Copper Beach

Abby said.

    “Yes. I told you, those crystals are dangerous and highly volatile.”

    Abby thought for a moment. “So Thaddeus was trying to warn you that someone is after the lab book. But we already knew that.”

    “I don’t think that’s what Webber intended as the takeaway from his last message.”

    “What, then?”

    “I think he was trying to tell me that someone has one of the Phoenix stones and has figured out how to turn it into a weapon. That’s what the killer used to murder him.”

    “Oh, my God,” Abby whispered. “Lander Knox.”

    “Maybe. I knew that Thaddeus Webber was murdered by paranormal means. Now I know the nature of the weapon. We need to find that lab book, Abby.”

    She took out her phone. “I’ll see if any of the deep-end dealers have responded to my offer of a preemptive bid.”

    He drove very fast along the graveled lane and pulled out onto the main road, accelerating hard. He saw a car parked sideways, blocking both lanes, when he came out of the first turn. A man was slumped over the steering wheel.

    The psi-chill that had been riding him hard for the last hour flashed into full-blown awareness of impending disaster.

    “Hang on,” he said.

    Abby looked up from her phone and saw the car. “There’s been an accident.”

    “I don’t think so.”

    He hit the brakes, slamming to a stop. He heard dog claws scrabbling wildly on the rear seat.

    He snapped the SUV into reverse and shot back around the turn.

    The maneuver got them out of sight of the blocking car, but he knew that they had only a couple of minutes, at most. There was bound to be a second vehicle coming up from behind. A classic pincer move.

    He braked again. “Out. Into the woods. Go.”

    Abby did not ask questions. She freed herself from the seat belt, opened the door and leaped to the ground, still clutching her phone. Sam followed. By the time he got out, Abby had freed Newton from the backseat.

    “Head for the rocks,” Sam ordered.

    They ran up the hillside into the cover of the trees, aiming for the jumble of boulders that formed a natural fortress.

    “What is going on?” Abby asked, panting alongside him.

    “Not sure, but I think that whoever murdered Webber left some thugs to watch the house.”

    “But why?”

    “Someone wants you, Abby. Someone wants you very, very badly.”

18

    HE PULLED ABBY DOWN BEHIND THE COVER OF THE MASSIVE rocks.
    “Keep Newton quiet,” he said. “I don’t want him giving away our position. Whatever you do, stay down.”

    She nodded and tugged Newton down beside her. She put her hand on his muzzle. The dog seemed to comprehend that this was not a game.

    “What’s happening?” Abby whispered.

    He did a fast assessment of the available evidence.

    “I think this was supposed to be a simple carjacking followed by a kidnapping. In a minute or so, they’ll realize that it’s gone bad. Won’t take them long to figure out which way we went. From this location, I will be able to spot them before they find us.”

    “And then what?”

    He took the pistol out from under his jacket and settled onto his belly to peer through the narrow crack between two rocks. “Then I use this. With luck, they won’t expect me to be armed. As far as most people are concerned, I’m just a guy who spends way too much time in a lab, studying rocks.”

    “Sounds like an excellent career path to me.” Abby tightened her hold on Newton. The dog wriggled a little in her arms, trying to get free.

    There was a fierce, all-too-familiar tension about Newton that Sam recognized. They were both experiencing the icy energy that accompanied danger, he thought, a unique kind of rush. He switched his attention back to the view of the road.

    Down on the pavement, a man loped around the corner and into plain sight. It was the guy who had been slumped over the steering wheel of the blocking car. A second man got out of the chase car and joined his companion. Together they both looked at the open doors of the SUV, and then they turned to gaze up into the trees. One of them pointed at the pile of granite boulders.

    “They just figured out that we’re up here,” Sam said.

    “Not like we had much of a choice when it came to hiding places,” Abby whispered.

    Down below, both men took out guns and started up the hillside They separated, working their way toward the boulders, trying to use the trees for cover. But it was clear that they were not accustomed to moving