Krentz, Jayne Ann - St. Helen's 03 by Orchid (as Jayne Castle) (v5.0)

Author:Orchid (as Jayne Castle) (v5.0) [Orchid (as Jayne Castle) (v5.0)]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

12

Orchid rolled onto her side, propped herself up on one elbow, and looked down at Rafe, who was sprawled on his back beside her. “Are you awake?”

“I am now.” He curved one hand behind his head. The light of the twin moons pouring down through the glass dome revealed the faint curve of his mouth. “So are you, obviously.”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“By an odd coincidence, so have I.”

She settled herself more comfortably. “You’re thinking about Quentin Austen, aren’t you?”

“Among other things. I’ve been wondering all day why he chose to take a sudden, mysterious vacation. Now I think it’s safe to assume that he’s in this up to his syn-psych diploma.”

“Do you think he might have arranged to have poor Theo murdered?”

“I can’t say for certain yet.” Rafe drew one fingertip along the curve of her shoulder. “But my instincts tell me Austen is probably not the killer.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“Austen appears to be a novice at this kind of thing. If he had more experience, he would have done a more thorough job of getting rid of anything that linked him to Theo Willis.”

“You’re saying he isn’t the brains behind the operation?”

“I’m not sure yet. He was smart enough to panic when he got a call out of the blue from someone who wanted to talk to him about some so-called investments. And he did think to yank Willis’s file before he took off on vacation.”

“What about that illusion-talent and prism team we keep running into?”

“They’re not operating under hypnotic instruction,” he said with grave certainty. “They’re hired pros.”

Orchid shuddered. “Yes.”

“Austen must have sent them to keep watch on Theo Willis’s house and then ordered them to find Willis’s letter and get rid of your friend, Morgan Lambert.”

“This is getting more complicated by the minute.”

“No, we’re finally getting somewhere. We’ve got some firm leads to follow.”

She felt the strat-talent energy vibrating through him. The hunter had caught the scent of the prey. She wondered if this aspect of his nature ought to disturb her. It did not. Perhaps because she could sense the control he wielded over his talent.

“I’d like to know what it was in Theo’s file that made Austen think he needed to remove it,” she said.

“Speaking of missing files,” Rafe said softly.

“Hmm?”

“Theo Willis’s is not the only one that seems to have disappeared recently.”

Something in the low tenor of his voice alerted her. Orchid dragged her thoughts back from the problem of Theo’s connection to Quentin Austen and the missing relic.

“What are you talking about?”

Rafe turned onto his side, levered himself up on his elbow, and gently but firmly pushed her onto her back. He leaned over her, eyes gleaming in the darkness. “Your file at Affinity Associates is gone.”

She was so surprised she could only gape for a few seconds. When she finally got her jaw working again, she swallowed twice before she asked very cautiously, “How do you know that?”

“I checked.”

“Why?”

“Call it professional curiosity.”

“Professional curiosity, my foot.”

He ignored that. “Did you take it?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yeah, you.

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