“Nope. I’ve got zip.”
For a heartbeat or two she did not move or even blink. Her stillness was absolute. She recovered quickly and frowned.
“Then what in the world are you doing here?” she asked.
He folded his arms on the counter. “My job. I told you I don’t have any startling revelations, but I do have a few questions.”
“You could have called.”
“I prefer to get my answers face–to–face.” He smiled. “Less chance of a misunderstanding that way.”
“Fine, whatever.” She removed the lid of the canister and started spooning loose tea into a pot. “Ask your questions.”
“You said you don’t know what the blackmailer wants.”
“I told you, he hasn’t made any specific demands.”
“Do you have any theories?”
“I assume he’s after some very hot, probably encrypted, book. He wants me to get it for him.”
“But you don’t know which book?”
“Not yet.” She put the lid back on the canister. “At any given time, there are always a few extremely rare volumes with a paranormal provenance floating around in the underground.”
“Did Thaddeus Webber give you any clue?”
“No.” She opened another cupboard and took down two mugs. “Our communication on the subject thus far has been via email. Thaddeus lives alone in the foothills of the Cascades. He’s very reclusive. Quite paranoid. He doesn’t have a phone. Says they’re too easy to tap. When he insisted that I contact you immediately, I emailed him a couple of questions, but the only response I got was ‘Talk to Sam Coppersmith. He’ll know what to do.’ ”
“I think he’s right. I have a better idea of what may be going down than you do.”
She gave him a wry smile. “I’ve come to the same conclusion. Talk to me, Sam.”
“I’m pretty sure that Thaddeus Webber sent you to me because he thinks your blackmailer is after an old lab notebook that my father spent years trying to find.”
“For the record, whoever he is, he’s not my blackmailer, but go on.”
“Eventually, Dad concluded that both the notebook and the man who had recorded the results of his experiments in it had been buried in an explosion in an old mine called the Phoenix. But now there is reason to believe that the notebook has surfaced in the collectors’ market. We know of at least one very dangerous man who is after it.”
Abby raised her brows. “I assume that you are not referring to yourself ?”
For a second, he didn’t comprehend. Then it hit him that she had just let him know that she considered him dangerous.
“No need to insult me,” he said, going for offended. “I’m on your side in this thing, remember?”
“Actually, it’s starting to sound like you’ve got your own agenda, but I’m good with that. Everyone has an agenda, right?”
He did not dignify that with a response. “What I’m trying to explain here is that it’s reasonable to assume that Webber sent you to me because he thinks that you’re in danger from someone who is after that notebook. He understands that I’m the best-qualified person around to look after you until we find that damned book and get it off the market.”
“Okay, I get that, but remember that you’re supposed to be working for me.”
“Trust me, I am not going to let you out of my sight until we find the notebook and the person who is trying to blackmail you.”
“I’m not sure that translates into working for me.”
“You will have my full attention until this is over,” he assured her gravely.
For a long moment, she studied him with deeply shadowed, unreadable eyes. The shriek of the teakettle’s whistle broke the tense silence. She turned away to pour the hot water into the pot.
“All right,” she said. “I guess that’s the best deal I’m going to get. You find my blackmailer and make him go away. In exchange, I will find the lab notebook for you.”
Irritation sparked through him. “This isn’t a business arrangement.”
“Yes.” She set the kettle down.”That is exactly what it is. Never mind. I take it you think this lab book is locked in a psi-code?”
“According to the rumors, yes. We don’t know when it was locked or who did the encryption.”
“This man you mentioned, the one who kept the records of his experiments in the notebook, you say he died in a mine explosion?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About forty years ago. His name was Ray Willis. He and my father and another man named Quinn Knox were mining engineers who all had some intuitive sensitivity for the latent energy in rocks and crystals and ores. In addition, they had the vision to see that the future of technology was going to be dependent on the so–called rare earths. They formed a partnership and went into the exploration business. They hit pay dirt, literally, when they picked up the mineral rights to an old abandoned mine out in the Nevada desert. Whoever sank the shaft originally was probably looking for gold. There wasn’t any there. But Dad and his partners were after twenty-first-century gold.”
“The rare earths.”
“Right. They were all convinced that the Phoenix was the modern equivalent of a gold mine.”
“Did they find the minerals and elements they were looking for in the Phoenix Mine?”
“Yes, but they found something a lot more interesting and, according to Dad, a lot more dangerous. They discovered geodes filled with quartzlike crystals unlike anything they had seen before. There was no data on them in the research literature. But they eventually turned up a few old references to similar crystals in some ancient books on alchemy.”
