When She Dreams（Burning Cove #6）(46)

“If you want to leave this car with your twenty-five bucks, you’ll tell us exactly what Oxlade said.”

Maggie reached over the seat and touched Valerie lightly on the hand. “Please. I have to know.”

Valerie grabbed the door handle and visibly braced herself.

“Oxlade told the Guilfoyles the only reason he was sticking around is because of you, Miss Lodge. He said you were the most powerful lucid dreamer he had ever encountered, and if they couldn’t persuade you to cooperate in his experiments he would no longer allow himself to be associated with the Guilfoyle Method. He said he would leave and take the enhancer with him.”

Maggie stared at Valerie, evidently speechless.

“Do you know what Oxlade meant by the enhancer?” Sam asked.

“No,” Valerie said. “But after he stomped off and went into his villa, I followed the Guilfoyles for a while. I heard Arthur tell Dolores they needed the enhancer. Everything depends on it, he said. That’s all I know, I swear.”

Valerie opened the door and leaped out of the back seat. She vanished into the shadows of the parking lot. A moment later an engine rumbled. A set of headlights blazed. A sedan flashed past and careened toward Cliff Road.

“She’s definitely in a hurry to get out of town,” Maggie said. “She’s terrified.”





Chapter 23




Lucky for you, I don’t believe in that astral projection nonsense,” Sam said. He started the engine, switched on the headlights, and drove slowly through the nightclub parking lot. “Otherwise I might be a little concerned about our connecting-rooms arrangement.”

“That is not funny,” Maggie said. She had not been this angry since the day she had battled her way out of Oxlade’s office. “This is too much. It’s appalling. He’s a monster.”

“Oxlade’s not going to get his hands on you, so don’t worry about it.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Which is why I’m saying it. We already knew he was obsessed, at least when it comes to you. Right now we need to sort through the facts we have.”

“Like the fact that Arthur Guilfoyle is a womanizer?”

“That doesn’t come as a shock. What’s really interesting is that all three of them—Oxlade and the Guilfoyles—are not only aware of the rumors of the Traveler and the Jennaway death, they’re concerned about the potential bad press from those two things.”

Maggie forced herself to focus on the case. “You’re right, that is interesting. Fascinating, in fact.”

She stopped talking, because the club’s two badly dressed security people had left their posts at the doors and were strolling forward to block the exit.

“This could be a problem,” she said.

“Just routine,” Sam said.

“Do you think you’ll need your little pistol?”

“No. There are two of them and one of me. I don’t like the odds.”

“Oh. Right.”

Sam braked to a stop and rolled down the side window. “Good evening, gentlemen. Nice night.”

The larger of the two guards leaned down to speak through the open window. “Couldn’t help noticing that you and the lady never took advantage of the amenities of our fine club. Looks like you conducted a meeting in the parking lot instead.”

“We did,” Sam said. “A short business transaction. We purchased some information, not goods.” He took his wallet out from under his jacket, extracted a couple of bills and handed them through the window. “Appreciate you two keeping an eye on the situation. You never know when a business meeting might go bad.”

“Sadly, that is very true. Happy to hear we were able to provide you with some peace of mind.” The security guard slipped the money into the front pocket of his jacket. “You say you came here to purchase information?”

“That’s right,” Sam said.

The guard squinted. “Cop?”

“Not anymore. Private now.”

“I see.” The guard glanced at Maggie, angled his head in a polite nod, touched a finger to the brim of his fedora, and stepped back. “You two drive carefully. Cliff Road is tricky at night. Lot of sharp curves.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Sam said.

He put the Packard in gear and motored down the long drive.

“Do cops and tough guys always recognize each other?” Maggie asked.

“Usually. Probably a psychic thing. You know, like lucid dreaming all the way to the astral plane.”

“I will not lower myself to respond to that poor attempt at a joke.”

“Sorry,” Sam said. “Couldn’t resist.”

“Let’s get back to my case. We seem to have acquired a lot of interesting facts but no answers. It’s as if the more we learn, the murkier everything becomes.”

“I’d say you got your money’s worth from Valerie tonight.” Sam slowed for the turn onto Cliff Road. “We need more information, though. I’m going to have to make some phone calls tomorrow. That will be complicated.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to make the calls from the hotel room phone,” Sam said.

“Don’t worry about putting them on the bill.”