“If money wasn’t the motive then what was?”
“That’s the million dollar question, honey. Without that answer, the woman’s death appears to be just what the investigation was forced to say it was.”
Alex stood, pacing. “There’s something we’re missing. A
connection that has nothing to do with what we’ve discovered thus far. I feel it.”
Brian exchanged looks with Brad. “Define feel.”
She stopped pacing, picking up the folder. “Someone on this
list has the clue we need. He or she just doesn’t know it yet.” She glanced at her uncle. “Can I have a copy of this?”
He nodded, taking it over to the machine, glancing at Brad as he waited. “You know about her clairvoyance?”
“He knows,” Alex said, taking the copy he handed her.
“Good. Listen to her.”
“I intend to,” Brad said, rising as well and offering his hand.
“Smart man,” the chief said, shaking it firmly. “Mix a Delaney with a Leahy and you’ve got some powerful magic. Wish I had
inherited more.” He grimaced, putting the Steadman file back in the cabinet.
Brad’s eyes narrowed. “Powerful what?”
Brian quickly glanced at Alex, catching the slight shake of her head.
“Come on, Brad. I want to see the murder scene before it gets dark. Uncle Brian, can you give us directions?”
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He nodded, jotting them down on a piece of paper and handing it to her. “The victim was found in her car directly in front of the steel supply company at that address.” He frowned. “Watch
yourselves. If this was a hit as I suspect, there’s someone out there that isn’t going to be too happy about you poking around.”
“We will,” Alex said, tucking the paper in her purse. “Besides, that’s already been made perfectly clear on the way down here. We were followed.”
Her uncle raised a brow. “You sure?”
“Positive. We managed to lose him but that only makes what
we believe even more credible. You have my cell and office phone numbers, Uncle Brian. Anything you find that might help us please call me.”
“Sure will, honey.”
She reached up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek and he wrapped her in a bear hug. “You be careful, you hear me! Tell your family I’ll be in touch soon.”
“I will.”
Alex opened her purse and pulled the directions out as Brad
held the door open for her. Together they walked into the
sunshine. Alex slid into the car, studying the map. “You need to take the next road on the right according to this,” she said. When he didn’t respond, she glanced over at him and found him staring at her. “What?”
He shifted in his seat, meeting her gaze squarely. “Powerful magic?”
She should have known he wouldn’t let that comment go, she
thought. “You sure you want to hear the explanation?” she asked candidly.
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His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Because you’re not one to believe in things that aren’t in black and white.”
“I’ll keep an open mind.”
A horn sounded behind them and Brad put the car in gear,
pulling into the street and around the corner to a fast food restaurant. “Feel like a cup of coffee?”
Glancing at the setting sun, she nodded. “Sure, as long as we don’t take too long.”
Moments later they were settled in a booth toward the back.
Alex took a sip of her coffee and then tilted her head at Brad, contemplating the best way to start.
“Do you believe in magic, Brad?”
He didn’t hurry his answer. “No, at least not in the way I think you mean. As you said, I deal in the day-to-day stark reality of life.
That’s what I do. Protect people from the bad men and women
surrounding them. Nothing magical in that.”
She shook her head sadly. “You don’t know what I’m actually
asking, do you?”
“I thought I did. Why don’t you explain it?”
“All right, I’ll try. My ancestry comes from Ireland on both sides.” She smiled, fingering a red curl. “Magic is as much a part of my background as living and breathing. You’ve read it in the literature and seen the movies. You know, leprechauns, pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, and banshees. Things we love to speculate about, set aside a day to celebrate. Yet, folklore always has some basis, some reason for being.”
“You’re not going to tell me that there really are little men running around Ireland, are you?”
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“I’ve never seen one but that doesn’t mean that they don’t
exist.”
“Come on, Alex. You’re kidding right?”
