Jayne Castle - Canyons of Night

“You got it, Chief.” Kirk’s dark eyes brightened with enthusiasm. “You really think someone murdered Gaines?”

“Yes, and before you ask, it wasn’t Charlotte.”

Myrna cleared her throat. “And we know this, how?”

Slade raised his brows. “I used to work for the FBPI, remember? I’ve done a lot of crime-scene investigation. The psychic evidence at the scene of Gaines’s murder tells me that Charlotte was not the killer.”

Myrna nodded. “You’re the expert on paranormal forensics. But you’re sure this is murder, not a heart attack?”

“I’m positive,” Slade said.

“Poison, maybe?” Kirk offered. “They say some poisons don’t show up in autopsies.”

“That’s true,” Slade said. “But there’s another possibility. A severe shock from a power source can stop the heart. We’ll know more when we have the three basics.”

“Means, motive, and opportunity,” Kirk said. He was practically vibrating with enthusiasm now.

“Right.” Slade looked at him. “You’re good with a computer. I want you to do a background check on Gaines. There’s reason to believe that he was involved in black-market antiquities. He may have made some enemies.”

“I’ll start on it right away.”

Slade looked at Myrna. “Any luck locating Gaines’s relatives?”

“No, oddly enough. It’s as if he doesn’t have any family.”

“More likely he was living under a fake ID. Look deeper.”

“Will do,” Myrna said. Excitement lit up her face. She straightened her shoulders and swiveled her chair to face her computer.

“Remember,” Slade said. “No one in this office talks to anyone about the investigation. Clear?”

“Clear,” Kirk said.

“Clear,” Myrna said. “Nothing like this has happened around here since those two hikers got lost in the Preserve five years ago.”

The door opened. Devin charged into the office. In his excitement, he forgot to remove his sunglasses.

“What’s a stalker, Grandma?” he demanded.

They all looked at Myrna.

“A stalker is a very bad person,” Myrna said. She glanced at Slade. “Right, Chief?”

“Right,” Slade said. “Very bad.”

Devin frowned. “Do you think the dead guy came here to hurt Miss Enright?”

“It’s a possibility,” Slade said.

“In that case, I’m glad he croaked,” Devin said fiercely. He whirled and ran back toward the door. “I gotta go tell Nate.”

The door closed behind him.

Myrna sighed. “Some things seem so much simpler when you’re that age.”

“Yes,” Slade said. “They do. I’ll be in my office if you find anything.”

He went down the hall. Rex was napping on his back on top of the row of file cabinets that lined the wall. All six paws were in the air. The stolen purse was nearby.

“I hope you’re enjoying the hell out of that purse because you’re the one who’s going to have to deal with Charlotte when she discovers you ripped it off,” Slade warned. “Don’t expect me to pay for it.”

Rex’s blue eyes snapped open. He rolled to his hind legs, picked up the purse, and hopped down onto Slade’s desk.

Slade reached for the crystal-studded bag. “Let me see that thing.”

Rex chortled and graciously released the antique purse. When Slade took it he got a little jolt of energy. It was like inhaling a woman’s tantalizing perfume. Pleasant and ever-so-slightly exhilarating.

“You’re getting a rush out of the energy infused in this thing, aren’t you?” he said to Rex. “Must be a psychic version of dust bunny catnip.”

Rex chortled happily. He retrieved the purse and scampered up onto the wide windowsill. He started to bat the cord that controlled the slatted shades.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to take it away from you,” Slade said. “That purse is your problem. I’ve got enough of my own.”

He lowered himself into the ancient chair behind the big, battered desk. Both pieces of furniture looked as if they had served several generations of his predecessors. He was pretty sure that the desk, along with the vintage wooden chairs, slatted window blinds, and file cabinets filled with yellowed paperwork, qualified as antiques. Like the town, the police station looked as if it had been caught in a time warp.

The desk chair groaned when he turned to face the computer. He had thought about picking up a can of oil down at Herb’s Marine Supply but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. He wouldn’t be hanging around long enough to bother with repairs and maintenance issues.

The one piece of equipment in the office that qualified as state-of-the-art was the computer. It was not department issue. It was his personal computer. He fired it up and settled in to do some serious research on Jeremy Gaines. Kirk could handle the routine background check. He would be able to access police department and business records but he did not have access to the FBPI files. If Gaines had been involved in the dangerous world of the para-weapons business, the information was more likely to be buried in the Office files.

