Eye of the Beholder

hurriedly.
    Trask waited until the door closed. Then he looked at Alexa. "What's the matter?"
    Alexa could not take her eyes off the gleaming teapot on the cart. "There was an empty mug and a package of loose tea sitting on Joanna's kitchen counter yesterday when I pulled her out of the house."
    Trask watched her intently. "What of it? Half of Avalon drinks tea. Just like half the town wears those Dimensions bracelets."
    "Yes, I know." She wrapped her arms around herself while she allowed her intuition to leap recklessly to the wild conclusion. "But when I spoke to Joanna earlier on the phone that morning, she told me she wished she had some of her tea. She said she was out of it I told her I'd bring her some after work"
    "Maybe she found an extra supply in her cupboard after she talked to you."
    "Maybe." Alexa dragged her eyes away from the teapot and looked at him. "That's what I assumed at the time. But what if that's not what happened?"
    "I'm listening."
    "Shortly before lunch that day I went to Caf é Solstice to get some sandwiches for myself and Kerry. Stewart Lutton , the owner, wasn't there. One of his employees said he'd had to leave for a while, even though it was one of the busiest days of the year."
    "Go on."
    "This is a terrible thing to suggest without any proof, but what if Stewart took some tea out to Joanna?" She trailed off.
    "And hung around to make sure she took a couple of tranquilizers, waited until she went to sleep, and then sabotaged the gas coupling inside the house?"
    "Stewart lives in an old RV. He uses propane. He'd probably know how to rig the line. Of course, a lot of people know how to do stuff like that, don't they?"
    "Some people know how to do stuff like that," Trask corrected softly. "But if you're right about the tea and the fact that Stewart was gone from his caf é for a while earlier in the day, it doesn't look good."
    "Stewart is very committed to Dimensions. He wears a bracelet."
    "From what I've seen, a lot of people wear them."
    "Yes, but they're not all the same. People who are deeply involved with the work of the Institute usually have very expensive, unique designs. Stewart's is like that. Unique. And expensive."
    Trask looked intrigued. "Meaning he couldn't replace it in a hurry?"
    "Not unless he had a duplicate, which seems unlikely."
    "So, all we have to do is get a close look at your friendly local purveyor of fine teas tomorrow and see if he's wearing a Dimensions bracelet."
    Alexa looked at him very steadily. "You're going on the assumption that he'll stick around after what happened tonight."
    "Damn. You may be even better at this conspiracy theory stuff than me." Trask reached for the phone.

32

    "What the hell do you mean Strood isn't available?" Trask could feel the renewed sense of urgency clawing at his insides. Alexa's theories were starting to sound much too plausible. "I was with him in his office not more than an hour ago. He told me he was going home as soon as he closed out the paperwork on the Radstone shooting."
    "The chief never made it home." The woman on the other end of the line sounded weary and impatient. "He was called out again. Vehicular incident."
    Even in a town the size of Avalon it had to be rare that a chief of police was summoned to the scene of a routine car accident. Trask hung on to his patience with an effort.
    "Look, I know Strood isn't real fond of me. He probably told you to keep me out of his hair for a while. But this is serious. I've got to get through to him."
    "I'll give Chief Strood your message, sir."
    He was wasting his time. "You do that. Tell him it's important and that it involves the Radstone case."
    "I'll tell him."
    Trask slammed down the phone and looked at Alexa. " Strood's unavailable. All we can do is wait until he returns my call."
    Alexa flopped down into one of the red tapestry chairs. "I sure hope we're right about this. It could be extremely awkward if we're wrong. Not to mention stressful and embarrassing."
    He looked briefly amused. "What's this 'we' stuff? Lutton is your candidate for suspect of the year, not mine. I've got my own."
    She winced. "I admit the link is a weak one. It's just that your candidate for suspect poster boy feels even more wrong. I just can't see Webster Bell deliberately endangering Joanna's life."
    "I agree that it's worth mentioning Lutton to Strood." He walked back to the open French doors and braced one hand on the edge of the frame. "Alexa?"
    "Yes?"
    "Do you happen to know