The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious #2)(59)

“We can’t just sit and wait.”

“No,” Slater said. “We’re going to make our move first.”

“Are we going to tell everyone in town that we found this place?”

“No, for now this is our secret. But we are going to rattle someone’s cage.”





CHAPTER 26


Slater believes Olivia’s kidnapping is connected to the murder that occurred in the caves fifteen years ago,” Catalina said. “After concluding our investigation today I have to tell you that I agree with him.”

She and Slater were sitting in a red vinyl booth in the Lake View Café, the only restaurant in town that was open in the evenings. They were talking to Euclid Oaks, the heavily built, bearded owner of the Fogg Lake general store. Euclid was also the mayor. He had stopped by the table to find out what was going on.

Catalina was well aware that they had an audience. Most of the town’s population had managed to crowd into the establishment that evening. The restaurant and bar had gone silent when Euclid arrived. Everyone knew why he was there. Everyone was listening to the conversation.

“What murder?” Euclid Oaks said.

Outsiders might be excused for thinking the mayor was not very bright. They would have been very wrong. Euclid had been born and raised in Fogg Lake. He had left in his teens to go off to college to study mathematics. He had ended up teaching the subject at the graduate level. Later he had used his talent for probability theory to make a fortune in casinos around the world before returning to Fogg Lake to work on a theory involving something he called the duality of paranormal energy waves.

Catalina put down her fork. “The murder Olivia and I witnessed, Euclid. I’m sure you remember. You were one of the people who came looking for Olivia and me the morning after we spent the night in the caves.”

Euclid’s thick brows bunched. “But there was no murder. Your folks and everyone else agreed that you and Olivia had hallucinated the whole thing.”

Slater looked at him. “Turns out I was able to collect some evidence at the scene.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Euclid said. He eyed Slater with undisguised skepticism. “What kind of evidence?”

“At the moment I’m not at liberty to discuss it.”

“Is that a fact?” Euclid’s scowl got tighter. He folded his arms across his broad chest. “Who got murdered?”

“A Foundation researcher named John Morrissey,” Slater said. “What was he doing in our caves?” Euclid asked.

“Good question,” Catalina said. “The Foundation thinks he was probably looking for hot artifacts.”

Euclid eyed her and then shifted his attention to Slater. “You’re sure he got killed?”

“As sure as I can be without a body,” Slater said. “Now that I’ve had a chance to examine the scene, I’m convinced the killer dumped Morrissey into the river.”

“Huh.” Euclid pondered briefly. “Any idea who killed your guy?”

“No, but we do have a lead on the people who grabbed Olivia,” Slater said.

A breathless silence gripped the restaurant and the bar. No one moved.

“What have you got?” Euclid asked.

“The kidnappers hired some muscle to pick up Olivia,” Slater said. “Catalina and I caught one of them. By now he will be enjoying the hospitality of the Foundation. Currently, however, he is not of much use.”

“Why not?” Euclid asked.

“He’s not talking,” Slater said. “He will eventually. For obvious reasons, we don’t have time to wait for him to wake up. But he has a twin brother who helped him pull off the kidnapping. If I can find him I might be able to get the answers we need.”

“You expect to find this twin around here?” Euclid said. He waved a hand to indicate the crowd. “Take a look. See anybody who looks like him?”

“No,” Slater said. “But we’ve got a photo.”

He pulled the picture out of his pocket and placed it on the table. Suddenly everyone in the room was crowding around the booth.

“What happened to his face?” Euclid said.

“I hit him with an old telephone,” Catalina explained.

Euclid nodded. “Looks like you did some damage. They don’t build phones like they used to.”

Slater looked briefly amused but he did not say anything.

The photo was passed from hand to hand.

“Nope, never seen anyone who looks like him,” someone said.

“No one I know,” a woman declared.

“Nice-looking young fella,” Euclid said. “Except for the blood, of course. You sure he’s a bad guy?”

“Trust me, he’s a blank,” Catalina said.

Euclid nodded in a sage manner. “Those damned blanks can fool you every time. People fall for their cons even when they can see the empty places in their auras. Amazing.”

“Their ability to pass for normal is their camouflage,” Catalina said.

The door of the café opened. Damp night air swept into the room. Catalina turned to look. So did everyone else. Nyla Trevelyan, wrapped in a puffy down coat, her feet clad in worn leather hiking boots, walked into the room. The crowd parted, creating a path to the booth. Nyla came forward quickly, unfastening her coat.