Eye of the Beholder

Webster was probably handling Liz Guthrie the right way, but that did not make it any easier to control his impatience.
    "Liz, I'm not in my office and I don't have access to my records," Webster said casually. "As you know, I've been a little busy lately. Can you remind me which personal guide Dimensions assigned to you?"
    Trask halted.
    "Are you sure?" Surprise echoed in Webster's voice. It disappeared at once beneath a soothing balm of honey and warmth. "Of course. Thank you, Liz. Take care of yourself, my dear. I'll see you when you get back to Avalon."
    Webster hung up the phone and looked at Trask.
    "Well?" Trask prompted.
    "I don't get it." Webster frowned. "It doesn't make any sense. She says her personal meditation guide was Dylan Fenn ."
    "Damn." Trask grabbed the phone.

    "This is all very exciting, dear." Harriet's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm as she followed Alexa across the stock room. "But would you mind telling me why we are about to sneak out of your shop through the rear door?"
    "Because if we leave by the front door, Dylan will see us. We'd have to walk straight past his shop window to get to the parking lot."
    "He'll think we're going for a cup of tea."
    "No, he won't. The only cafe in Avalon Plaza is closed."
    The decision to leave was an impulse that was too strong to deny. An overpowering sense of urgency was riding Alexa. Given the events of the previous few days, she thought, it might be best to follow her instincts.
    "If you think this is a matter for the police, why don't you call them?"
    "That's the problem. I don't know yet if it's a police matter." Alexa forged a path through a row of pedestals toward the rear door. "Chief Strood has already concluded that I'm a little on the flaky side. If I call him with a lot of wild accusations and no proof, he'll think I've gone over the edge. As far as he's concerned, he's already closed this case."
    "You think you'll find proof in that book that this Dylan Fenn person is involved in something nefarious?"
    "Maybe. Right now I only know two things for certain. The first is that Joanna felt she had to hide her journal. The second is that Dylan wasn't wearing his Dimensions bracelet. He never takes it off."
    "Which means?"
    " Which means he may have been the person Trask discovered in Foster Radstone's office last night. "
    "This is all very complicated, dear."
    "Yes, it is. Which is why I want to get this journal someplace where I can sit down and read it without worrying about Dylan walking in on me. "
    "Shouldn't you lock the front door of your shop?" Harriet asked.
    "No. If Dylan comes for another visit and finds it locked with all the lights on, he might get suspicious. This way he'll just assume that I went down the alley to dump some garbage or something."
    "If you say so." Harriet glanced around the stock room as Alexa reached for the doorknob. She wrinkled her elegant nose in gentle disdain. "Now that I consider the matter, I must admit there is probably no pressing need to lock up this particular collection. Who would want to steal any of this stuff?"
    Alexa glared at her. "Don't start. I'm in this line of work because of you, Mac."
    "Now, now, dear, it's only temporary, after all. And we have agreed to let bygones be bygones."
    Alexa yanked open the door. "No, we have not agreed—" She took one step outside and came to an abrupt halt. "Damn, damn, damn."
    Dylan stood there. He had a gun in one hand and a sad little smile on his face. He flicked a glance at the journal Alexa held.
    "I see you found it. I wondered where Joanna had hidden it."
    Anger blazed, clean and strong. It burned away some of the fear and shock that was coursing through her. "What is this all about, Dylan?"
    "It's about sacrifice, Alexa. I worked so hard, but you ruined everything. I'm afraid only another sacrifice can realign the vortices now."
    "I ruined things? You're crazy."
    Dylan's eyes glittered with sudden fury. "Joanna and Radstone should both be dead by now, along with Guthrie. The vortices should have come back into balance. Peace and serenity should have been reestablished here in Avalon. But because of you and Trask, the harmony of the energy forces is still deeply disturbed."
    Harriet pursed her lips. "What's this talk about sacrifice, young man?"
    Alexa tightened her grip on the journal. "Don't you see, Mac? The little creep thinks he's sacrificed himself for the sake of the vortices. But he screwed up. Things didn't go the way he planned."
    "No, no,