In Too Deep

while.
    “I killed him.”
    There was no trace of emotion in his voice. That told her everything she needed to know. Fallon was haunted by the death of Tucker Austin.
    At first she thought he was not going to tell her the rest of the tale. But eventually he started to talk again.
    “Tucker and I were assigned to the biggest case of our careers. A nightclub not so coincidentally named Arcane had popped up on the J&J psi-dar. It catered to sensitives, many of whom were not members of the Society. Some didn’t even realize they had a little talent. But they were drawn to the club consciously or unconsciously by the energy of the place.”
    “All nightclubs have to give off a lot of intense energy or they go bankrupt,” she said.
    “Yes, but most clubs get their energy from the music and the crowd and a good marketing image.”
    “And the alcohol and the recreational drugs that are frequently available,” she added.
    “The Arcane Club attracted its patrons with all those things, but it offered one additional lure, an elite club within a club.”
    “Wait, don’t tell me, let me guess. The insiders’ club was called the Governing Council?”
    He looked at her. “You’re good.”
    “Thanks,” she said. Pride tingled through her. Fallon Jones did not give praise lightly. “So whoever operated the Arcane Club got a kick out of creating a shadow version of the real Arcane Society, including the Council. Creepy.”
    “It was,” Fallon agreed. “Also smart marketing.”
    “Did the club offer a parallel version of Jones & Jones?”
    “Within the world of the club, J&J provided security.”
    “For crying out loud,” she said, incensed. “They made the J&J staff the bouncers? That’s just wrong. We are an elite investigative firm.”
    He smiled a little at that and went on with the story. “Unlike most insider clubs, the big draw wasn’t a drug; it was the lighting fixtures in the rooms that were reserved for the exclusive patrons.”
    “The lights?”
    “They were called magic lanterns,” Fallon said. “They were based on crystal technology. The paranormal radiation they emitted acted like an intense hallucinogen on people with talent. The higher the talent level, the bigger the hit.”
    “Lot of energy in light,” Isabella mused. “All across the spectrum.”
    “My uncle was aware of the club, but he was not too concerned at first. Even when it became obvious that there was some kind of drug dealing going on, he figured it was a problem for regular law enforcement. J&J didn’t get concerned until people who were deeply involved in the scene in the Arcane Club started dying.”
    “How did they die?”
    “Two thought they could fly. They jumped out windows. A couple of others were so disoriented by the state of altered consciousness that they engaged in high-risk behavior that got them killed. The authorities investigated the deaths but never made the connection to the club because no evidence of drugs showed up in the autopsies. My uncle decided it was time for J&J to take a look at the situation.”
    “What happened?”
    Fallon focused on the crashing waves. “He assigned Tucker and me to the case. We both realized immediately that there was no way we were going to get the kind of evidence that would stand up in court. Tucker suggested that we recommend to my uncle that he put pressure on the club owners to shut down. I agreed.”
    “Did that work?”
    “The club closed, but my uncle wanted to know who had designed and built the magic lanterns. He asked me to look a little deeper.”
    “Wait,” Isabella said. “Let me get this straight. Your uncle assigned you but not your partner to conduct the more detailed investigation?”
    Fallon looked down at the ring. “I think my uncle had his suspicions about Tucker by then. Once I started looking, though, I could see the connections myself. Just a few things at first, but it didn’t take long before they formed a pattern. Should have seen it much sooner.”
    “The pattern pointed to your friend, Tucker?”
    “I couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. I had trusted Tucker with my life in the course of some of our investigations. But in the end I had to face the truth. He was the secret owner of the club. He was responsible for the magic-lantern deaths.”
    “Something tells me you did not go straight to your uncle with the results of your investigation.”
    Fallon frowned. “Why do you assume that?”
    She waved off the