Dream Eyes

Five

Judson let himself into his room on the third floor and tossed the black duffel onto the bench at the foot of the big four-poster bed. One thing was now blazingly clear. Nothing had changed when it came to his reaction to Gwen. When he had seen her there in the tearoom, he had experienced the same rush of sensual hunger—the same bone-deep thrill—that had slammed through him a month earlier when he’d met her for the first time in Seattle.

She’d hit his senses like an intoxicating drug that night. He’d gotten the same exhilarating shock today.

If anything, his reaction was even stronger this time, probably because he’d been thinking about her nonstop for the past month.

She was tall for a woman, just the right height for him, Judson thought. Attractive, but not in the generic cover-girl style. What she had was a hell of an edge.

She wore her dark hair snugged back in a sleek knot that emphasized her regal nose, high forehead and deep, watchful, witchy eyes. Her curves were subtle but one hundred percent feminine. There was a sleek, feline quality about her that appealed to all of his senses.

Which immediately brought up the obvious question. Where was the man in her life? According to Sam and Abby, there was no significant other in Gwen’s world. But that seemed unlikely. Who do I have to kill to get to you, Gwendolyn Frazier?

The old floorboards creaked beneath his boots when he crossed the room. The inn dated from the late eighteen hundreds. According to the black-and-white photographs on the walls, it had started out as a private mansion. The lumber baron who had built it had used it as a summerhouse to entertain guests and business colleagues.

He stopped at the window to study the view. The river was visible through a thick stand of trees. From where he stood, he could not see the falls. He thought about what he had managed to discover concerning the events of two years ago. The first two deaths had occurred less than three weeks apart. Gwen had found both bodies. A few days later, Zander Taylor had gone over the falls, an apparent suicide. Gwen had been the one who had called 911 on that occasion, too.

It was all very murky, but the one fact that stood out was that the series of mysterious deaths had ceased following Taylor’s death. The surviving members of Ballinger’s research project were all still alive according to Sam. At least they had been until this morning.

But now the director of the project was dead. And once again it was Gwen Frazier who had found the body.

He contemplated the heavily forested landscape for a while. There was a lot of wilderness left in the mountains of Oregon. Every year, people went out hiking in this part of the Pacific Northwest and disappeared forever. The rough terrain provided ample hiding places for all kinds of predators, including the human kind. A killer could commit murder and vanish into the woods for as long as it suited him.

He turned away from the window and yanked off the crewneck pullover. Opening his leather bag, he took out a fresh edition of the shirt in a slightly different shade of gray, grabbed his overnight kit and went into the grand, Victorian-style bathroom to freshen up. He wasn’t used to working for private pay clients, but he suspected that neatness counted; at least he was pretty sure it counted with a client like Gwen. Downstairs in the tearoom she had made it clear that she had some doubts about both his talent and his commitment to the job. He’d better get his act together before she fired his ass.

He had to consider the reputation of Coppersmith Consulting, he told himself. It wasn’t like he could afford to lose another client.

It took him half a second to recognize the guy in the mirror. His eyes didn’t appear quite as bleak and soulless as they had for the past few weeks. He’d been right about one thing: Gwen Frazier was the distraction he’d been needing.

He tucked the clean shirt into the waistband of his khakis and left the giant bathroom.

A muffled meow stopped him. He turned toward the connecting door. It was closed and locked on his side, but he could see the shadows of four paws under the lower edge. The cat meowed again, sounding curious this time, and began to pace back and forth on the other side of the door.

Judson unlocked the door on his side, but when he tried the handle, he discovered that it was still secured on Gwen’s side.

“Sorry, cat,” he said. “You’re stuck in there for now.”

There was another muffled meow from the other room. This time the cat sounded irritated.

“Take it up with the boss lady,” Judson said.

He went back across the room and paused to brace his right boot against the bench at the foot of the bed. He pulled up his pant leg and checked the pistol in the leather sheath strapped to his ankle.

Satisfied that he was appropriately dressed for business—probably overdressed for this job—he let himself out into the hall and went back downstairs. A disturbing whisper of energy arced across his senses when he realized that Gwen was not waiting for him in the lobby.

