Falling Awake(41)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“No,” Ellis said, “because the cases were scattered all across the country. The police in Arizona had no reason to compare notes with the cops in Kentucky or California.”

“What about Mapstone Investigations? You said Lawson always gets his cases from that source. Didn’t someone there notice that something was wrong?”

“Scargill was very good at setting the stages for his crimes. He loved to play computer games. I think that’s where he got some of his ideas. There were patterns, of course. Hell, the patterns are always there if you know where to look for them. But he managed to keep them concealed for months.”

“What happened?”

“There was one final kidnapping about three months ago,” Ellis said. “It ended with me getting shot up and Scargill supposedly dying as the result of an explosion.”

19

so that’s what happened to you,” Isabel whispered tightly. “I knew you had been hurt. I could see it in your dreams. That loud roller coaster sound in your gateway. Did you take all those vitamins and mineral supplements I told you to get?”

The concern in her voice made him smile slightly. He had still not gotten beyond the novelty of having someone worry about his health and well-being.

“In the past three months I’ve spent a fortune in health food stores,” he assured her.

“What about the acupuncture? Did it help?”

“Yes, although when I got a close look at all those little needles I almost walked out of the treatment room.”

“I’m glad you went through with it.” She pressed her lips together, evidently not entirely satisfied but willing to let it go for now. “Okay, tell me about that last case involving Scargill.”

“The kidnapper was another typical Scargill choice, a real nutcase. His name was McLean. He was one of those survivalist fanatics who was convinced that he had been appointed to found a new society based on a theory of government invented by him. His wife, Angela, had shown the good sense to divorce him. He was enraged when she left. I don’t know how Scargill found him, but he was perfect. Probably didn’t take much effort at all to talk McLean into kidnapping his ex.”

“What did he do with her?”

“He took her to the remote mountain area where he and his idiot followers had a small compound. I heard about the case from a friend of mine who works at Mapstone Investigations. I knew right away that it was destined for Vincent Scargill. It had all of the earmarks.”

“You decided to look into it yourself?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell Lawson because I figured Scargill would find out.”

“Did you dream?”

“No, I just did some old-fashioned detective work. McLean and his friends were not the sharpest knives in the drawer. They had bought so many guns and so much ammunition in such a short period of time that anyone could have followed their trail.”

“So why didn’t the cops follow it? Why did the case end up on Lawson’s desk?”

“Because the ex-wife’s relatives were afraid to go to the police,” he explained. “I told you, Scargill staged every aspect of his little games very carefully. It appears that he always hired a woman to pose as a psychic right after the kidnappings occurred. The fake psychic would contact the families, telling them she’d had a vision. She always warned them that their only chance was to avoid the cops and call Mapstone Investigations, instead.”

“How could he be sure Mapstone would refer the cases to Lawson’s agency?”

“Scargill knew what Lawson looked for in a case. He made certain each of his kidnappings had some aspect about it that ensured that it wound up being referred to Frey-Salter.”

“Sounds like Scargill is not only very smart, he learns fast.”

Ellis tapped his fingers together again. “I think that was one of the reasons it took Lawson so long to realize he had a problem. He kept seeing Scargill as just another promising young recruit with real dream talent but no particular street smarts. He had a hard time comprehending that the bastard could outwit him. In fairness, though, I have to admit that Lawson was somewhat distracted at the time.”

“By what?”

“He and Beth had had another one of their big blowups. It happens regularly. They’ve been married for years but they have a hard time living together. Probably because they’re too damn much alike. They go along fine for months and then, wham, they have a flaming row. In the normal course of events, Beth moves out for a few weeks. Eventually they both cool down and go back to bed. But while they’re apart, Lawson is not only more bad-tempered than usual, he doesn’t always focus well.”

“So the situation with Scargill occurred while Lawson was upset because of the problems in his marriage?”

“Yes,” Ellis said. “And unfortunately the breakup was an unusually bad event this time. In fact Beth and Lawson are still living apart. But that’s Lawson’s fault. He made a very, very big mistake right after Beth moved out.”

“Let me guess. He had an affair?”

Ellis raised his brows. “How did you know?”

She shrugged. “Seemed obvious from what you’ve already told me.”

“Lawson was very depressed. He thought his marriage was really over for good this time around. He allowed himself to get drawn into an affair with one of the members of his staff. Word got back to Beth eventually, of course.”

“Who was naturally enraged because Lawson broke one of the unwritten rules of their marriage.”

“Hadn’t thought about it in those terms,” Ellis said reflectively, “but that pretty much sums up the situation. The net result was that Lawson was not paying as much attention to his job as he should have been for a couple of months and that’s when Scargill went rogue.”

Isabel whistled. “Good grief, I had no idea there was so much melodrama going on back there at Frey-Salter. But it’s not all that surprising, is it? Lawson’s agency may be a secret government organization but when you get down to the nitty-gritty, it’s just another workplace environment where men and women are put together in close quarters under pressure. Bound to be some excitement.”

“Trust me, the day Beth confronted Lawson with the affair, I heard the explosion all the way out here in California.”

She looked fascinated. “You live here?”

“I have an apartment just outside of San Diego.”

“Huh. I just assumed you lived back in the Raleigh-Durham area near the Research Triangle Park.”