The Scargill Cove Case Files

the vault door. Looks like the guy tried to claw his way out. Probably went mad before he ran out of air.

    Local doc is the coroner and ME. Calls it natural causes. Guy goes into a vault, door slams shut, locking him inside. Accidents happen.

    Sure, accidents like this used to happen with old, abandoned refrigerators. But an old vault? In Scargill Cove? What are the odds?

    Hooker sold the shop to Fitch and left town. So what was he doing sneaking back into his old basement vault? Forget something?

    County sheriff agrees with the doc. Hooker died as the result of an accident. No evidence of foul play, no motive. Nothing.

    I told Fitch that the investigation was finished. He was right. Something bad did happen to Hooker. Case closed.

    Fitch asks me if I believe that Hooker’s death was an accident. I tell him no. I remind him this is Northern California. He gets it.

    Scargill Cove is in the heart of the Emerald Triangle. Marijuana country. Major cash crop. Lot of money involved.

    Combine an illegal substance with big profits and you get violence. Odds are good Hooker was in the drug business.

    If that theory is right, then Hooker may have been the loser in a quarrel with one of his business associates.

    But I can’t shake two questions about Hooker. Why did he come back after moving out of town? What did he keep in the vault?

July 24

    Illusion-talent decides to check in. Says he picked up the trail of the rogue. I hang up and think about the scratch marks in the vault.

    I shouldn’t care how and why Hooker died. Hardly knew the guy and he probably had it coming if he was in the marijuana trade. Still.

    It occurs to me that I need to do something about the Hooker murder because it happened here on my turf. This is my town.

    When did I develop a sense of civic responsibility? When did Scargill Cove become home? Weird feeling.

    If Hooker used the vault to store bundles of marijuana there should be some traces of the stuff.

    Got to go out for coffee, anyway, so might as well stop by Fitch’s shop and take another look at the vault. I grab a flashlight.

    Fitch seems glad to see me. We go downstairs and take a look around the vault. No visible residue of marijuana.

    I examine the scratches on the vault door. Random marks left by a dying man? I go hot and raise my psychic talent for a closer look.

    Within Arcane, there’s a formal name for my kind of paranormal vision: chaos theory–talent.

    There are other, informal, less polite terms for people like me: paranoid conspiracy theorist, obsessive, eccentric. Nice resume.

    Probably doomed to take over J&J. Couldn’t get any other kind of job. Can’t get a date, either. But that’s another issue.

    People tell me that I see patterns where others see only chaos. And sure enough, I can see a pattern in the scratch marks on the door.

    Hooker didn’t try to claw his way out of the vault. He knew that was impossible. So he left a message. In code. For me.

    Fitch asks if I notice any clues. I tell him no. I don’t tell him about the code. I need to think about this.

    I take a walk on the beach. Storm coming in. Why did Hooker think I might investigate his death?

    He kept the code simple. Knew anyone connected with Arcane could figure it out. That means he knew I’m Arcane. Knew I’m psychic.

    Hooker must have figured that if anyone ever found his body, I might get involved in the investigation. I’m the only PI in town.

    The scratches are crude Roman numerals. I’m good with codes and this is child’s play. The numbers refer to letters of the alphabet.

    The letters spell Crystallus . It’s one of the three Latin words on the seal of the Arcane Society. Lux Lucis, Somnium, Crystallus.

    Lux Lucis : light. Somnium : dreams. Crystallus : crystals. Combined with fire they represent the Society’s theory of psychic energy.

    Why would Hooker leave me a coded message referring to crystals? Like I tell my agents: there are no coincidences.

    Hooker was killed around the time the Hawaii case was closed. He probably heard about Craigmore’s death. It was in the papers.

    Craigmore was well known in the business world. But he had a secret life. More than one. I think Hooker knew about those other lives.

    Hooker figured I was aware of Craigmore’s history with Arcane and the black ops government agency. Knew I’d get the message.

    I keep walking. I’m running hot, in the zone. Letting the energy of the storm focus my talent.

    Out there on the