Sapphire Nights (Crystal Magic Book 1)(58)

“Give me names, their relationship to the case, and let’s see if we can establish a map of land ownership. I’m not entirely certain the fraud has ended.” Walker didn’t know why he said that. No one had indicated any problems related to mortgages and foreclosures. The laws had changed since Kennedy had gone on his land grab. He just knew the Kennedys and Menendez were still sparring over casinos and condos and the townspeople were worried.

Anywhere else, the town inhabitants would be helpless, caught between two huge developments. Walker had a gut feeling that the people of Hillvale were a different breed. He hadn’t liked taciturn Juan all that much, but he didn’t want the security manager to be the first fatality in a new battle.

Since he’d worked overtime during the fire, he had drawn the second shift today. He’d spent the day on his own investigation, but it was time to holster up. He buckled on his gun, picked up his cell and tablet, and was headed for the door when the cell ring indicated his research assistant calling.

Trying to run a business while working a demanding job meant he wasn’t doing either task well. “Yeah?” he said into his Bluetooth as he headed for his official vehicle.

“I’ve been looking into your Ingerssons,” Sofia said proudly.

According to the senior management who had taken over the firm after his father, she’d been trying to become a detective since his father had first hired her. She was actually pretty good at the research end. “And why are you doing that?” Although Walker had been equally curious. He simply didn’t have the time to look into Sam’s maternal family. He no longer had any official reason to become involved in her personal problems.

“I’m not charging anyone for it,” Sofia said in indignation. “That poor girl deserves to know what she’s getting into. The Ingerssons used to own the land between the Kennedy lodge and the Menendez property above it. That’s where the hippy commune was established. Is there still a farmhouse there? I’ve always wondered what it was like to live off the land.”

Walker tried to picture the area in his head as he started the car and headed out. “May have been once, but there’s no house. The fire took out part of that side of the mountain yesterday, so any other evidence of a farm is probably gone. That was half a century ago. What does it have to do with Sam?”

He knew Sam’s mother was an Ingersson. Valdis was Sam’s aunt, her mother’s sister. Walker’s interest was captured despite his disparagement of Sofia’s research. Valdis had climbed those hills without fear because they were her home.

“The Ingerssons lost the land to a bank, one in which Geoffrey Kennedy owned a substantial share. There were suits and countersuits, up until your Samantha’s maternal grandparents died. You might add their deaths to your to-do list. They were only in their forties or fifties, I have their ages here somewhere. . .”

“Don’t worry, I can figure it out later. How did they die?” Walker demanded. His gut was getting a real workout this morning.

“Apparent heart attack for her grandfather. Overdose for her grandmother. They were part of the original commune, of course, so drugs were common.”

“And how long ago was this?” Although Walker thought he already knew.

“About twenty-five years ago,” Sofia said. “That’s why I thought it might be important.”

Shit in a bottle. . . “Just before Sam’s mother gave away her baby and fled,” he said with finality.

“Exactly—around the time that Samantha’s father also died of an overdose.”

Had the land fraud his father was investigating begun then? How the hell would he tell Sam? “See who owns that land now,” he demanded, then hit the gas pedal and aimed for Hillvale.



“Why are we having a town meeting on a hillside?” Sam asked, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders as she walked. “Couldn’t we hold it at Cass’s place if there’s no meeting hall?” Cass had been avoiding her, which added to her irritability.

Undeterred by the chilly air, Mariah climbed the rocky path as if she were a mountain goat. “The vortex is safer and more effective, especially at the solstice. We tried meeting at Cass’s once, but Cass draws spirits, and we have too many sensitives. Valdis went bananas and whatever took over Tullah went after Valdis and it got ugly. Harvey and Aaron carried them out here, and they calmed down, so that’s how we’ve done it ever since.”

Sam could actually imagine that, she realized with amazement. She feared this might be carrying an open mind a step too far. But then, she was apparently seeing ghosts, so why not?

“Where’s your staff?” Mariah demanded, using hers to propel herself up the rugged path.

“I couldn’t carry it and a blanket too.” Accepting the staff bothered her somehow, even though she’d paid Harvey.

“It’s a weapon. You should keep it at hand, if only to beat back bushes.” She whacked at an overhanging branch to prove her point.

Sam changed the subject back to one of more interest. “And how long have these vortex meetings been going on?” Trying to piece together her own past inevitably involved Hillvale history, so she was prepared to listen.

Mariah shrugged. “Hard to say. I’ve only been here a few years. The older ones managed at Cass’s, so maybe it’s new blood that has stirred up the spirits. Valdis has only been here a little longer than me, Tullah and Dinah a little longer.”