Abby made a face and poured the tea into the mugs. “Alchemy. That figures. The old alchemists were always coming up with secret formulas and running experiments with para-crystals and amber and other stones in an effort to enhance their powers.”
“Dad, Willis and Knox could sense the energy locked in the rocks, but they had no idea how to access it, let alone figure out how to use it. They set up a small on–site lab and started conducting experiments.”
Abby set one of the mugs on the counter in front of him. At least she was no longer looking skeptical. Instead, she appeared to be reluctantly fascinated.
“They found out that the crystals had paranormal properties?” she asked.
“Yes. But they soon realized that they were playing with fire.” He was suddenly very conscious of his ring. “Maybe literally. All they could tell in the field lab was that the energy in the stones was volatile and unpredictable, and that it was paranormal in nature. Dad and Knox wanted to stop the experiments until they could get some of the specimens to a properly equipped facility. But Ray Willis was obsessed with the stones. He was convinced they had enormous value, and he decided that he didn’t want to share the potential profits.”
Abby picked up her own mug. “There was a falling-out among the partners?”
“You could say that. Ray Willis tried to murder Knox and my father. Dad never told us exactly what happened in the mine shaft that day, but in the end there was an explosion. Knox and my father escaped through an air shaft. Willis didn’t make it out.”
“What happened?”
“Afterward, Dad and Knox made a pact. They decided that for the foreseeable future, the crystals should stay in the ground. Those rocks were just too dangerous. There was no telling what would happen if they fell into the wrong hands. They agreed to keep the location of the mine a secret, and they tried to destroy all traces of its existence.”
“The foreseeable future has turned into forty years?”
“Yes, but Dad still hasn’t changed his mind about the Phoenix. He does not want it found, not yet at any rate. He says if the time comes to reopen that mine, Coppersmith Inc. will handle the job.”
“Meanwhile, your father is committed to keeping the secret.”
“His old partner, Quinn Knox, kept the secret, too. But he died a couple o
f weeks ago. Before he passed on, however, he warned us that his son, Lander Knox, who is evidently a full-blown bad guy with a lot of talent, is on the trail of the lab book.”
“You say your father and Knox searched for the book after the explosion?”
“Not just the notebook. Several of the crystals that Ray Willis was using in his experiments went missing, too. Dad and Knox couldn’t find the book or the stones. Eventually, they gave up and told themselves everything had been buried with Willis in the explosion. But over the years there have been occasional whispers that indicated that the book and at least some of the crystals survived. In the beginning, Dad chased down every lead. Now my brother, Judson, and I do it. But until now, nothing has ever come of any of the rumors.”
“What happened to your father’s partnership with Knox?”
“They worked together for a while. Found a new mine, one that produced copper. They sold out to a big mining company and split the profits. That was the end of their partnership. My father spent his share of the money on exploration and development of another rare-earths mine that became the foundation of Coppersmith Inc.”
“What happened to Quinn Knox?”
“He and Dad lost contact over the years. Knox evidently had a problem with gambling and a few other addictions. But Dad heard from him for the first time in decades when Knox called from his hospital bed to warn him about Lander Knox. Apparently, Lander found one of the crystals that Quinn had kept and learned about the existence of the Phoenix Mine. He has concluded that he was deprived of his rightful inheritance, and he’s determined to find it. To do that, he needs the lab book.”
“You really think this Lander Knox is the person who is trying to blackmail me?”
“I think there’s a very high probability that he’s the blackmailer, yes. But we have to assume that there may be others who will do whatever it takes to get that book.”
“Wow, a lost mine and a missing lab book.” Abby looked genuinely amused. “You know, if it weren’t for the blackmail part, this would actually be one of my cooler gigs.”
“I’m glad you can see the positive side of this situation.”
He studied the tea she had placed in front of him. Normally, he never drank tea, herbal or otherwise. But this tea was a mysterious golden green. He picked up the cup and swallowed cautiously. The brew tasted oddly soothing. He could feel the warmth flooding through him, and it felt good. It occurred to him that he had been cold for a while now. Strange that he had not been aware of it until tonight.
They drank the tea together in silence. Eventually, he put down the cup.
“By now you’ve probably heard the rumors about me,” he said.
9
SHE DIDN’T PRETEND THAT SHE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT HE WAS talking about.
“Well, sure,” she said. “Even my friend Gwen has heard them.”
