“All right, I’ll see what I can find out,” Jack said. “Meanwhile, Chloe and I are going to fly back to Seattle in the morning unless you think there’s any reason to remain out of sight.”
“I don’t think either of you is in any danger as long as that lamp is tucked away in an Arcane vault. Like I said, Nightshade will have pulled the plug on this operation by now.”
“You’re sure of that?”
“This is all about the lamp, Jack. And we’ve got the lamp under lock and key.”
“Then we’ll go home.”
“Call me as soon as you have something on that gym.”
He cut the connection and went back to the window. The Sunshine Café wouldn’t open for another two and a half hours. It would be nice to be able to go down there right now, sit in a booth with a cup of coffee and let Isabella Valdez clarify his thoughts with her annoyingly positive energy field.
It would be even better to talk things over with her, but she wasn’t a member of the Society, let alone a J&J employee. She probably didn’t even realize that she was seriously psychic. If he tried to explain his work to her she would think he was a whacked- out conspiracy theorist who was not quite right in the head. There were enough people around already who held that opinion. He did not want her to come to the same conclusion.
43
“THE COLLEGE NOTIFIED ME THAT MY CONTRACT WON’T BE RENEWED,” Fletcher said. “But all things considered, I’m not complaining. If you hadn’t been there that night, I’d be dead. So I’m going to pay your bill.”
“Gee, thanks,” Chloe said. “Because I’m certainly going to send it to you.”
He smiled ruefully. “Figured you would.”
“There won’t be any extra charge for Mr. Winters’s services, however.”
Fletcher adjusted his glasses. “As far as I’m concerned he didn’t do me or the world any favors by dragging Madeline Gibson out of the house. I still say he should have left her behind.”
“He disarmed her, Fletcher. She shot my dog, and she was going to shoot you next.”
“The cops didn’t say anything about Winters disarming her.” Fletcher scowled. “I was told that she suffered a psychotic break and collapsed.”
“It was a little more complicated than that.” But explanations would be even more convoluted, so she decided to stop there.
They were sitting in her office. The door to the reception area was partially ajar. Hector was stretched out on his bed, nose on his paws. He was no longer wearing the cone around his neck, and his bandage had been removed. Aside from the area on his head that had been shaved and stitched, he looked normal again. As was his custom, he paid no attention to Fletcher.
“I heard Madeline Gibson is still at Western Cove,” Chloe said.
“Probably be there for a while,” Fletcher said. “She confessed everything, but I hear she’s still talking about the demon that came through the fire to get her. Definitely loony tunes.”
“Sounds crazy, all right.”
“Her lawyers will probably go for an insanity defense. The good news is that regardless of what happens she’ll be locked up for a few years.” He grimaced. “The way the criminal justice system works is that you can walk fairly easily on stalking and attempted murder charges, but for some reason the authorities tend to take arson seriously. Lucky me.”
She heard the door of the outer office open and then Jack’s low voice as he greeted Rose. Hector got to his feet and went through the partially opened door.
Chloe folded her hands on her desk and looked at Fletcher. “I’m sorry you lost your position at the college.”
“I’ll find another one.” Fletcher lounged in his chair, cocked one ankle over his knee and studied her with a vaguely troubled expression. “Where have you been for the past few days? Every time I called, your assistant said you weren’t available.”
“I told you I had to go out of town on a case.”
Fletcher raised his brows in faint amusement. “One of those woo-woo investigations you specialize in?”
“I never discuss my cases,” she said coolly.
Fletcher switched to his serious therapist mode. “Chloe, your belief that you are psychic is directly linked to your intimacy issues. You really do need to get into therapy. I can help you.”
“Funny you should mention my intimacy issues. My little problem appears to have resolved itself.”
Fletcher was clearly startled. “How do you know that?”
Jack walked into the room.
“She knows it from firsthand experience,” Jack said. He looked at Chloe. “Ready for lunch?”
Chloe smiled at him. “Yes, I am.”
Fletcher glowered at Jack and then turned back to Chloe. “Thought he was a client.”
“Not anymore,” Chloe said. “Now he’s my firsthand experience.”
“What happened to your plans to live a celibate lifestyle?” Fletcher demanded.
“Turns out that didn’t work for me.”
THEY WALKED A COUPLE OF BLOCKS to a small restaurant just off First Avenue and ate fish tacos at a little round table. In the three days they had been back in Seattle they had established an intimate daily routine. They spent the nights together at her place. They ate breakfast together, and then they went their separate ways for the first part of the day. Jack showed up in her office for lunch, after which they both went back to their respective offices. They rendezvoused again at her place in the early evening. Almost like being married, Chloe thought. But not quite. Nothing was exactly like being married. Marriage was different.
“Fletcher seems to have recovered well from his ordeal,” Jack offered.
“Yes. But he couldn’t avoid the fallout from the gossip and rumors this time. The college is not going to renew his contract.”
“Maybe he’ll be more careful when he picks his next short- term girlfriend.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. Fletcher is Fletcher. He’s got issues of his own. He just can’t admit it to himself. How’s the forensic financial-sleuthing business going?”
“There’s progress, and there are dead ends,” Jack said. “Lots of dead ends.”
“Fallon Jones said the organization was good at covering its tracks.”
“What I’ve got so far is a closely held corporation that owns three fitness clubs in the Northwest, including the one here in Seattle. All three gyms were independently owned and operated until last year. All three were facing bankruptcy and about to close. That’s when they were acquired by a certain LLC.”