“There are no such thing as ghosts.” Elizabeth felt as if she had pointed this out all too often lately, and to people who should know better.
“That old bitch. I think she will haunt him until the day he dies. She had her claws so deep into that boy…” Rainbow climbed back down and rubbed her arms as if she felt a chill. “Foster doesn’t look like he’s slept in days. You did hear about the Suns’ house burning down, right?”
Both Garik and Elizabeth turned on her. “What?” “What?”
“Yeah. Last night!” Rainbow looked in equal parts thrilled to break the news and horrified at another tragedy. “No one knows how it started, but their place is on a country road, there’s not a hydrant out there, and there wasn’t enough water in the volunteer fire truck to fight it. Plus the fire burned fast and hard. We were all scared to death Mike and Courtney were inside, but one of their cars is gone and the fire chief said he was pretty sure there were no human remains inside. I sure hope not. I liked them both.”
Elizabeth began, “They were just at—”
Garik put his hand on her shoulder and pressed warningly. “That’s a damned shame about their house. But I’m sure they’re fine.”
Rainbow observed them. “You guys know something.”
“I know Foster’s going to say the Suns burned their own house, and I know they didn’t.” Garik fixed his gaze on the helicopter pilot, now lingering impatiently beside the pilot’s door. “I just remembered something I need to do. Elizabeth, hang here with Rainbow until I get back, okay?”
Elizabeth watched him reach into the truck and pull out a Priority Mail box, and head toward the helicopter.
Mail? He wanted to mail a package? Now?
She climbed on the running board to watch.
Meanwhile, Rainbow chatted. “Look! The Hoffs’ photographer is taking video now. Wouldn’t you know it? The first person to stick her face in there is Cameron Hardwick. Pull out a camera and that girl arrives like the coyote chasing the Acme truck. I wonder if she’ll offer to sing a song for the Hoffs. She fancies herself one of America’s Top Talents. She wants to go try out, but her father keeps nixing the trip. Seize the day, kid!”
Elizabeth paid no attention. She kept her gaze on Garik. Garik, who approached the pilot, spoke to him, and offered the box.
The pilot shook his head and backed away.
Garik dug in his pocket and flashed his badge.
In all the time Elizabeth had spent with Garik, she had never seen him flash his badge.
The pilot examined it, hesitated, grimaced, and took the package.
Elizabeth climbed down. How interesting.
Noah Griffin worked his way through the crowd to her side. “Who’s your boyfriend? The one with the badge?”
“Oh. Garik.” Elizabeth looked; Garik was speaking intensely to the now-fidgeting pilot. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my ex-husband.”
Rainbow butted right in. “He’s an FBI agent. Local boy made good in big-time law enforcement.”
“Really?” Noah pulled out his phone. “How do you spell his last name?”
Elizabeth took Noah’s arm firmly in her grasp. “I’ll tell you, but first I want to talk.”
“About what?” Noah asked.
“Yeah, about what?” Rainbow asked.
“A private matter,” Elizabeth told Rainbow firmly. Then she steered Noah toward the back of the truck. “You interviewed Yvonne Rudda.”
“I did.” In a characteristic gesture, Noah ran his fingers through his blond-tipped brown hair. “You’ve got some freaky stuff going on in this town.”
Elizabeth didn’t care what he thought. She only knew what she wanted. “Hold the story.”
“What? Are you kidding? Why?” He had the guts to sound affronted.
“Because Yvonne said she told you she’d recognize the guy by his eyes, and since the guy got away, that could be dangerous for her.”
“Um … I already transmitted the story.”
“And you said that? About the guy’s eyes?”
“Sure.”
Elizabeth couldn’t believe his carelessness. “Did you not think of the danger this could present for Yvonne?” She turned away in disgust.
“C’mon, don’t be that way.” Noah caught her arm. “You don’t have to worry. Yvonne Rudda’s not a famous name. I’m not even officially employed by a news agency anymore. Probably no online site will pick up the story.”
