Smoke in Mirrors

fascinated him for some inexplicable reason. So much sothat he had had to make an effort to look away, even for a few seconds. She had worn little if any detectable makeup. Not a woman who traded on her looks the way Meredith had, he thought.
    Within five seconds of meeting her he had known that Leonora was a lot like him in one respect. She was accustomed to going after what she wanted. Probably didn’t give up easily, either, once she had set herself a goal.
    “What did she say about the finder’s fee?” Deke asked.
    “Called it a bribe. Then I sort of implied that if the police got involved they might look in her direction to find the money, what with her being such a good friend of Meredith’s and all.”
    Deke was startled. “How did that go over?”
    “I don’t think she liked being threatened.”
    “No big surprise there, I guess.” Deke gazed into the oracle that was his glowing computer screen. “I’ve been thinking about the money.”
    “What about it?”
    “In a way, it’s the least of our problems.”
    “Got news for you, Deke, when the audit turns up more than a million missing from the fund we’re going to have a big problem.”
    “I’ll replace the money before the audit. No one will ever know it disappeared.”
    “Replace it? Just where do you plan to get that kind of cash?”
    “I’ll liquidate some accounts.”
    “The hell you will,” Thomas said softly. “I’m your investment manager, remember? Damned if I’ll let you take that kind of a bath.”
    “I can replace it. Take a few consulting assignments.”
    “Forget it. Meredith Spooner stole that money. We’re going to get it back.”
    Deke smiled slightly.

    “What?” Thomas said.
    “Nothing. Just that when it comes to finding that missing money you’re starting to sound as obsessed as I am about figuring out who murdered Bethany.”
    “It’s the principle of the thing, damn it.”
    “Yeah,” Deke said. “Gotta love those principle things.”
    Thomas slumped deeper into the chair. “We’re getting a reputation around here, you know. They’re calling us the ‘crazy Walker brothers.’ ”
    “I heard.”
    They sat together in the gloom for a while. Wrench stretched, changed position slightly and went back to sleep.
    “We need to find the money,” Thomas said eventually, “because it’s our only shot at figuring out whether or not you’re right about Bethany and Meredith being murdered.”
    “What’s this? You mean you’re starting to buy into my conspiracy theory?”
    “Let’s just say that my conversation with Leonora raised some questions I’d like to see answered.”
    “What questions?”
    “You know that stuff about the drugs?”
    Deke’s hand clenched fiercely around a pen. “What about it? Bethany didn’t do drugs.”
    Thomas reached down to scratch Wrench’s ears. “Leonora Hutton swears Meredith didn’t use them, either.”
    “No shit?” Deke put down the pen, sat back and combed his fingers through his untidy beard. “And yet the same rumors are circulating. Now that is interesting.”
    “Yeah.”
    “You knew Meredith pretty well there for a while,” Deke said. “What do you think about those drug rumors we heard?”
    Thomas hesitated. It was a little weird to realize that you could sleep with a woman a few times and not knowsomething as fundamental as whether or not she used illicit chemicals. All he could truthfully say was that she hadn’t used them when she was with him and he’d never seen any indication that she had been under the influence.
    “I can’t be sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say Meredith Spooner was too focused on her scams to risk messing herself up with drugs,” he said finally.
    “Just as Bethany was too focused on her work to fool around with them. It’s another link, admit it.”
    “Okay.” Thomas sighed. “We’ve got two links. Maybe. Both women spent a lot of time at Mirror House and both women are rumored to have used drugs even though there was no evidence they had done any at the time of death and everyone who knew them well claims they wouldn’t have used them at all.”
    There was a short silence.
    “Not much to go on, is it?” Deke asked wearily.
    “No.”
    “Maybe Leonora Hutton will turn out to be the key,” Deke said.
    Thomas did not respond. He wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted Leonora Hutton to be the key to this thing.

    The rain had stopped by the time Thomas and Wrench left Deke’s house but the damp chill