White Lies (The Arcane Society #2)(41)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“He was a member of the Society. Archer checked that out.”

“Yes. But I’m positive that Brad lied, not only about the level of his parasenses but the type, as well. I think he was a lot stronger than he let anyone know. Maybe he found some way to fake the Society testing process.”

“What kind of talent do you think he had?” Jake asked.

“My guess is, he was a hypnotist or something along those lines. It would certainly explain how he managed to fool everyone, including Archer.”

He sat down at the kitchen table. “But not you.”

She shrugged. “I am what I am. He wasn’t able to fool Elizabeth indefinitely, either. Not even the best hypnotist can keep someone in a trance twenty-four–seven for months on end.”

“So how did he manage to keep her under control as long as he did?”

“Drugs.” She sat down at the kitchen table. “He convinced a shrink that she was going crazy. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out that Brad used his hypnotic talents on the doctor to encourage him to prescribe the meds. Then again, maybe he didn’t have to work that hard. Like I said, the bastard was incredibly charismatic.”

Jake ate some of the eggs while he contemplated that. “Why would McAllister want to make Elizabeth look like a nutcase? What was his agenda?”

“Our theory is that he did it to get control of her inheritance. Liz will eventually receive half of Glazebrook, Inc.”

“But not until Archer dies. He looks to be in really good health.”

She poured the tea and sat back. He was listening, she thought. He might not be convinced yet but at least he was paying attention.

“All right,” she said, “here’s the rest of the conspiracy theory that Elizabeth and I concocted. Neither one of us thinks that Archer would have been long for this world if Brad had lived.”

“You think he intended to murder Archer?”

“Yes. Eventually. An accident of some sort, no doubt.”

“McAllister would still have had Archer’s son to deal with,” Jake pointed out. “Matt is slated to take control of the company if anything happens to Archer.”

“I don’t think Matt would have survived long, either. If we’re right, in the end control of the company would have wound up in Elizabeth’s and Myra’s hands. And it wouldn’t have been hard to convince Myra to turn everything over to Brad. She thought he was great. Heck, everyone thought Brad was wonderful.”

“I can see why you didn’t go to the cops with this theory of yours,” Jake said neutrally.

She sighed. “I know. It’s pretty bizarre, isn’t it? The cops would have laughed. And as for other members of the Society, well, they’re already strongly inclined to believe that people like me are mentally unstable. I didn’t want to add anything to that image. I’ve got my future as a psychic investigator to consider.”

He nodded, saying nothing, and finished his breakfast.

“Great eggs,” he said finally, putting down the fork.

“Thanks. It’s the ricotta.”

“I’ll remember that.” He picked up his tea. “All right, for the sake of argument, let’s come at this another way. Everyone says that Brad was a wealthy man in his own right. Why go to all the trouble and risk of driving his wife mad and killing a couple of people in order to get his hands on Glazebrook, Inc.?”

Clare sipped some tea. This was admittedly one of the weak points in the theory.

“Some people never have enough,” she offered.

“True. Still, you have to admit the scenario you described is pretty extreme.”

“Yes.”

“How did you and Elizabeth first make contact?”

“I told you, I never intended to show up at the front door of the Glazebrook home and ruin their perfect family thing. But I kept track of all of them, especially Elizabeth, from a distance. I couldn’t help myself. She was the sister I never had. Literally.”

“Go on.”

“Her wedding to Brad McAllister was photographed for one of the glossy Phoenix-area house-and-garden magazines. The spread was beautiful. Elizabeth was so lovely. Gorgeous gown, of course. Everyone looked so happy and pleased. But when I looked at the picture of Brad toasting the bride I got a cold chill.”

He raised his brows. “You can detect someone lying in a picture?”

“It’s dicey, at best. But there was something about the way he was looking at her that scared me. The wedding had occurred a few months before the photos appeared in the magazine, of course. By the time I saw them and contacted Elizabeth via e-mail she was already well into her supposed nervous breakdown. But she managed to get back to me with a single word.”

“What was the word?”

“‘Help.’’’

“That was all?”

“Yes. I e-mailed her back immediately and said that I would be in Phoenix on the three-forty P.M. flight from San Francisco that day. She said she would meet me at a bookstore in a mall. Turned out that was one of Brad’s afternoons for visiting his girlfriend. He didn’t know what had happened until he got home. By that time Elizabeth and I were on a plane headed back to San Francisco.”

“How did you end up in Stone Canyon on the night Brad was murdered?” Jake asked.

“By then Elizabeth had recovered from the drugs and was herself again. She stayed with Archer and Myra and made it a point never to be alone with Brad while they went through the divorce proceedings. I kept an eye on things from San Francisco. It all seemed to be going well.”

“Brad didn’t fight the divorce?”

“He made a few attempts to convince everyone that he loved Elizabeth and didn’t want the divorce but he must have realized that there was no chance of salvaging the marriage.” She paused. “At least not as long as I was in the picture. He had to know that if the situation changed in any way, I’d come back to Arizona in a flash.”

“Did you ever meet McAllister in person?”

“Yes. Once. I went with Elizabeth on the one occasion when she and Brad met with the lawyers together. She wanted me there in case Brad tried anything. But everyone was very nice and polite and civilized. I swear, there was something about McAllister that was colder than ice, though.”

“Was that the first time you met Archer?”

“No, he flew up to San Francisco as soon as he found out I had spirited Elizabeth away.”