“You’d better hope not,” Elizabeth said, “and if someone does, you’d better hope nothing happens to Yvonne. I mean—I assume you would feel guilty if something did.”
“Of course!”
She didn’t know whether to believe him. “That’s good, because I stood up for you to Garik, and I would hate to think I’m mistaken about your character. I would also hate to think what would happen to you, stuck in this little town, if one of the most beloved nursing professionals we have is killed because of your callousness.”
Noah looked astonished. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’m merely pointing out that this part of the world retains a little of the wild, we own a lot of guns, and as we’re more and more cut off from civilization, justice could become something less politically correct, and more savage.” Where had she learned such intimidating tactics?
From Garik, of course, and—
Andrew Marrero’s voice called, “You! There! Reporter! Hold on. You misunderstood. Elizabeth and I—we are ready to release the tsunami video, and we’re giving you the exclusive!”
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
“All right, Mr. Jacobsen, I’ll do it.” The helicopter pilot was not pleased. “But if I took a package from every person here who had an emergency shipment, I couldn’t get this helicopter off the ground.”
“If you took a package from every person shipping to the FBI, you’d fly without fuel,” Garik retorted.
“Yeah. Yeah.” The helicopter pilot opened the door and flung the package inside.
Garik stared evenly at him.
“The post office will treat it a lot worse than that,” the pilot said.
“Give me your card.”
“My card?”
“Your business card.” As the pilot dug through his wallet, Garik added, “Get the package mailed ASAP, or I’ll find out why.” He took the card and turned to face the crowd.
The people who waited in line were closely observing him.
In return, he scanned the crowd.
The Hoffs were both on camera, filming with the Virtue Falls mayor, who was at his most fulsome. In the background of the shot was a large, sparkling oil painting of the sun smiling on the ocean and a long stretch of coast. Without a doubt, one of Bradley’s. They were holding up tickets … It didn’t take a genius to figure out their strategy. They were running a raffle for the painting, one to raise money for Virtue Falls. And it would raise money, Garik was sure. Lots and lots of money.
Rainbow stood alone, looking miffed.
Hand on his revolver, Foster watched Garik.
Noah Griffin stood talking to … Elizabeth and Andrew Marrero.
“Shit.” Garik could not believe it. He’d been gone ten minutes, and she’d managed to get caught by the reporter and her asshat of a boss.
He headed in their direction, then veered toward Rainbow. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know.” Rainbow was snippy. “She wanted to have a private conversation with her reporter.”
Garik sternly looked down his nose at her.
Rainbow stared back defiantly. Then her indignation faded. “All right. She was having her private moment with Noah—it looked like a fight to me—when Marrero came running up saying Noah misunderstood and he and Elizabeth wanted to release the tsunami video together. Marrero’s bound and determined to grab credit one way or another, I imagine as Elizabeth’s supervisor.”
Garik really didn’t like that guy. In fact, Garik would give him the inside track as Misty’s killer, except for a couple of thi
ngs.
He did not believe the Suns’ house had burned by accident; Foster was the suspect for that.
And he knew better than to think that because a guy was annoying, he was also lethal. Marrero could very well be nothing but a big bag of gas without a sincere bone in his body.
Was he a killer, too? God only knew, and before it was over, Garik would know, too.
“Let me see what I can do to derail his schemes,” he said.
“You do that,” Rainbow answered.
Garik didn’t really have a plan, so he walked over and stood beside the reporter, silent and unsmiling. In his experience, a grim, silent, muscular man made people nervous, and people who were nervous did one of three things: retreat, babble, or get aggressive.
The response always revealed more to Garik than an interrogation.
Elizabeth glanced at him in annoyance.
Noah stepped away.
Marrero said, “Do you mind? We’re giving an interview here.”
