Copper Beach

“I got it while you were chatting about the cutting-edge wonderfulness of your gadget.”

    “Fortunately, I brought backup.”

    “A real gun?” Sam said. “Good thinking.”

    “I assume you have one, too?”

    “What do you think?”

    “That you’ve got one.” There was resignation and irritation in the stranger’s voice. “You destroyed my flash-bang. It was a prototype, the first and so far the only version that actually worked.”

    “PEC technology?”

    “Sure. Do you have any idea how long it will take me to produce another? It requires months to grow a single crystal large enough to power the damn thing, and that’s assuming nothing goes wrong in the process. You know how delicate para-crystals are.”

    “What kind of seed crystal did you use?” Sam asked.

    “I might give you that information if you tell me what you’re using to power that weapon you brought to the party.”

    It dawned on Abby that the conversation had veered off in the wrong direction.

    “For Pete’s sake,” she hissed. “This is no time to get into a technical discussion.”

    “She’s got a point,” Sam said.

    “Yes, she does. I hate to admit it, but I may have underestimated you, Coppersmith. My own fault. I was warned that you might be a problem.”

    “I try hard,” Sam said. “Sometimes I succeed.”

    “So I see. The thing is, I need Miss Radwell. I give you my word she will not be hurt.”

    “Then why are you trying to take her by force?” Sam asked.

    “Because, unfortunately, you are in possession of her at the moment, and I doubt that you’ll give her up without a fight.”

    “Good guess.”

    “All right, then, let’s try this in a businesslike fashion. Name your price for her. I’ll top it.”

    “She’s not for sale,” Sam said.

    Abby wanted to throttle both of them. “Stop talking about me as if I was a rare book up for auction, do you hear me?”

    “In my own defense, I would like to point out that I did try to go about the business in a civilized way, Miss Radwell,” the stranger said. “I heard rumors of your unusual talent, but it was made clear that you only work by personal referral. I was unable to approach you in the usual manner, because I’m not closely acquainted with any of your other clients and Thaddeus Webber declined to recommend me. So I tried an indirect approach.”

    “The herbal,” Abby said. “You sent it to me.”

    “It was a gift intended to assure you that I was qualified to become a client. But you never responded.”

    “I’ve been a little busy lately.”

    “I understand. I tried hiring my own freelancer to find the book. He’s good at his job, but he can’t break codes. I decided I would try to hire you to handle the encryption after the book was in my possession. But this afternoon I got a message from the freelancer saying that he was resigning. I can only assume he was put off by the recent murders. I concluded I had no choice but to take drastic measures.”

    “Yes, well, as you can see, your drastic measures aren’t going to work,” Abby said.

    “Out of curiosity, did Coppersmith come to you with a proper referral?”

    “Yes, he did,” Abby said coldly. “And by the way, he is not only a client. I hired him to protect me while I look for a certain book.”

    “The forty-year-old lab notebook that is coming up for auction. Yes, I know. Your choice of a bodyguard is an odd one, to say the least. Rather like hiring the wolf to watch the sheep, isn’t it?”

    “Sam and I have an agreement.”

    “I will double whatever he is paying you.”

    “Sorry, I have to consider my reputation in the business,” Abby said.

    “I give you my word that you will be in no danger from me.”

    “Right,” Sam said. “That’s why we’re standing around this garage in the middle of the night, holding a conversation that includes a couple of para-weapons.”

    “It would appear we have a standoff this evening,” the other man said.

    “Who are you?” Abby demanded.

    “I think we’ll wait on the formal introductions. Maybe we can do business together some other time.”

    Anger flashed through Abby. “You’re the one who invaded my condo and contaminated it, aren’t you? Just so you know, I will never, ever forgive you for that. And I definitely won’t work for a bastard who would do that to a person’s personal space. I’m going to have you arrested.”

    “Calm down, Miss Radwell. I admit that I took a quick