Or just the Lucy half—the ones with Harvey’s staffs. Except Harvey wasn’t here. Or Sam. Those gathering were of Cass’s generation, the older ones who had been beating up Nulls with canes. What wind had blown themen massein thisdirection?
“You’ll be safe with us,” Cass saidprosaically. “The vortex energy draws out the evil, but it also protects. We can only hope we have the strength to send enough of the good energy to deflect thebad.”
This time, when Walker studied the mountain, he thought he saw a glimpse of green, not a natural green but the emerald of Xavier’s jacket—the same emerald green that had been on the brochures from eighteen years ago. It madeno sense, but Walker gave up on Cass and took off at a run in pursuit of that flash ofgreen.
Cass yelled a warning. He ignoredit.
He’d climbed this path following Sam and her stick through the dark last time. This time, there was sufficient daylight to see the trail leading up to Bald Rock and that flash of green. The question became—did he go after the green that might simplybe Xavier’s discarded jacket or findSam?
This job meant making terrible choices that could be the difference between life and death. He wasn’t an all-knowing god. He wanted to save Sam—for his own selfish reasons, because he didn’t want to lose her and all the good her trusting intelligence meant to thisworld.
But he couldn’t always be there to protect her if there was a murdereron the loose, which was where his duty stepped in. If he believed Xavier and Lucy insanity, the entire community was in danger and would continue to be in danger until the killer wascaught.
He had to surmount his defensive urge to protect what was his. War raged within him, but he continued racing up the trail toward Bald Rock—and not down to the farm where he hoped to findSam.
As if to confirm his decision, Harvey stepped out of a shrub-shrouded crevasse. Garbed in his usual black, he was barely visible except for the glinting crystal in hisstaff.
“Gump.” Harvey spat out the name as if it were a bad taste. “He’s planting something under Bald Rock. He could be carrying adetonator.”
Walker bit back bile and studied the enormous boulder above. “Sam andValdis?”
“Farm. Daisy has a hiding place. I don’t know how safe it is if half a mountain falls on it.” Harvey looked pale and grim. “We’re tuned to the crystal vibrations. We can divert a partial slide. We can’t predict resultsthough.”
Diverting a landslide was a particularly high level of crazy to accept. “Is there any reason to believe he planted explosives and not his dear deadmother’sdiary?”
Harvey lifted a black brow indisbelief.
Walker sighed. Right. Xavier had said a killer was up here. There was nogoodreason for a wealthy city real estate mogul to suddenly be hiking around on Bald Rock—in a green jacket. Walker’s gut said he needed a SWAT team. The Lucys apparently felt the same way, except their SWAT team was a littleunorthodox.
“I’mgoing up on Bald Rock,” Walker said. “The sheriff’s men are up at the lodge. I’ve radioed them. If the mountain blows, you’ll need all the help you can get. Try not to drive off theauthorities.”
He didn’t wait for Harvey’s response. Gut instinct said Gump had motive and opportunity for two murders. Xavier’s warning might be that of a drug-addled madman, but Walker had learned his lesson.He couldn’t ignore whatever voices spoke in the old man’s head. Lives might depend onlistening.
He wished he’d really listened to Tess. Maybe he could have prevented tragedy. This time, failure would devastate an entiretown.
By the time Walker reached the summit, he could see the stout real estate mogul sliding down from Bald Rock. His feet had just hit the narrow ledge below,the one where they’d laid out Valdis the othernight.
Crossing his arms and firmly planting his boots on safe ground, Walker blocked the rock path over the snake’snest.
“Fine evening for a hike,” he said, studying the usually elegantbusinessman.
Gump had discarded his designer suit coat and was wearing what had to be Xavier’s green jacket—it was three sizes too small forhis portlystature.
The green would be highly visible against the browns of the cliff. If he’d seen it, others had. If anything happened—most people would blame Xavier. Or would have, if Xavier hadn’t escaped whatever Gump had done tohim.
“Just checking the million-dollar view,” Gump said affably, slicking back his glossy blond hair. “Remove a few of those trees and tenants canwatch a sunset over the ocean. What brings you uphere?”
Only a sociopath could believe he was so slick that Walker would accept this scenario without question. “Xavier,” Walker said tersely. “Did you think you could blame your next evil deed on the old man if you set him loose?” Damn, he sounded like theLucys.
Gump tried to edge past Walker. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.I have a meeting with the Kennedys, if you’d let mepass.”
“The Kennedys know about the deed. They know you have no right to build on this land. Did you think the owners would never comeback?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said irritably. “I worked hard and mortgaged my life for this place. In a few years, we’ll all berich.”
Mortgaged his life maybe, but notthe land he didn’t own. “Want to give me Xavier’s jacket? There’s something in the pocket he wants back,” Walkerlied.
He was facing the man who may have cold-bloodedlykilled his father. Lying wasn’t the only sin he’d commit to get the truth. But if there was any chance Gump really was carrying a detonator, the situation needed to be de-escalatedpronto.
Gump laughed a little nervously.“Xavier’s a nutcase. This is my team jacket from the old days, bit of nostalgia, I guess. Didn’t want to ruin theArmani.”
Yeah, because it was so cold up here in the ninety-degree sun that he needed acoat.
“The jacket, Gump,” Walker insisted, putting a threat into his stance as well as his voice. The sheriff could fire him later. He maintained his most intimidating, arms-crossed,beefcake stance. Pity Sam couldn’t seehim.
“What is this, some kind of highway robbery over a damned cheap jacket? If you’re that desperate—” The older man began shrugging out of the too-tight sleeves. Not even a crow cried as he tugged itoff.
A humming chant filled the eerily silent air. A mechanical device tumbled from the coat’s pocket—into the snakes’ rocky nestbelow.
