When She Dreams（Burning Cove #6）(77)

“Just to confirm,” Sam said, “as far as you know, Beverly Nevins intended to blackmail three people? The Guilfoyles and Aunt Cornelia?”

“Those are the only people she talked about,” Pamela said. “Look, I need to go. It’s a long drive back to L.A. I’d rather not be on that road alone after dark.”

“I don’t blame you,” Maggie said. “You’ve been very helpful.” She opened her handbag, took out several bills, and handed them to Pamela. “Thank you.”

Pamela looked at the cash, uncertain. “That’s too much. I just need gas money and the rent.”

“We appreciate your time,” Maggie said. “You answered some questions for us.”

“Well, okay,” Pamela said. She put the money into her handbag and got to her feet. “Thank you.”

“One more question,” Sam said. “You said Nevins took the diary and the photo with her when she left for Burning Cove.”

“That’s right,” Pamela said.

“Did she take anything else that she thought would be useful for her blackmail scheme?” Sam asked.

“A bracelet,” Pamela said. “It belonged to her sister. She was convinced she could sell it and the diary and the photo to the Guilfoyles.”

She turned and walked away to the Hudson parked at the curb. Sam watched her drive off down the street. Maggie watched him.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I’m thinking the person who searched Beverly Nevins’s hotel room was looking for the diary, the photo, and the bracelet. Whoever it was found the diary and the photo but not the bracelet.”

“I suppose this means we can eliminate Oxlade as a suspect in Beverly Nevins’s death,” Maggie said. “Apparently he wasn’t on her list of blackmail targets. Sounds like she was just after the Guilfoyles and Aunt Cornelia.”

“It’s possible Eleanor Nevins never knew the name of the doctor who was supplying the enhancer drug to the Guilfoyles back in their Keeley Point days,” Sam said. “Either that or she simply didn’t care enough to mention him in her diary.”

“What do we do now?” Maggie asked.

Sam studied her across the small table. “Viewed from a strictly professional perspective, this case is closed. In fact, it was closed the first night of the dream conference.”

“The blackmailer was murdered, and the fake Aunt Cornelia was unmasked and sent packing that night.”

“Yes,” Sam said. He drank some coffee. “Case closed.”

She watched him, aware of the energy in the atmosphere around him.

“The thing is,” she said, “there are so many questions left unanswered.”

“None of which relates to your case.”

She frowned. “You’re wrong. One question is very much our business. Who tried to murder you in the parking lot at the hotel?”

“Could have been an accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Maggie said.

Sam waved that off with a slight motion of one hand. “It’s a hazard of the investigation business. I was in someone’s way. If we leave town I will no longer be in that person’s way.”

“So many questions,” Maggie said.

“Yes.”

“We need answers.”

Sam gave her a knowing look. “You mean I need answers. I appreciate that, but—”

“You’re wrong,” Maggie said. “I need them, too. Curiosity is yet another character flaw that is common in writers, just like it is in investigators.”

He looked at her for a long moment and then got to his feet, took out his wallet, and put some cash on the table. “I think we’ll get at least one answer in the evening edition of the local paper. Let’s go back to the hotel and see which of the two male dream guides gets arrested for the murder of Dr. Emerson Oxlade.”

Maggie shivered. “Do you really think one of them was responsible?”

“No, but one of them will make headlines in the late edition of the Burning Cove Herald.”

“That sounds a lot like a psychic prediction.”

“Intuition.”





Chapter 45




    ARREST IN SHOCKING MURDER OF DREAM DOCTOR

Did Psychic Dream Reader at Guilfoyle Institute Predict Death and Provide Clues to the Killer?

Late this afternoon local police arrested Lawrence W. Porter for the grisly murder of Dr. Emerson Oxlade, noted dream analyst. Mr. Porter is employed as a dream guide at the recently opened Guilfoyle Institute. Bloodstained clothing and shoes were discovered in the trunk of his Ford sedan.

Detective Brandon of the Burning Cove Police Department said that Mr. Porter has maintained his innocence, but authorities say he has no explanation for the bloody garments found in his possession.

Detective Brandon declined to comment on rumors that Arthur Guilfoyle, the head of the Guilfoyle Institute, predicted the murder during a private psychic reading last night. Several of those who attended the event confirmed that Mr. Guilfoyle made a prediction of death by supernatural means.

Earlier today Mr. Guilfoyle spoke with Detective Brandon. Several onlookers suggested he may have provided the detective with a psychic reading that enabled the prompt arrest.