The desk clerk looked up from whatever he was working on and squinted through his black-framed glasses. He was in his early thirties, with a stocky build and sandy brown hair that had evidently been thinning for a while. The comb-over style was not working for him. His nametag read Riley Duncan.

“If you’re looking for Ms. Frazier, she went outside to talk to a guy,” Riley said.

Judson nodded. “Thanks.”

He looked out the window and saw Gwen in the parking lot. She was not alone. A tall man with a shoulder-length mane of blond hair was with her. Something about the way the two stood together made it clear that they were not strangers. Gwen’s tightly crossed arms and angled chin told him that she was not happy with the way the conversation was going.

He pushed open the front door and went outside. It was late afternoon, and the Pacific Northwest was still basking in the long days of summer. But here in the mountains, twilight fell early, even at this time of year. The shadows were already creeping over Wilby.

Anticipation heated Judson’s blood as he walked toward Gwen and her companion. Maybe this was the guy he was going to have to kill to get to Gwen.

Gwen was facing the entrance of the inn. She was still wearing the trousers and dark, long-sleeved pullover that she’d had on earlier but she had added a lightweight black jacket. She saw him immediately. Relief followed by an urgent warning flashed through her eyes. Her smile was too bright and too welcoming. It was the smile a woman gave to a man with whom she was intimately involved. What’s wrong with this picture? Judson wondered.

“Oh, there you are, Judson,” she said quickly. “I was just explaining to Wesley that you and I have plans for this evening. This is Wesley Lancaster. Wesley, this is Judson Coppersmith.”

It didn’t take any psychic talent to know that he had just been promoted from the role of financial adviser to that of lover, Judson thought. No problem. He could work with that. He moved to stand very close to Gwen, his shoulder just brushing hers.

“Lancaster,” he said. Taking his cue from Gwen, he was careful to keep his tone civil, at least until he figured out what the hell was going on.

“Coppersmith.” Wesley acknowledged the introduction with a short, brusque inclination of his head that went well with his short, brusque greeting. It was clear that he was not thrilled to learn that Gwen was not alone.

At close range, it was clear that somewhere along the line a few Vikings had contributed to Wesley’s gene pool. He was tall, narrow-hipped and strategically muscled in the manner of a man who spent a fair amount of time at his gym. A strong jaw, high cheekbones, light-colored eyes and the elegantly styled sweep of blond hair added to the image. All he needed was an axe, shield and helmet to complete the look, Judson thought.

Instead of the battle armor, Wesley wore a pair of hand-tailored black trousers and a dark blue silk shirt. The collar of the shirt was open partway down his chest. A slouchy linen jacket, a pair of Italian loafers and some designer shades finished the look. But Judson was sure that no self-respecting Viking warrior would have been caught dead at his own funeral pyre looking like he was dressed to make a pitch at a Hollywood film studio.

“Wesley is the ghost hunter on Dead of Night, the television show that investigates reports of old hauntings and paranormal occurrences,” Gwen said.

That explained a lot, Judson thought.

“Is that right?” he said. He made himself stop there. No sense pushing the envelope by adding that he considered all ghost hunters to be frauds and that he had never heard of the show.

“Gwen tells me that the two of you are in town to handle Evelyn Ballinger’s funeral and her affairs,” Wesley said.

“That’s right.” Judson went for casual, still trying to get a feel for the vibe between Wesley and Gwen. They clearly shared a past, but beyond that things got murky fast. “What brings you to Wilby?”

Wesley blew out a long sigh and looked troubled. “I came here to see Evelyn. I’ve been trying to contact her for several days now. She stopped replying to my e-mails, and she wouldn’t respond to the messages I left on her voice mail. I decided to grab a plane to Portland and drive up here to Wilby to find out what was going on. It came as a hell of a shock to discover that Evelyn died sometime last night.”

“Why were you so concerned about her when you couldn’t get in touch?” Judson asked. “Close friends?”

“Business associates,” Wesley said grimly.

