “If you were the one who killed McAllister it was because you were afraid he was an ongoing threat to Elizabeth, not because of some cabal conspiracy. By then I’d finally begun to realize that McAllister was not what he seemed and that he was dangerous. Figured he had it coming for what he did to Elizabeth.”
Clare glowed. “Thanks, Dad.”
She turned away, grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her eyes.
Archer grinned with delight.
Elizabeth stared at Archer, incredulous. “You never said anything about Brad being dangerous, Dad.”
“I was just trying to make it all go away,” Archer explained. “The cops were happy with the interrupted burglary scenario. But if it had come out that there was a strong motive for killing McAllister, things could have gotten real sticky for both you and Clare. I didn’t want them looking at either of you too hard.”
“Oh, Lord,” Myra said faintly. She put a hand to her breast. “I was so sure—” She broke off abruptly.
They all looked at her.
“You were so sure of what, Mom?” Elizabeth prompted.
She turned to Archer. “I thought you were the one who shot Brad. Heaven knows he deserved it after what he did to our Elizabeth. I have to admit that I considered killing him myself.”
Jake watched the shocked expressions take hold on every face except Archer’s. His grin just got bigger.
“See, that’s what I love about your mother,” he said to Elizabeth. “She’s a lady on the surface and a tiger underneath.”
“So that’s why you discouraged me from talking about my marriage to anyone outside the family,” Elizabeth said. Wonder and admiration lit her face. “You were afraid that Dad was the killer. You were trying to protect him.”
Myra sighed. “Like Archer, I was trying to downplay anything the police might view as a potential motive for murder. But there was another reason why I didn’t want you to talk about what Brad did to you.”
“Two words, I’ll bet,” Clare said. “Valerie Shipley.”
“Yes,” Myra said.
“What?” Elizabeth stared at her, openmouthed. “You never said anything about Valerie to me, Mom.”
“It was obvious that after Brad was killed she became dangerously obsessed.” Myra looked at Clare. “I thought that you were safe as long as you stayed in San Francisco.”
“Out of her sight, you mean,” Clare said.
“Precisely,” Myra said. “Valerie didn’t show any signs of wanting to follow you and do you harm. Owen promised to let me know immediatel
y if he thought she was about to do anything like that. But he assured me that she was in such a disorganized state from all the drinking and the pills that she could not possibly put together a coherent plan that involved getting on an airplane and staging a murder.”
Clare winced. “Good to know.”
“But Elizabeth was here in Stone Canyon,” Myra continued. “She seemed so much more vulnerable.”
Clare looked at Elizabeth. “Because she was right under Valerie’s nose. I understand.”
Myra shook her head. “I was afraid that if she talked too much about how bad things had been with Brad, Valerie would hear the gossip and start to wonder if Elizabeth was the one who killed him.”
Elizabeth smiled slowly. “You were trying to protect all three of us, weren’t you, Mom?”
“The only thing I could think of to do was to encourage Owen to put Valerie into rehab,” Myra said. “He agreed that she needed to go. We were working on that when Clare showed up the other night.”
Archer grimaced. “Hell. That’s why you and Owen seemed so close lately.”
Myra frowned. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“Forget it,” Archer said gruffly. “Just a slight misunderstanding on my part.”
Myra shook her head, baffled now. “Did you really think that Owen and I were—? Oh, for pity’s sake, Archer.”
Elizabeth grinned. “You were jealous, weren’t you, Dad?”
Archer flushed. “Yeah, well, your mother is a beautiful woman. And there was a time when Owen and I were both chasing her like crazy.” He looked at Myra. “Seeing the two of you together so often these past few weeks made me wonder if maybe you were thinking you’d made the wrong choice all those years ago.”
Myra blushed. She tried to glare but Jake could see the glow of warmth in her eyes when she looked at Archer.
Jake took the mug of tea Clare was handing to him. “Thanks,” he said.
He took a cautious sip. The brew was hot and bracing.
“Okay, folks,” he said. “We now know that, between them, Mr. and Mrs. Glazebrook managed to single-handedly deflect a top-secret J&J investigation. I, for one, have no plans to mention this little glitch to anyone, as it would make me look like a complete idiot.”
“That’s not true,” Archer said.
“Yes, it is,” Jake said. “So, moving right along, let’s see if we can reconstruct this puzzle. In light of recent events, I’m going to assume, until proven otherwise, that Brad McAllister was murdered because of his connection to the new cabal.”
“What about Valerie’s death?” Clare asked.
“That’s still an open question as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I admit I don’t like the coincidence of both Brad and his mother winding up dead. On the other hand, Valerie was clearly getting more and more obsessed, and everyone knows that she was using booze and pills. But the real piece of evidence that makes me doubt that she was connected to the cabal is that the two attempts she made on your life can only be described as clumsy.”
“Hey,” Clare interrupted. “You may have your definition of ‘clumsy’ but let me tell you, I’ve got my own.”
Archer looked at her. “What Jake means is that neither attempt had the stamp of a sophisticated cabal operation.”
Clare looked at Jake for confirmation.
“He’s right,” Jake said. “I know the incidents were frightening, but they were both the sort of actions you’d expect from a maddened crazy person acting on impulse, not a calculating killer.”
“Okay, point taken.” Clare looked at his arm. “But what about what happened to you last night? Going to write that off as an impulse?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Jake said.
“What do you mean?” Clare demanded. “Someone shot you with a high-powered rifle, for heaven’s sake. We’re not talking parking garages and dumbbells here.”
