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.”