“Actually I’m not, but I refuse to discuss that right now. I have a feeling if I did you and I would end up fighting.” She took another sip of her coffee to calm her temper and then slid her gaze back to his. “Uncle Brian is right. When my mother and father married, their combined backgrounds served to heighten the gene pool. My sister and brother, as a result, have varying degrees of, shall we say, magic.”
“What kind of magic?”
“I’m clairvoyant and I also have the power to heal. Alan has the ability to move objects and Alicia is remarkably adept at sending mental suggestions. Unfortunately, my twin brothers didn’t inherit any powers. My father says that was because they split the genes at birth and rendered them inactive.”
“Alex, do you know how hard it is to believe all this? Psychics are one thing, but magic?” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
She sighed. “I guess if I were in your position, it would seem somewhat implausible. But it isn’t, Brad. Uncle Brian knows it and so do the rest of my relatives.” She stood, tossing her coffee cup into a nearby trash can. “Right now, it doesn’t really matter. We’ve got more important things to worry about, like visiting that crime scene while it’s still light.”
He stood as well, obviously uncomfortable with what she had
just told him. That, she could understand. However, the cynicism she sensed underneath made her blood boil.
“Nothing is impossible if you are open-minded, Brad,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m just not sure you’re capable of that.”
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She walked out the door, leaving him standing there with his cup still in his hand. He tossed it viciously in the garbage and strode after her, reaching her just as she opened the car door. He spun her around.
“Listen, lady, you don’t know what I’m capable of. Hell, you don’t even know me. You give me some cock-and-bull story about magic and gene pools and I’m supposed to just accept it at face value?”
“I don’t give a damn what you accept,” she snapped. “I don’t lie and if you have a problem with that, then so be it. Now get in the damn car and drive.” She slammed the door so hard the windows shook.
After a moment, he strode angrily around to the other side.
Sliding in, he flicked the ignition. Shifting into gear, he tore out of the parking lot.
“Unless you want to add a ticket to your traveling expenses, I suggest you slow down,” she said through clenched teeth.
Grimly silent, he let the speedometer fall to a more reasonable speed. Damn the woman! He should have known better than to
hire her. He’d get Kevin for this.
“Turn right here.”
He glanced at the car clock. Six forty-five. Right about the time of the murder. Most of the factories would be empty by now or down to their second shift. Traffic was fairly light and he slowed when he saw the steel company the chief had mentioned.
“Stop,” Alex said, her hand already on the handle of the door.
He pulled over and turned the car off but stayed seated, just watching. Alex moved around the car and stood next to it, closing her eyes. She stayed that way for a long while, apparently oblivious
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to the occasional passing car and city noise surrounding her.
Finally she opened her eyes and slowly walked forward a few feet, turning in a circle. Long moments later she made her way back, opening the door and slipping inside once again. The anger had disappeared from her eyes and was replaced by an almost
haunting sadness.
“She was supposed to meet someone here. She was looking
forward to a big sale.” She turned to stare blankly out the window.
“She stopped her car at almost exactly this spot and waited.
Waited and suddenly felt uneasy. She had started the car again and had begun to accelerate when the bullet hit her. The car hit a pole and stopped. That’s why the police suspected a drive-by shooting. Death was instantaneous.”
She was pale and he reached for her hand, surprised at how
cold it was. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, as okay as I can be.” She shivered. “There was no warning, no one who approached her.” Her gaze flickered to the left. “The gun was fired from that parking lot. I saw the same green car that followed us today.”
“Are you sure?”
She smiled grimly. “Oh, I’m sure.”
“Anything else?”
She shook her head. “Only that while she waited, she wondered if her husband would be late again.” She finally met his gaze. “She knew about the affairs, chose to ignore them. She wasn’t thinking about that though. There was something else, something that
made her so angry that his infidelity was pushed aside…”
“You mentioned she was hoping to make a big sale.” He flipped the copy of the file open and after a minute pulled out a paper,
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scanning it. “Items found in the car are listed here. There’s no mention of any jewelry other than what the victim was wearing being found. I guess robbery could have been a motive.”
