Sapphire Nights (Crystal Magic Book 1)(70)

She huffed and stuck his order on Dinah’s spindle.

Sam came over, but not to rescue him. “The detective who checked my place went over to the Kennedy vault. Did he find the gun there?”

Exasperated, Walker narrowed his eyes at her. “You know I can’t tell you that. Do I need to eat up at the lodge?”

She leaned over to kiss his cheek. “No, honey pie, because we’re just looking for confirmation of what we already know. They took fingerprints of the entire lodge staff, including Uncle Lance and all available Kennedys, so they’re matching against something. And the sheriff personally returned my key, so I’m hoping I’m not a suspect, yet.”

Dinah emerged from the kitchen and slapped a sandwich in front of him, with fries big enough to feed a family of four. “No olives. What’s the word on Xavier?”

“Cass didn’t call you?” Surprised, Walker bit into his sandwich. He was starving. Filled with thinly sliced hams of various types, topped by an Italian style dressing and fresh tomatoes, whatever in hell he was eating made his mouth water.

“She did, said he was rambling,” Amber said as Dinah stopped by her table to turn another tarot card. “We thought you’d know what happened to him.”

“That’s private information,” Walker said between bites. He wished for a beer, but Dinah didn’t have an alcohol license. Felons couldn’t get them.

“We need a mind-reading psychic.” Sam refilled water glasses up and down the counter. “Xavier knows something.”

“Daisy might help. Anyone seen her around?” Aaron the antique dealer spoke up from the end of the counter, where he’d been checking his phone.

“You got reception on that thing?” Walker asked, curious.

“Nah, I can pick up the mayor’s wi-fi. Someone ought to check on Daisy, though. I saw her taking that golf cart of hers toward the burn area after Mariah’s meeting last night.”

Walker wanted to question how Aaron had the password to Monty’s private communications, but the question about Daisy had silenced the room.

“She left a stone butterfly on my stairs,” Sam offered to the room in general. “But she may have left that before the meeting.”

“Isn’t she with Valdis?” Dinah called from the kitchen.

“Haven’t seen Valdis since the meeting either,” Amber said, inching out of her booth. “She didn’t come to Cass’s.”

All around him, the locals were paying their bills and gathering up their dinners. Mariah rushed out of the kitchen to distribute recycled paper bags—no Styrofoam containers for the tree huggers. Walker finished off half his sandwich and stuck the other half in a bag Sam handed him.

“They can’t wander off for a day without everyone getting worried?” he asked in a low voice.

“Apparently not. I’m guessing I better go with them.” Sam removed her apron.

“They’re adults. I can’t radio the sheriff unless we know for certain they’ve been missing at least twenty-four hours. And there isn’t much we can do now. It will be dark in a few hours.” Walker stood up and followed Sam and the rest of the crowd out.

“Where did we see them last?” Aaron asked of the gathering circle in the parking lot.

“Daisy drove me into town on her golf cart after we left the vortex,” one of the more frail, elderly ladies said. “I thought she was heading home.”

“Anyone else see Daisy or Valdis after that?” Mariah asked.

Aaron gestured toward the burned-out hill looming over the town. “I saw Daisy driving that way. Anyone else?”

Silence. Out of curiosity, Walker waited to see what they would do next. He checked his watch. The public meeting at the vortex had started breaking up after ten last night. In a few hours, he could call the office, but no one would instigate a night search unless he reported the women had fallen off a cliff.

It would be a simple matter to look for the cart. He could lead a team, if that’s what they decided to do. But this was a Lucy gathering. Stepping in with the voice of authority would only send them to the hills without him.

“Aaron, do you know where they were sitting at the amphitheater?” Mariah asked. “Can you run up there and get a feel for them?”

Okay, that wasn’t the direction he’d seen this going. Walker watched with curiosity as the elegant antique dealer jogged off up the hill.

“We need our staffs,” Tullah called, locking up her shop, apparently apprised of the situation by one of the older women who accompanied her.

“Flashlights, water,” Walker told them in resignation, gathering that practical wasn’t on their minds. “If we’re going up to the burn site, you’ll need stout shoes. Boots preferably, for snake protection.” He glanced down at Sam’s sneaker-clad feet. “You should stay here. We’ll need a communication central.”

Ignoring his admonition, Sam called, “Tullah, do you have any boots that might fit me?”

The tall woman raised her walking stick, unlocked her door again, and gestured inside. “Got a few pair. Come try them on.”

From across the street, Pasquale, the grocery store owner, came out carrying a case of bottled water. As if tuned in to a radio wave frequency beyond Walker’s hearing, more locals hurried down from the cottage lane. A few cars pulled into the lot. Harvey returned, holding a selection of carved staffs for anyone who didn’t have theirs.