Gwen unfolded her arms and shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket. “Evelyn did some contract work for Wesley. She was his primary researcher. She checked out stories of hauntings and paranormal activity. It was her job to identify locations that were suitable for episodes of Dead of Night. After Wesley made his choice, I wrote up the script.”

Judson looked at her. “You did the scripts?”

“Yes,” she said. She glared, silently daring him to challenge that.

“For a series that investigates haunted houses?” he said carefully.

“Yes,” she said. Ice dripped from the word.

Wesley scowled. “You got a problem with that, Coppersmith?”

“No,” Judson said. “I knew Gwen was a psychic counselor, but I didn’t realize that she had been writing fiction, that’s all.”

Gwen raised her eyes toward the evening sky and looked mildly annoyed.

“Dead of Night is not fiction,” Wesley snapped. “We deal with real hauntings. Gwen’s scripts are based on the actual details and rumors that surround old murders and mysterious disappearances and deaths.”

“I see,” Judson said. “How many people work for you?”

Wesley eyed him with impatience. “Several, why?”

“Just wondered if you’re in the habit of hopping a plane and driving a couple of hours to see one of your staff whenever you can’t get in touch by phone or e-mail.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gwen’s expression sharpen. He felt energy stir and knew that she had heightened her talent. She was studying Wesley’s aura. What do you see, Dream Eyes?

Wesley was getting angry. “Evelyn was late with the results of her last research project. She’d missed two deadlines. Every time I asked her if she had finished researching the next location, she told me that she just needed another few days to finish. Finally she stopped taking my calls. Dead of Night operates on a very tight schedule. I can’t afford to sit around and wait on a researcher. So, yes, when I couldn’t get hold of her, I came here to see her in person. I had no clue that she’d died during the night.”

“What time did you arrive?” Judson asked.

“You know, I really don’t owe you any explanations, Coppersmith.” Wesley turned back to Gwen. “Think about what I said. If you’re interested in taking over the research as well as the scriptwriting, I’ll make it worth your while. I’m in a real crunch here. I need your help.”

“I’ll think about it,” Gwen promised.

“Do that,” Wesley advised. “But do it fast. I’ll give you the same salary that I gave Evelyn. We both know that between the research and the scriptwriting, you’ll make a hell of a lot more than you will in the psychic counseling business.”

“I know,” Gwen said. She studied him with an assessing expression. “How long do you plan to be in town?”

“I’ve got to get back to Portland tonight to catch a plane to California first thing in the morning. We’re filming all day tomorrow. But you can reach me on my cell. Call anytime, day or night. I’ll need an answer soon, Gwen.”

“I understand.”

Wesley hesitated. “Do you have any idea what she was working on there at the end?”

“No. She never sent me any notes. Usually the two of us batted around ideas for a show before we settled on a couple that we thought would work for you. But I hadn’t heard from her in nearly two weeks.”

“If you find anything connected to Dead when you go through her files, let me know.”

“All right,” Gwen said.

“It’s weird,” Wesley said. “The last time I spoke to her—about a week ago before she stopped taking my calls—I got the impression that she was working on something really big. You’re sure she didn’t drop any hints?”

“None.”

“Well, that’s it, then. Shit.” Wesley’s jaw hardened. “I’m dead serious about my offer, Gwen. Evelyn would have wanted you to take over her job. Think of it as carrying on her legacy of research into the paranormal. And I can guarantee you that the money is good.”

“I promise I’ll think about it.” Gwen took one hand out of her jacket pocket and glanced at her watch. “It’s getting late. You’ll have to excuse us, Wesley. Judson and I have some business to attend to.”

“Yeah, right. Business.” Wesley shot Judson a narrow-eyed look and then jerked open the door of a nearby car. He got behind the wheel and looked up at Gwen.

“Don’t forget,” he said. “If you turn up that last research file she was working on, call me.”

“Okay,” Gwen said. “But I can tell you right now that it was probably on her computer and her computer is missing.”

“Shit.” Wesley slammed the door and fired up the car.

Judson watched the vehicle roar out of the parking lot.

“Guess we can’t add him to our suspect list,” Judson said. “Sounds like he depended on Ballinger to keep his show on the air.”

