White Lies (The Arcane Society #2)(75)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

Getting out of the building proved harder than Clare had anticipated. The heavy glass doors in the lobby were locked. There was a keypad on the wall but she had no clue about the code.

She swung around, searching for an emergency exit. There was a sign pointing the way over a door behind the long stone desk.

Running footsteps sounded in the hall that led to the changing rooms. A woman, she thought. Kimberley. Something had gone wrong.

She hurried around the desk and ducked behind the chest-high counter.

The footsteps grew louder. She could hear panicky breathing. Not her own.

A split second later Kimberley pounded out of the hall. She headed straight for the emergency exit door behind the long desk.

Intent only on escape, she never looked around.

Clare straightened, grabbed the heavy glass bowl full of brochures off the desk and swung it with all her might at Kimberley’s head.

At the last instant Kimberley sensed movement and started to turn. The motion converted what would have been a solid crack to the skull into a glancing blow. But the impact was enough to make Kimberley stumble sideways and lose her balance. She sprawled on the floor. The object in her hand landed with a harsh clang on the tile.

Clare looked down. There was just enough light to make out the gun. She crouched and grabbed the weapon in both hands.

“Don’t move,” she said. “Trust me, after what I’ve been through lately, I am not feeling particularly squeamish. It won’t bother me at all to pull this trigger.”

Kimberley looked up at her, enraged. “Bitch.”

“You got that right.”

Jake materialized from the shadows of the hall. He took in the situation in an instant.

“You okay?” he said to Clare.

“Yes. You?”

“Turns out you were right about Shipley’s psychic blast thing. Running cold dulled the effects enough to keep me on my feet.”

Kimberley looked at each of them in turn. “What are you talking about? Psychic blast? You’re crazier than Shipley.”

Clare ignored her, concentrating on Jake. “What did you do with Owen?”

“He’s unconscious at the moment,” Jake said.

“But when he comes around, he’ll be dangerous to anyone who is a sensitive, even if he’s tied up.”

“Not for quite a while,” Jake said. “I gave him a shot of a heavy-duty tranquilizer. His senses will be in neutral for at least forty-eight hours. Long enough for Jones & Jones to figure out how to handle the situation.”

“What about Kimberley here?”

Kimberley jerked in alarm. “How do you know my name?”

“We’re good,” Clare explained.

“Who are you people?” Kimberley demanded.

“He’s from J&J,” Clare said. “I’m freelance.”

“What’s J&J?” Kimberley asked.

“A private investigation firm,” Clare said.

Kimberley wrinkled her nose. “Shit.”

“We’ll hand her over to the local cops along with Shipley,” Jake said to Clare. “They’ll finally be able to close the case on McAllister’s death.”

“No one can prove that I killed Brad,” Kimberley said urgently.

“The gun that Shipley planted in your desk drawer should be enough to tie you to that crime,” Jake said. “And then there’s the little matter of your attempt to kill Clare and me tonight. Lots of evidence for that.”

“It was Shipley’s idea,” Kimberley snapped. “He was trying to set me up to take the fall. Hell, he blackmailed me into this whole thing.”

“Because he knew that you murdered Brad?” Clare asked smoothly. “Was that what he used to force you to help him?”

Kimberley stiffened. She said nothing.

“I’m sure the cops will enjoy hearing your version of events and comparing it to Shipley’s,” Jake said. “Nothing like a partnership gone bad when it comes to this kind of stuff. Both parties can’t wait to spill their guts if it means ratting out the other person.”

Clare looked at Jake. “What are you going to tell the police?”

Jake shrugged. “That I’m a private investigator with the old and distinguished firm of Jones & Jones. I was hired by Archer Glazebrook to look into the death of his son-in-law.”

Clare smiled. “You sure do that truth-veiled-in-a-lie thing well.”

“We all have our talents.”

Clare looked at Kimberley. “Out of sheer curiosity, mind telling me how you got involved with Brad McAllister in the first place?”

Without warning, Kimberley started to sob. Everything about her seemed to crumple.

“We met at the spa where I was working,” she whimpered. “Became lovers. He brought me out here to Arizona with him. Said he had a major business operation going down in Stone Canyon. Said it was probably going to take several months, maybe a year or more to pull it off, but when it was finished we could be married.”

“When did you realize that he had lied to you?” Clare asked.

Kimberley sniffed back tears. “I began to get suspicious when Brad insisted that no one could know about our relationship, not even his mother or his business partner. He kept me stashed away clear across the Valley as if he was ashamed of me.”

Jake looked thoughtful. “Valerie and Shipley didn’t know about you?”

“Not at first,” Kimberley said. Her voice had gone flat. “But eventually Shipley found out about us. He was furious with Brad. I overheard them arguing. Shipley accused Brad of putting the whole plan in jeopardy by bringing me along.”

“Did Brad or Shipley ever tell you about their scheme?” Jake asked.

Kimberley shrugged. “Something to do with a takeover of Glazebrook.” She gave Clare a fulminating look. “When you showed up and convinced Elizabeth to file for divorce, Brad went a little crazy. I’d never seen him like that. He kept talking about how he was going to get rid of you. He was so sure that if you were out of the picture he could salvage the deal.”

“You figured out how and when he intended to kill me, didn’t you?” Clare asked.

“I didn’t have to figure out anything.” Kimberley’s hand clenched into a fist. “Brad told me how he planned to do it. He was so damned obsessed with getting rid of you that he wanted to talk about the scheme. That’s when I finally began to realize that whatever he had going on here in Stone Canyon was a lot more important to him than I would ever be.”