Dream Eyes

deaths in one small town would get any cop’s attention,” Gwen said.
    “Zander had the sense to make you look good for the first two deaths, but how long could that go on? Poole concluded that Zander was out of control and would have to disappear.”
    “But Zander went over the falls first,” Gwen said.
    “Problem solved. The timing could not have been better. Poole was very relieved, I can tell you. So was I. But neither of us could figure out what had happened that day out here at the falls. Just couldn’t picture Zander a suicide.”
    “Still, it was convenient for you both that Zander was gone.”
    “Oh, yeah. We gave it a rest for a few months, and then we went back to business as usual.”
    “Until Evelyn tumbled onto what was going on when Poole left town to attend the crafts fairs. Now Poole is dead, and you’re the one who is trying to clean up.”
    “Poole was not much of a father, but he taught me a few things during the past three years,” Riley said, “the most important of which is to pay attention to the details.”
    “Why did you hurt Wesley? He wasn’t involved in this.”
    “I needed Lancaster to get you out here this morning so I sent you that e-mail from his address, making you an offer I knew you couldn’t turn down. When you took the bait, I got him out here first with a phone call. I told him that you had asked me to pass along a message for you. Something about wanting to meet you out here to talk about his offer. He didn’t ask any questions, believe me.”
    “How do you expect to explain my death?” Gwen asked.
    “It will look like you and Wesley quarreled over the future of the lab. Everyone in town knows that he wanted to use this place as a set for his pathetic TV series. They also know that you two had a history. It all adds up to a motive for murder.”
    “You’re going to kill me and frame Wesley?”
    “Thought about using Coppersmith, but to tell you the truth, that guy makes me nervous,” Riley admitted.
    “Want some free psychic counseling advice? That’s your intuition pinging you. Pay attention.”
    “Don’t worry, I’m paying attention,” Riley said. “After realizing that he somehow managed to whack Poole last night even though the crystal was still fully functional, I knew it would be way too risky to try to use Coppersmith in this game scenario. I’d sure like to know how he survived the crystal, though. Poole had a lot of experience with that gadget.”
    “I’ll bet Judson would be happy to explain to you just how he survived.”
    Riley snorted, amused. “You’ve got a sense of humor, I’ll give you that. There’s one thing I’d like to know before we end this game.”
    “You want to know how and why Zander Taylor went over the falls two years ago.”
    “How’d you guess?”
    She moved one hand in a slight motion. “I can see it in your aura.”
    “Bullshit.”
    “You’re hooked on your game of uncovering other people’s secrets and using those secrets against them,” Gwen said. “It’s a real power trip. That’s what drives you. It’s right there in your energy field. It has been all along. I knew about your addiction problem, but I didn’t put it together until now because I didn’t have context.”
    “It’s not an addiction. I’m not like Zander. He was crazy.”
    “Of course you’re addicted. You couldn’t quit now if you tried.”
    Riley smirked. “There’s no reason to quit.”
    “Well, actually there are some very good reasons to quit but none that a wack-job like you would comprehend. So, do you want to know what happened there at the end when your brother went over the falls?”
    “Tell me.” There was a sudden burst of hungry urgency in Riley’s voice.
    “I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you just how he screwed up.”
    Riley snickered. “You’re trying to buy time. This is the fun part. You’re hoping Coppersmith will come to the rescue. Who knows? Maybe he will. That’s the thing about a really good game. There’s always a twist. Okay, we’ll play it your way. Show me what happened to Zander.”
    “He saw a ghost, a couple of them, actually. He went a little crazy. Ran out the rear door and kept going, straight into the river and over the falls.”
    “Is that the best you can do?” Riley raised the barrel of the gun. “Too bad. I was hoping for a more interesting ending, but if some crappy story about ghosts is all you’ve got, we might as well end this now.”
    “I can show