“The guy definitely knew what he was doing,” Jake said. “He was a good shot and he was careful to use a deer hunting rifle, not a weapon that might have made the local cops think they had a professional killer running around the neighborhood. It wasn’t exactly an act of impulse but I think it may have been a case of someone seizing an opportunity.”
“There’s a difference?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes,” Jake said. “A guy who has set a long-range plan in motion and thinks someone is about to put the strategy in jeopardy might look for an opening to take out the problem in the quickest, most efficient manner.”
“Nothing more efficient than a rifle,” Archer noted. “Trouble is, here in Arizona that leaves you with a whole lot of suspects.”
“I know,” Jake said. He felt a pleasant tingle across his senses. “But I’m going with a glass-half-full attitude here. Getting shot at last night is one of the few good breaks I’ve had since I arrived in Stone Canyon.”
Clare shuddered. “If almost getting killed is your idea of catching a break, I’d hate to see what you call bad news.”
“What happens next?” Elizabeth asked.
“A whole lot of stuff,” Jake said. “First, I’ll contact J&J and have the analysts take another look at the murder of Brad McAllister. I think it’s a safe bet they missed something the first time around. Also, it probably goes without saying but I’m going to say it anyway. No one in this room is to breathe a word of what we talked about here to anyone who isn’t in this room right now. Understood?”
There was a series of somber nods.
Jake heard the burble of his cell phone. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at the coded identity of the caller.
“Jones & Jones,” he said to the others. “I asked Fallon to see if he could locate Kimberley Todd and Dr. Ronald Mowbray. Maybe we’re going to get lucky again.” He took the call. “What have you got for me, Fallon?”
“Not much on Kimberley Todd, yet,” Fallon said. “All I can tell you at this point is that she isn’t a registered member of the Society. But it wasn’t too hard to track down Mowbray. He’s a level-five sensitive who makes his living fleecing seniors in various retirement communities. Looks like he’s been working in Tucson for the past year. Before that he was in Florida. He rarely stays more than a year in any one location. It takes that long to establish the scam, attract the victims and persuade them to turn over their life savings.”
Jake took out a pen and reached for the notepad on the counter. “What name is he using in Tucson?”
“Nelson Ingle. Ingle Investments.”
Fallon rattled off the address.
“Thanks,” Jake said. “Keep looking for Kimberley Todd. She’s important.”
“I will, but at the moment she seems to have fallen off the face of the planet. Anything else?”
“No, but someone took a shot at me last night so I think we’re finally making progress.”
There was a short pause.
“You okay?” Fallon asked.
“A few stitches, that’s all.”
“Want me to send in backup?”
“If you do our guy will probably spot whoever you send. This is a small town. Tell you what, let me talk to Ingle first. Maybe afterward I’ll have a better idea of what I’m going to need.”
“All right. Stay in touch.”
“I will.” He realized that Clare was glaring at the phone.
“Hang on,” Fallon said. “One more thing. What about the Lancaster woman? Any problems there?”
“Not for me,” Jake said. “But you may have one eventually.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Jake smiled at Clare. “I think she’s pretty well decided that there’s no point sending in any more applications to J&J. She’s going to open her own psychic detective agency.”
“She’s going to do what?”
“Something about not wanting to work for you after all.”
“She mentioned me specifically?” Fallon said cautiously.
“Let’s just say that the word ‘dumbass’ and your name a
ll appear in the same sentence with some frequency.”
“She called me a dumbass?” Fallon was clearly baffled. “She’s never even met me.”
“You’ve never met her, either,” Jake said. “But that didn’t stop you from rejecting every application she sent in. That’s it for now, Fallon. I’ll call you later and let you know how things are going.”
“Hold on here, just one damn minute. About the Lancaster woman—”
“Gotta run.”
“Don’t hang up on me. Damn it, Jake—”
Jake ended the call and looked at the others. “They found Dr. Ronald Mowbray. He’s in Tucson, running a scam under the name Ingle. I’m going to track him down this afternoon.”
“I’m coming, too,” Elizabeth announced.
Archer got to his feet. “I’ll ride shotgun.”
Myra frowned. “I will accompany you, also. I have a few things to say to him.”
Jake surveyed the ring of determined faces. “I usually work alone.”
“Guess what,” Clare said. “This time you’ve got a team.”
Resistance was futile, Jake thought. There wasn’t much that could stand up to a united Glazebrook front. The only thing he could do was try to stay in charge.
“All right,” he said. “But we do this my way.”
Clare smiled slowly. “Actually, it might work better if we did it my way. I’m the expert when it comes to dealing with scam artists, remember?”
Chapter Forty
The office of Ingle Investments was located in a strip mall on Tucson’s east side. With its faux-adobe architecture, red-tile roof trim, shaded sidewalks and acres of parking, the row of stores and boutiques looked like every other strip mall Clare had seen in Arizona.
“Not exactly upscale office space for an investment firm,” she said, surveying the stores through the windshield. She could see a couple of casual clothing boutiques, a bakery, an ice cream shop and some small eateries.
“But not cheap, either,” Jake said. He studied the door of Ingle Investments. “Looks like he prefers to maintain a low profile.”
The trip from Phoenix had taken a good two hours. Jake would no doubt have made better time but Clare had done the driving because of his injured arm. She had been intensely aware of the controlled anticipation simmering inside him every mile along the way. Something similar had sparked all her senses, too.