Fists clenched, Garik crossed his arms high over his chest and stared, gaze level, eyes expressionless. Yes, each one had revealed something about their personalities.
Noah watched him out of the corners of his eyes, but he spoke to Marrero. “So you’re Elizabeth Banner’s mentor?”
“Yes. Of course. Who else could be?”
Garik barely contained his amusement; Marrero really needed to learn not to show his irritation so openly during an interview. The reporter always had the last word.
Noah consulted his phone. “In my notes, it says she was an accomplished geologist before she took this position.”
Marrero’s face flushed a deep, livid shade of burgundy.
“And when I interviewed you in Tahoe,” Noah continued, “you yourself said she was the best applicant for the job.”
Elizabeth could scarcely contain her exasperation with Marrero and with Noah. “There is no substitute for experience, and while it’s true I had the educational credentials, experience is what I’ve received while on this dig.”
“So you’re saying Andrew Marrero is your mentor? That your father is not?”
Garik noted that although the question was sharp, Noah’s voice softened as he spoke to Elizabeth.
How did she do it? The guy was half in love with her, and as always, she was clueless.
“My father and I had no contact between the time I was four and twenty-six, so I think it’s safe to say my father has had minimal influence on my knowledge of geology.” The word obviously was unspoken.
“Yet you did follow the exact same profession he did,” Noah said, “even going so far as to return to the project he started.”
“I do have a certain sterling reputation as the leader of the project.” Marrero struggled to insert himself into the discussion. “Do you want to see the tsunami video?”
“I’ve seen it,” Noah said impatiently. “You know that. In accordance with Miss Banner’s wishes, I will send the video to the Geological Society of America. I have contacts with the Discovery Channel, so it’s also going there.”
“That’s good,” Marrero said. “Very good.”
Garik watched Marrero ruminate, trying to figure out an angle that would bring attention to him.
And he did. “Who’s your contact at the Discovery Channel?” Marrero asked Noah. “I’ll send a background report on the project and suggest they come here to film footage.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Noah had Marrero figured out, too, and his tone couldn’t have been more cynically insulting.
Marrero’s color started to climb again.
Elizabeth pinched Noah. Hard.
He jumped and straightened. “Mr. Marrero, I’ll get you that name right away, and tell him you’re sending in the report.”
“Good.” Marrero had accomplished his mission. “I’m going back to work, then.” Turning to Elizabeth, he said with exquisite sarcasm, “Do you plan on returning to the dig any time soon?”
Before Garik could say a word, she answered, “I’ll be there this afternoon.”
“How good of you.” Marrero headed around the truck. Garik heard him stumble against the side panel and shout, “Damn it, woman!”
Stepping around, Garik saw Marrero storming toward the canyon, and Rainbow dusting herself off.
She looked up and shrugged, unabashed at being caught eavesdropping, and wandered off after Marrero.
At the back of the truck, like a bully on the playground, Elizabeth pushed Noah backward. “What’s wrong with you? Are you trying to make my life miserable? We—all of us guys who work for Andrew—make sure his ego is well stoked at all times. It’s the only way to keep him halfway pleasant!”
Noah let her push. “He really has it in for you, doesn’t he?”
She stopped pushing and stood stock-still. “Garik says Andrew Marrero has issues about living in the shadow of my father’s genius.”
Garik spoke for the first time. “And your genius, too.”
“I got all that figured out,” Noah said.
She pushed again. “You won’t put that in your report.”
“God, no. That gets into possible slander.” Noah sat on the truck’s bumper.
“Get off my truck,” Garik said.
Noah stood up hastily, but kept his focus on Elizabeth. “Really? Charles Banner had no influence on your decision to become a geologist?”
“Probably he did in that I’m intrinsically good at it,” she said.
“Genetics at work,” Noah suggested.
Elizabeth inclined her head. “Yes, I believe so.”
“What about your decision to move here … I don’t believe for a second you merely wanted to be mentored by Andrew Marrero.” Noah was fishing.
