Smoke in Mirrors

place. It had stopped raining, but the clouds hung low, an invisible weight pressing down from the night sky.
    They had cruised past Rhodes’s house a few minutes ago. There was no vehicle in the drive. The lights were off. It looked like Rhodes was out for the evening.
    “Probably having a couple of drinks at the pub in town,” Deke said. “Maybe getting sloshed. That near miss must have freaked him out. From what you told me, it sounds like he almost went over the edge when you did the sudden slowdown thing. Maybe he’s thinking about how close he came to getting killed instead of killing you.”
    “I hope the bastard is having some shaky moments,” Thomas said.
    “You’re sure it was Rhodes? There are an awful lot of dark SUVs and four-by-fours in this town.”
    “Can’t be absolutely positive, but you’ve got to admit that the list of potential suspects is pretty damn short.”

    “Could have been Osmond Kern,” Deke said. “He owns a dark-blue SUV, I think. And if Andrew Grayson is right, he’s capable of murder.”
    “Maybe. But my money’s on Rhodes.”
    “That’s because you’re pissed at him for the way he came on to Leonora and maybe arranged for you to get beaten up last night.”
    “Okay, so I’m a little biased.” He opened the door. “Ready? Let’s get this done and done fast, just like we promised Leonora and Cassie. We go in. You download whatever you can get off that laptop and we get out.”
    “And if I can’t get through his personal security?”
    “We take the whole damn laptop. Hell with it. Let him go whining to Ed Stovall about a stolen computer.”
    “Right.” Deke got out on his side and zipped his jacket. “This should be interesting.”
    They started into the trees, heading toward the dark house at the end of the lane.

    Leonora sat in the booth across from Cassie, a cup of very weak tea in front of her. The young man behind the bar had done his best, but there wasn’t much anyone could do with a poor-quality tea bag and water that hadn’t even been brought to the boiling point. Not that it mattered, she thought glumly. She couldn’t concentrate well enough to taste anything right now. All she could do was worry about Thomas and Deke.
    The Wings of Fire Pub and Restaurant was crowded with a mix of students, faculty and townsfolk, seeking warmth and companionship on a damp, chilly night. Onstage a small group of musicians crafted mellow jazz.
    Cassie picked up her bottle of designer water and poured the contents into a glass that was filled with ice. “I’m not sure how I feel about being packed off here towait while our men go charging into the wilderness to do manly stuff.”
    “I know how you feel. But you’ve got to admit, Thomas had a point when he said that it would be ridiculous for all four of us to tromp through the woods to Rhodes’s house. Of all of us, he and Deke are the ones who have the best shot at accomplishing something useful tonight. Thomas knows about money stuff and Deke knows computers.”
    “I’m not arguing the logic of the decision. I’m just not real happy about it, that’s all.” Cassie helped herself to a pretzel from the small dish that sat on the table. She chewed for a while and then swallowed and leaned forward. “Do you really think it was Rhodes who tried to run you and Thomas off that road tonight?”
    Leonora shuddered. “Rhodes or Kern. It had to be one of them. My money’s on Rhodes. I think Kern is too far gone into the bottle to be able to drive that skillfully.”
    Cassie’s face tightened with anxiety. “This is so very weird. I hope we’re not all experiencing some form of mass hallucination here.”
    “Is there really such a thing as mass hallucination?”
    “Sure. Happens all the time. Plenty of incidents of it recorded throughout history.”
    “Terrific.” Leonora sipped tea. “Something else to worry about.”
    Neither of them spoke for a while. The music seemed to grow louder. So did the crowd.
    “One good thing is coming out of all this,” Cassie said with a determinedly upbeat air. “Deke is changing. He talked to me about his relationship with Bethany for the first time.”
    Leonora patted her arm. “That’s good.”
    “He’s been twisted up with guilt because three days before she died, he had asked her for a divorce.”

    “I got it. So when the verdict of suicide came down, he really took it hard.”
    “Yes. He didn’t believe it. More to the point, he couldn’t allow