“No, it wasn’t.” She was silent again, allowing herself to relive the scene once more. She sensed the woman’s impatience at being kept waiting. She saw her tap her fingers on the steering wheel and then open her purse and pull out a small black velvet box. The ring caught the evening light, sparkling. Alex narrowed her vision, focused closer. It was a man’s ring with a black stone in the middle surrounded by an intricate design of diamonds. So many diamonds that it looked almost fake. A showy and very gaudy piece. She could feel the distaste as Anna gazed at it.
“She brought a ring with her and she was thinking it was
exactly what her customer had wanted. A man’s ring with a black stone and a ring of diamonds. Kind of gaudy and obviously very expensive. She doesn’t like the look of it but can’t resist the sale.
He knew she would be there because he had arranged to meet
her.” She looked up at Brad. “I got inside her head for a moment.
She wasn’t greedy but that ring was worth a lot of money. He made demands. Told her the ring was a gift for a retiring executive and he needed it for his party that night. Asked her to meet him as a favor.”
“A set up?”
She nodded. “She sensed it right before she died.” She lifted her eyes to his. “I felt her fear, felt the white hot flash of pain as that bullet struck her. Someone wanted her dead for a reason.”
“No idea what our gunman looks like?”
She shook her head. “I’ve got vague images. A man, about six feet tall, blond and big. He stays on the periphery of my vision.”
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“Damn!”
Her lips curved slightly. “Oh, so now you believe in my
powers?”
“Listen, Alex, I’m sorry. You’re right. I accuse you of telling me fairy tales in one breath then in the next I’m pushing you to use those same powers I ridiculed. It’s just that I’ve never met anyone like you.” He glanced out the window. “I was always taught not to believe in those little green men or the tooth fairy or Santa Claus.
Silly nonsense, my father used to say. You shoot that theory to hell.”
“What a lost little boy you must have been,” she said sadly.
He fought the urge to pull back. “Not lost exactly, just very serious and intense. Maggie, our cook and housekeeper, kind of balanced things out, though.” His gaze swept over her. “She would love you.”
“Then I’ll have to meet her. Soon,” she said, squeezing his
fingers.
He scanned the area around the car again. The sun was low in the sky, throwing the street into shadows from the buildings. His glance slid to the car clock. Five to seven. His eyes narrowed in thought. “Perfect time of night for an ambush. The sun would blind her sitting here while he would have a perfect shot from that parking lot.”
Alex nodded. “Good planning. This guy is no amateur.” She
reached behind the seat and pulled her briefcase onto her lap, searching until she found what she was looking for. “Anna had a best friend who lives about ten miles south of here. Name of Donna Trent. Maybe she would see us this evening,” she said, flipping her cell phone open and dialing the phone number.
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After a few moments she circled her thumb and forefinger
toward Brad who was listening to the one sided conversation. She disconnected the call and tucked the phone back in her purse.
“She wasn’t overly thrilled, but agreed to meet with us. The house shouldn’t be too hard to find from the directions she gave me.”
It wasn’t, and about fifteen minutes later they pulled into the driveway of a modest ranch. Brad had to dodge several bikes as well as a pair of roller skates as he rolled to a stop.
“Not exactly the stately mansion I envisioned,” he said dryly.
A tow-headed boy tore out the front door before Alex could
answer. He screeched to a halt just as she opened the car door.
“Mom said you can come in,” he said, lisping around his
missing two front teeth. “She’s changing Mallory, my sister.” He rolled his eyes. “Boy, did she stink! Mom had to give her a bath.
I’m Scott and I’m almost ten. Mom said I could tell you my name but not to get in the car with you or anything.”
Alex’s eyes danced as she caught Brad’s gaze. “Thank you.”
She crouched down, running a hand along the shiny red bike lying on the ground. “Is this yours?”
“Yeah. Got it for my birthday last week. It’s a trick bike.”