“I didn’t kill Cassidy Lawrence.”
“I know.”
That was not the response he had expected.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
Abby shrugged. “Gwen would never have left us alone together if she thought you were capable of that kind of thing.”
He frowned. “She’s that good?”
“She’s that good.”
“Huh.”
So much for the fantasy of Abby throwing herself into his arms and swearing a vow of unqualified trust. Take what you can get, Coppersmith.
“There’s one other thing I’d like to clarify,” he said.
“Yes?”
“For some reason, a lot of folks seem to believe that Cassidy and I were engaged.”
“Not true?”
“No,” he said. “We saw a lot of each other for a while, and people made some assumptions. We had an affair, but she was not my fiancée.”
“I see.”
Abby’s phone chimed into the sudden, acute silence. She flinched, clearly startled, and picked up the device. She glanced at the screen, smiled and took the call.
“Talk about a psychic intercept,” she said. She walked out from behind the kitchen counter, heading toward the small desk. “We were just chatting about you, Gwen.…Yes, that’s what I told him. You can take off for Hawaii without having to worry about me.”
Abby stopped in front of her desk and began to flip through a small stack of mail.
“Yes,” she said. “I promise I’ll call Nick if I think I need backup. But I’ll be fine.…Yes.…Good night. Safe trip. I know it’s a job, but try to have some fun in Hawaii, okay?…Yes, I promise I’ll call with updates.”
She closed the phone and set it down. “Good news. Gwen just gave you a clean bill of aura health.”
“I appreciate that,” Sam said.
Abby tossed the last of the mail aside and reached for the small package that sat on the desk. “I don’t remember doing any online shopping recently.”
A visible shiver went through her when her fingers closed around the parcel. She gave a sharp, audible gasp. Energy sparked in the atmosphere.
“Oh, my,” she breathed.
Newton jumped to his feet, ears sharpened. He whined softly.
Sam was already moving, crossing the room to where Abby stood, gazing raptly at the package that she held in both hands.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing is wrong.” She had recovered from the initial shock. Anticipation sparkled in her eyes. “I think someone sent me a very special gift, a book, judging by the energy. An old one.”
He could sense the subtle shiver of energy around the package now. “Whatever is in there is hot.”
“Yes, indeed,” she said. She began to unwrap the package with great care. “Very hot.”
The hairs lifted on the nape of his neck.
“Who sent it?” he asked.
“I don’t know yet. There’s no return address. Maybe there will be a note inside. I have a hunch that it’s a thank-you gift from one of my clients.”
“Your clients have your home address?”
“No, of course not. Too many crazies in my line. All of my business correspondence goes to an anonymous private post office box and is then forwarded here.”
She got the outer wrapping off, revealing an ornately carved wooden box.
“Those are alchemical designs,” Sam said.
“They certainly are.”
Abby opened the hinged lid of the box. There was a small leather-bound book inside. She used both hands to take it out. She smiled.
“What?” Sam asked warily.
“It’s encrypted with a delicate little psi-code.” Abby opened the cover with great care and studied the title page. Pleasure and a little heat illuminated her eyes.
Sam looked over her shoulder and studied the Latin. “What does it say?”
“The title translates to A Treatise on the Herbs and Flowers Most Useful in the Art of Mixing Perfumes. It’s a guide to perfume making, written by someone who obviously had a psychic talent for the craft. According to the title page, it contains some of Cleopatra’s own personal recipes. Isn’t it lovely?”
“Abby,” Sam said, “it wasn’t mailed to you.”
“Yes, I know. I told you, my mail goes through a private post office.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said evenly. “It wasn’t mailed anywhere. There’s no postage on it. That package must have been hand-delivered.”
Abby looked up at last. Her eyes narrowed faintly. He realized he finally had her attention.
“Well, I do have a few friends,” she said tentatively. “I suppose one of them could have dropped it off.”
“Is there a note?”
“I didn’t notice one.” She looked at the wooden box. There was a small white envelope inside. “Wait, there it is.”
She put the book down and opened the envelope. She pulled out the small card inside and read the handwritten message: “Please accept this small gift as an expression of my admiration for your unique talents. I wish to commission your servi
ces with a view to acquiring a rare item that is rumored to be coming onto the market. Price is no object. There will be a generous bonus if you are successful. Regardless of your decision, the herbal is yours to keep.”
“Someone is trying to bribe you to take him on as a client,” Sam said. “And he knows where you live.”
“Oh, crap,” Abby said.
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