Copper Beach

26

“YOU’LL HAVE TO FORGIVE MY HUSBAND,” WILLOW COPPERSMITH said. “Well, actually, you don’t have to forgive him for acting as if you’re just a useful employee that he can manipulate for his own purposes. But there is an explanation for his rudeness.”

“I understand,” Abby said.

They were sitting in the living room of the house that Sam’s parents had built for themselves. It was not only much newer, it was a lot cozier and warmer than the old house. The modern, two-story windows provided a spectacular view of the water and far more natural light than those in the old stone house.

“To be honest, I thought Elias had abandoned the search for that old notebook,” Willow said. “Maybe it would be more accurate to say that I hoped he had given up on it. But after he got the call from his old partner, Quinn Knox, he became obsessed with finding it all over again.”

“I did get that impression, yes.”

“If he does locate it, I know that he won’t rest until he finds the crystals that went missing at the same time. He’ll never believe that they were buried in the explosion, not now, after this business of the notebook surfacing.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Coppersmith,” Abby said, sticking with her polished, professional tone.

“Willow, please.”

“Willow. The thing is, I’m accustomed to working for obsessed, difficult and eccentric clients. All part of the job, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Ouch.” Willow grimaced. “We’re not just talking about Elias here, are we? You think Sam is a lot like his father in some ways.”

“Well…”

Willow sighed. “I prefer to use words like stubborn and determined rather than obsessed and difficult to describe them, but you’re right. They are good men, but I swear, once they set themselves an objective, it is almost impossible to make them rethink the whole idea.”

“Not to worry, Mrs. Coppersmith,” Abby said. “I’ve worked with even stranger clients, believe me. Collectors of the paranormal are always somewhat outside the mainstream.”

Willow narrowed her eyes. “So are those who deal in the paranormal.”

Abby kept her smile in place. “Takes one to know one.”

Willow gave her an assessing look. “You’re trying to convince me that your relationship with my son is strictly business, aren’t you?”

“A business arrangement is the basis of our association. Sam and I made a deal, you see. He’s trying to keep me from being kidnapped by some other collector who is after the notebook. In exchange, I’m trying to find the notebook for him. So far, he has upheld his end of the bargain. I’m still working on my half.”

“If your relationship with my son is strictly business, I’m surprised you’re staying in the old house. That’s his personal residence.”

“He had to stash me somewhere,” Abby pointed out. “There weren’t a lot of options. Someone did try to kidnap me, you know.”

“Yes, I heard about what happened after you found Webber’s body. That must have been a terrifying experience.”

Abby pursed her lips. “I wouldn’t say it ranked quite that high on my personal fear-and-panic meter. I reserve that category of terrifying for my step-grandmother. But the carjack incident definitely met the criteria for extremely alarming. Sam handled it brilliantly, though. Like I said, he is holding up his end of the deal.”

Willow considered her with a thoughtful expression. “You are a very unusual woman, Abby.”

“Just trying to do my job.”

“Did Sam tell you that he’s had some experience investigating paranormal crimes?”

“I think he said something about having done some work for the post office.”

Willow’s eyes widened. “The post office?”

“Never mind.” Abby smiled. “Inside joke. Yes, he mentioned his consulting work.”

“He told you about those jobs?”

“Not a lot,” Abby admitted. “Between you and me, I think he was trying to reassure me that he does know what he’s doing. Giving me his résumé, as it were.”

Willow regarded her with a long, considering look. “Neither Sam nor Judson are in the habit of telling people about the nature of their consulting work. In fact, I would be willing to bet that Sam has never mentioned it to any of the other women he has been involved with in the past.”

“To be clear, Sam and I are not exactly involved, at least not seriously involved. Not in the way you mean.”

Willow brushed that aside. “I suppose you’ve heard about what happened to the last woman he dated.”

“Hard not to know about it, under the circumstances. I got the first lecture on the subject from Dixon. Got another from a friend of mine who Googled Sam. Got the story from Sam. And last but not least, today I received yet another lecture on the subject from the waitress at the diner in town.”

Willow’s lips thinned. “I hate to hear that everyone is still talking about it.”

“I understand.”

“You don’t seem concerned about the old rumors.”

“Nope. Thaddeus Webber would never have sent me to Sam if he thought there was any danger involved. And my friend Gwen vouched for Sam.”

“Who’s Gwen?”

“She’s a psychic counselor. Reads auras.”

“Good grief. You decided to trust my son because your friend claimed to be able to see his aura?”

“Gwen is a genuine talent, and she is very, very good,” Abby said coolly. “But I can see that even though you’re married to a man who has a considerable amount of talent himself, and you’ve got two sons and a daughter with exceptional abilities, you don’t really want to buy into the whole paranormal thing any more than is absolutely necessary.”

Willow grimaced. “I’ve always realized that my husband and Sam and Emma and Judson all have unusual sensitivities. But I prefer to think of their gifts as being more in the nature of very powerful intuition.”

Abby smiled. “You’re okay with the concept of intuition?”

“Yes, of course.” Willow moved a hand slightly. “I’m sure that most people have experienced a flash of intuition at one time or another in their lives. Unfortunately, they don’t always listen to their inner voice.”

Abby smiled. “That’s true.”

Willow’s brows came together in a severe expression. “But that doesn’t mean there is any need to resort to the concept of paranormal forces in order to explain my husband’s and my sons’ and daughter’s abilities.”

“Okay,” Abby said.

“I don’t want to debate the existence of the paranormal with you,” Willow said quietly. “I want to make sure you understand my son. Cassidy’s murder affected him very deeply. He did not realize that she was a complete fraud and had set him up until it was too late. He was heartbroken after he found the body.”

“Well…”

“Now I’m afraid he no longer trusts his own judgment or his heart. In the past few months, I have become increasingly concerned about him. He has retreated into himself and that old house of his more and more. He only leaves the island these days when he absolutely has to go into the Black Box lab or when he takes one of those dreadful jobs for that private contractor. I think he uses the work to distract himself. He is not engaged with life, if you know what I mean.”

“Hmm.”

“What?” Willow asked, her tone sharpening.

“I agree with you that Sam has more or less imprisoned himself in the Copper Beach house. But it’s not because his heart is broken or because he’s afraid to love.”

“No?” Willow watched her closely. “What, then?”

“You have to see the situation from his point of view. As far as Sam is concerned, Cassidy was a victim.”

“She was a thief.” Willow gripped the arm of her chair very tightly. “She seduced Sam so that she could steal the Phoenix crystals.”

“He doesn’t see it that way. He’s the one who started the relationship and then continued it, breaking some unwritten rule about dating employees in the process. He blames himself for not getting a handle on the situation sooner. His heart isn’t broken. But he’s a man of honor, and he’s got an over-the-top, steel-clad sense of responsibility. Plus he’s just plain mad.”

“He is not mad,” Willow snapped. “Don’t you dare say that.”

“Sorry, I meant angry mad, not crazy mad. Poor choice of words. The thing is, it’s intolerable to him that such a crime was committed in his home. He’s been brooding over Cassidy’s murder because he hasn’t been able to bring the killer to justice.”

“Good lord.” Willow took a long moment to absorb that information. “You may be right. None of us looked at it from that angle. We were all so certain that Cassidy broke his heart with her betrayal.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it would take a lot more than that to break Sam’s heart. Frankly, I’m not certain it’s even possible.”

“And here I was just starting to think that you knew Sam better than his own family does,” Willow said. “You have a few things to learn about him as well, Abby.”