Half an hour later he sat back and thought about what he had discovered. He contemplated possibilities for a while and then he picked up the phone and made a call.

When he finished the phone call, he got up and started for the door.

Rex grabbed the purse and leaped down to the floor to follow. Slade picked him up and plopped him on his shoulder.

“If I were you, I’d hide the purse,” he said.

Rex ignored him.

“YES, DAD, I’M FINE, REALLY.” CHARLOTTE STOOD BEhind the sales counter, holding the phone to her ear with one hand while she studied the screen of her computer. “It doesn’t look like I’m going to be arrested for murder, at any rate.”

“Arrested.” Daniel Enright was both stunned and outraged. “Are you telling me that there was ever the slightest possibility of your being charged with that bastard’s murder? You said the authorities called it a heart attack.”

“Right, right, a heart attack,” Charlotte said soothingly. “I was just trying to reassure you.”

“Using the words arrested and murder in the same sentence is not a good way to reassure me.”

“I didn’t mean to alarm you, really. Everything is under control.”

“I was right about Gaines, wasn’t I?” Daniel said grimly. “He was stalking you.”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean, maybe? Why else would he have followed you to Rainshadow?”

“I’m not sure, Dad, but it’s possible he came here to steal something from my shop.”

“And dropped dead at the scene?” Daniel did not try to hide his skepticism.

“I know, it doesn’t sound very likely, does it? But that’s how it looks.”

A dark shadow blocked the light that had been streaming through the glass door pane. Charlotte looked out toward the street and saw Slade. Rex was on his shoulder. Slade tried the door. When it did not open he looked at her through the window.

Phone clamped to her ear, she moved out from behind the counter and crossed the room to unlock the door.

“There’s really nothing to worry about, Dad,” she said. “The local chief of police happens to be a talent who used to work for the FBPI. He knows what he’s doing.”

“Since when does a former FBPI agent take over a small-town police department?”

“He’s making a career change. Hang on a second. He’s here now. His name is Slade Attridge.” She opened the door.

Slade walked into the shop. Rex made excited noises. He waved the beaded purse at Charlotte.

“So that’s where it went,” Charlotte said. “I had a feeling it had been stolen.”

“What’s going on?” Daniel demanded on the other end of the phone. “What was stolen?”

“Nothing, never mind,” Charlotte said. She pointed to the phone and mouthed the words my dad to Slade.

“Let me talk to him,” Slade said. He plucked the phone from her fingers before she could object. “This is Slade Attridge. Yes, Mr. Enright, I’m the chief of police here on Rainshadow. Right. Yes. I understand, sir. No, she’s not a suspect. Yes, believe it or not, I do know what I’m doing. I’ll give you the name and number of my former boss. You can call him to get some background on me if you’ve got questions. Got a pen?”

There was a pause. Charlotte heard her father’s muffled voice. She raised her eyes to the ceiling, exasperated. Of course her father had questions. Daniel Enright was a strategy-talent. He hadn’t become the CEO of a successful corporation by taking others on faith. He always looked below the surface.

A few seconds later Slade spoke into the phone again. “His name is Special Agent Thomas West. He works out of the Resonance City office.” Slade rattled off a phone number. “Tell whoever answers the phone that I gave you that number. Yes, sir, I’ll keep an eye on Charlotte.”

Charlotte made a face. “This is so irritating.”

Slade met her eyes while he continued talking to her father. “Yes, sir, I am aware that there was some history between Charlotte and the victim.”

Charlotte winced.

“Yes, I agree. Gaines’s death was more than a little suspicious under the circumstances. If it was murder it was by paranormal means and there’s a special department within the FBPI that investigates those kinds of crimes. As it happens, that’s the department I worked for when I was with the Bureau. Yes, sir, I have investigated this kind of thing before.” Slade paused, listening. “Charlotte told you I was making a career change?”

Charlotte started to smile. Slade raised his brows but his tone remained respectful.

“Yes, sir, I’m planning to open a private security consulting firm,” Slade said. “I’ll be catering to Arcane-connected corporations like Enright, Inc., as a matter of fact. Yes, sir, I’m aware that there are very few security consultants who understand the problem of securing data and records against corporate espionage agents who possess paranormal powers. It’s a niche market but, I think, a potentially lucrative one.”