“She was certainly important to him,” Gwen said. “So it doesn’t seem like he would have had a motive. Also, if I’m right, Evelyn was killed by paranormal means. That means it’s practically impossible that Wesley killed her.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve known Wesley since the days of the Ballinger study. I’m almost positive that he doesn’t have any strong psychic talent. Heck, he doesn’t even believe in the paranormal. He just thinks it makes good television.”

“Okay, that explains a few things.” Judson took her arm and steered her toward his black SUV. “First things first. Let’s go have a look at the scene and find out whether or not we’re dealing with murder and, if so, whether it was murder by paranormal means. We’ll figure out what to do from there.”

“Well, actually, first things first means a stop at the Wilby General Store before it closes. I’ve got a cat to feed.”

“Fine. Cat food first. Then the murder investigation.”

He discovered he liked holding her arm. He liked it a lot. When he opened the passenger-side door of the vehicle, Gwen paused, glancing at his hand.

“Your ring,” she said.

“What about it?”

“It’s infused with a little energy. It’s a paranormal crystal like the one your brother, Sam, wears, isn’t it?”

Judson glanced at his ring. The amber crystal was faintly luminous. The stone was responding to his slightly jacked senses,

“Yes, it’s hot,” he said. “My father gave it to me when I was in my late teens. Sam and Emma got crystals as well. They’re each unique.”

He used his grip on Gwen’s elbow to give her a boost up into the passenger seat, closed the door and walked around the front of the SUV to the driver’s side. He took another look at the ring. The crystal had been infused with energy that night in Seattle when he’d contemplated the possibility of getting Gwen into bed. It was hot again tonight. Probably for the same reason. He got a little rush just thinking about her. Being physically near her was a real ride.

Over the years, he had learned that the crystal resonated with the energy of his talent. When he was really in the zone, the stone glowed like molten amber. The ultra-light it gave off, however, was from the paranormal end of the spectrum. Only someone who was sensitive to psi could perceive the heat in the crystal.

He’d noticed energy stirring on several occasions in the crystal. But until he had met Gwen, it had never heated with this unique color. It was the glow of sunlight, he thought, the same light that had guided him out of the flooded caves.

He opened the door, got behind the wheel, cranked the big engine and drove out of the small parking lot.

“Want to tell me what made you decide to give Thor the impression that you and I are sleeping together?” he asked.

There was a short, startled pause from the other side of the vehicle.

“Thor?” Gwen repeated, as if she wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly.

“Sorry.” He shifted gears. “I think it’s the hair.”

She smiled. “Wesley does have a certain sense of style.” She stopped smiling. “But I certainly never meant to imply that you and I were romantically involved. Are you sure that’s how it came across?”

He tightened his grip on the wheel. “Oh, yeah.”

“Are you positive?”

“Call it male intuition,” he said.

“I wasn’t trying to project that sort of impression, believe me. I just wanted him to know that I had—”

“Backup?”

“Yes, backup.” She was clearly pleased. “That’s the right word.”

“Why?”

“Wesley can be a trifle obsessive when it comes to his show. I don’t want him interfering with our investigation.”

“Do you think that he would?”

“Ha. In a heartbeat if he thought it might be fodder for an episode of Dead of Night. What could be more made-to-order than an investigation into the mysterious death of a woman who conducted research into the paranormal?”

“Is his series really popular?”

“It has attracted an audience on cable, but between you and me, I think it’s struggling,” Gwen said. “You can only do so many ghost stories, you know. After a while, they all tend to be alike. Evelyn and I did our best, but it’s hard to keep coming up with new angles.”

“Especially since there are no such things as ghosts.”

“That fact was the least of our problems,” Gwen said. “Between us, Evelyn and I did a good job of coming up with interesting locations and good scripts because we focused on genuine murders. We stuck with the really old ones, of course—historical mysteries.”

“The kind where everyone involved is long dead.”

“Right. The last thing we wanted to do was get sued by irate relatives of the deceased. Anyhow, once we had the mystery and the location, I just invented a ghost for the story. No problem.”