Elizabeth, of course, swallowed the bait. “He’s very capable. But—”
Garik put his hand on her arm.
Abruptly, she stopped talking.
“Look,” Noah said to Garik. “No reporter sticks to ‘Just the facts, ma’am’ anymore. If she doesn’t tell me, I’ll speculate, and probably sell it for a lot more than I can get for the truth.”
“I could crush you like a bug,” Garik told him.
Noah grinned. “Haven’t you heard? Reporters are like cockroaches. Kill one, and a million take its place.”
Garik took a step toward him.
Noah held up his hands. “I’m one of the good guys. I’m on Elizabeth’s side, and I’ll stick to the truth, pretty much. And you don’t want me out there in the real world where Internet is cheap and easy and I can do a buttload of damage to the Banner project because I didn’t feel welcome.”
Garik was within a breath of saying he didn’t give a crap about the Banner project. But one glance at Elizabeth’s face made him shut up.
“It’s a good project,” she told him.
Unfair. What good did it do him to keep his mouth shut if she could read his mind?
“I don’t understand why you’re here,” Garik said to Noah. “Now that the tsunami and the earthquake are becoming distant memories, for the news, anyway, and it looks like the Hoffs will get the recovery moving along, there’s no story. So why are you hanging around?”
“Why does any reporter leave civilization, go off to a tiny town on the coast, and hang around colorful characters?” Noah smiled, sort of cynically, with one side of his mouth. “I’m writing a book.”
Garik was pretty sure Noah was laughing at himself.
Elizabeth did laugh. “Really? That’s great. When will it be published?”
Noah sighed. “The correct question is, when will it be finished? I’m having more trouble than I expected getting past writing chapter one.”
“You don’t know what to write after the first chapter?” Elizabeth asked.
“No. I mean … those two words. Chapter One.” Noah seemed completely serious. “In the meantime, I’m supporting myself with freelance reporting. Which is why I’m trying to find out whether you came to Virtue Falls for your father.”
/> Garik shook his head at Elizabeth.
Noah glared.
Elizabeth ignored Garik and answered. “Yes. I wished to get to know my father before the Alzheimer’s took him away forever.”
“Did you recognize him when you saw him?” Noah pressed her eagerly, as if afraid Garik would interrupt him. Or stomp him.
“From the photos, yes. But not from my childhood.” She said that quite firmly.
“Did you recognize Virtue Falls when you arrived?” Noah asked.
“Not at all.”
“Did you recognize your house?”
“No.”
Noah’s eyes lit. “So you went to your house?”
Damn it. She’d fallen for the reporter’s ruse. And even worse—Noah had thought to ask a question that had never occurred to Garik. Damn it.
If Elizabeth knew she’d been tricked, she gave no indication. She answered the question without emotion, with apparent frankness. “When I first got here, even before I went to visit my father, I was curious, so I went out to see the house where I’d spent my first years.”
“Where it happened?” Not even Noah had the nerve to elucidate exactly what had happened. “That must have been creepy.”
“No. No, it was sad. I had thought if I went back, my recollection would return. But I didn’t remember it at all. The house was boarded up, a decrepit wreck sitting out in the middle of nothing, empty of everything … even memories.” She sighed, then smiled. “Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I want to go stand in line for my free bag of supplies, and after that—I need to go to work.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
By the time Elizabeth got in the line to pick up her foodstuffs and paper products, the line had shrunk to about twenty people, all of them looking a little ragged, a little tired, but all avidly watched Bradley and Vivian Hoff speaking with the mayor of Virtue Falls in front of the camera.
“What are they talking about?” Elizabeth asked the woman in front of her.
“From what I’ve heard, the mayor is telling them that Virtue Falls has received no attention from Washington State officials, that we don’t have the basic amenities, and he’s hinting we’re all going to turn Republican if they don’t fix the roads.” The woman laughed, but without humor.