“Or have to wonder if you should go to the cops with whatever evidence you found?”

She glanced at him swiftly and then looked straight ahead through the windshield. “There would be no point going to the police in most cases. They wouldn’t pay any attention to a psychic counselor.”

“No, probably not. But you’re okay with the real cold cases?”

“Yes.” Gwen brightened. “I view them as fascinating puzzles. To tell you the truth, I think that Evelyn and I solved a lot of very old murders for Dead of Night, but of course there’s no way to prove it.”

“Because everyone involved is dead.”

“Yep.”

“Were you telling Wesley the truth when you said that you didn’t have any idea what Evelyn was working on recently?”

“That was the absolute truth,” Gwen said. “I’ve been busy with my clients and finishing an earlier script for Dead. I hadn’t heard from Evelyn in a while, but that wasn’t unusual. I just assumed she was consumed with her research. When she got caught up in a project, she became very, very focused.”

“Are you talking about her research for Dead of Night?”

“No,” Gwen said. “She just took that job to pay the bills. Her real passion was serious research into the paranormal. She set up an entire lab out at the old lodge near the falls. That’s where she spent most of her time.”

“When was the last time you heard from her?”

“I got a very cryptic e-mail message from her late last night telling me that she had stumbled onto something very important. She wanted to talk about it in person, not over the phone.” Gwen looked out the side window at the river. “But I didn’t read my e-mail until this morning. I tried to call her immediately, but by then it was too late.”

He caught the faint tremor in her voice.

“There was nothing you could have done,” he said quietly.

“I know.” Gwen trapped her hands between her knees and continued to stare out the window at the river. “I know.”

Brooding on what ifs never went well, he thought. He should know. The solution, he had learned, was to stay focused on the present.

“Let’s stick with what we have,” he said. “You’re thinking that if Ballinger was murdered, there may be a connection to whatever she was working on just before her death.”

“Yes.” Gwen turned back to look at him. “You heard me tell Wesley that her computer was missing. Her cell phone was gone, too.”

“I agree that under the circumstances that needs some explaining. You don’t trust Thor—Lancaster—do you?”

Gwen winced. “I wouldn’t say that, not exactly. It’s just that when you’re dealing with Wesley, you have to keep in mind that he always has an agenda and that he’ll do or say whatever it is he needs to do or say to get what he wants. The trick to dealing with him is to remember that the most important thing in his world is the future of Dead of Night. If you filter everything through that lens, you can work with him. He’s no worse than any other career-obsessed person, male or female. In fact, I’ve met worse.”

“Got any specific reasons for not trusting him?”

Gwen was silent for a few seconds.

“I guess I’ll have to go with the obvious answer,” she said. “Female intuition.”

“I respect intuition,” he said. “But I like hard facts, too. Correct me if I’m wrong, but earlier I got the impression that you and Lancaster have some history that involves more than a business association.”

“Two years ago, when we met here in Wilby, he tried to get me into bed.”

Judson’s gut tightened. “Do you distrust every man who wants to sleep with you?”

“Only when the man in question neglects to mention that he’s married. That tends to piss me off.”

Judson exhaled slowly and loosened his death grip on the wheel.

“Okay,” he said. “I get that. So, did you find out about the wife before or after?”

She gave him a cold glance. “It’s not really any of your business, is it?”

“No. But I am a trained psychic investigator. I tend to be curious by nature.” Especially when it comes to you, he added silently. “Sorry. You’re right. Not my business. Moving right along—”

“Before.”

“What?”

“I found out that Wesley was married before our relationship progressed to the physical stage,” she said stiffly.

“Is he still married?”

“No. Evelyn mentioned several months ago that Wesley and his wife were divorced.”

“Was Lancaster here in Wilby two years ago when the deaths occurred?”

“Yes,” Gwen said. “He was here.”

“Now there’s been another death and Lancaster is here again.”

“I noticed that amazing coincidence, myself,” Gwen said. “Here we are. That’s the Wilby General Store. You can park in front. We’re in time. Luckily Buddy doesn’t close much before five-thirty.”