Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot) (15 page)

“All right,” I said. “Slow down and tell me all about it.”

“At about one thirty yesterday afternoon, a dozen tellers and customers saw money float out of the bank vault and disappear.”

“What did the security cameras see?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “The security cameras were all disabled.”

That told me everything I needed to know. “It’s not a ghost, it’s an invisible person. He disabled the cameras because cameras can see through the illusion.” I didn’t go into the reasons for this. Luckily, the sheriff didn’t ask.

“I’m looking for a sorcerer?” Sheriff Adam’s voice sounded a little wan.

“I’m afraid so.” We both knew it was unlikely that a sorcerer would get caught, let alone pay any penalty for his actions.

“How do I catch him?”

“Assuming he didn’t leave behind convenient clues like fingerprints or hair samples?” I asked.

“Yeah, assuming that.”

I shrugged, which of course, he couldn’t see. For a minute, I stared at Evan, wondering what would possess someone like him to rob a bank. Even the sorcerers I knew whose wealth came from illegal activities were more subtle.

“If he does it again, you could try to get him on video. Put extra cameras up that aren’t hooked into the surveillance system. Maybe brief the security guards and equip them with video phones?”

“But that’s only if he does it again.”

“How much did he take?”

“About fifty large,” the sheriff said.

I wasn’t sure if that would be enough money to satisfy the thief or not. “I just don’t know what else to tell you. This is pretty unusual. I can’t think of any practitioner in Eagle Rock who would rob a bank. Maybe it’s someone passing through town? You could see if there are any other ghostly bank robberies going on in other counties.”

“That’s a good idea.” Sheriff Adams’ voice perked up a bit. “I’ll get started on that and the cameras. Maybe we can talk again after I set this in motion to see if we can brainstorm some other ideas?”
“Sure thing, but I’ll probably be out of cell phone range today. My assignment isn’t near a tower.”

“I’ll leave a message, then. Call me when you can.” He hung up.

As soon as I ended the call, Evan grinned at me. “A ghost?”

“One who’s afraid of security cameras. I don’t suppose you know anyone who’d need to steal thousands of dollars from a bank?”

“I know who owns most of the banks,” Evan said. “A person would have to be stupid, or desperate, to challenge them.”

I hadn’t thought about that. “The Eagle Rock Savings and Loan isn’t owned by a practitioner, though, is it? I thought Michael Kirk owned it.”

“That’s true,” Evan said, “but Kirk’s daughter is engaged to Daniel Eagle.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said.

Evan frowned. “Now that you mention it, that may not be common knowledge.”

I didn’t know, but since I’d left my parents’ house I’d been out of the loop, magically speaking, so my lack of knowledge meant little. “The Commerce Bank is a chain. Nobody in town owns that one. If it is someone local, that branch could be in trouble as well.”

“That’s true.”

“Well, I’ll give it some thought later. Right now, we probably ought to plan our strategy for today.”

“We need a plan?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “For one thing, whoever tried to poison me is going to notice that it didn’t work, and then they’re going to notice you hovering over me. We don’t know who this person is. And I think within a few hours, we’re going to lose the one advantage we had.”

“Which was?”

“That apparently, they didn’t know about you, either.”

A
LONG LINE OF CARS BLOCKED
the entrance to the camp, and with
no way past them, we simply had to wait in line.

“What’s going on?” Evan asked.

“They must have decided to send the campers home.” This was going to make investigating anything very tricky.

It took us a good thirty minutes to get through the line and up to the mess hall, where every camper was waiting with his or her bags. Somehow, though, it was not quite as chaotic as the organization of the search parties had been the day before. The parents did not get out of their cars; they just drove up and gave their child’s name to one of the nearby counselors. The counselors, in turn, checked the name against a list and then called for the camper in question using a bullhorn.

The whole scene made me think of something that I was surprised I’d overlooked before. “Evan, do you think someone slipped a potion to the sheriff? Something to make him scatter-brained or something?”

Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, that seems very possible. I’ll run some tests on the drinks they’re passing around. Oh, and I suppose I don’t have to tell you not to eat or drink anything?”

“Obviously.”

“I put some water and a few snacks in the trunk. It’ll have to work for today.”

Evan parked his car in the same grassy field we’d used the day before, then we made our way inside the crowded mess hall. All the while, bullhorns were calling out names

“Cheryl O’Brien!”

We were feet from the mess hall when one of the blondes from cabin number five came out with a bright yellow duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She came up short when she saw me and looked around, as if searching for someone.

“Can I tell you something?” Cheryl asked in a whisper as she came closer.

I nodded, trying to look like an inviting confidante.

“Look, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble...” she looked around again, a little nervously.

“Cheryl O’Brien!” called the counselor over the bullhorn again.

“In a minute!” Cheryl called out. Then she lowered her voice again. “I don’t know if this means anything or not, but Renee, our counselor, wasn’t in her bed most of the night. I mean, she was there at lights out, but when I went to the bathroom a little after one, she wasn’t there, and I didn’t see her in the bathroom. I mean, it probably doesn’t mean anything. I’m sure they just got lost, right? No one would have hurt them?”

She looked so desperate to believe it that I couldn’t bear to shatter her illusions. “Thank you for telling me. I’m sure you’re right. We’ll find them.”

“They might be hurt, though, right?” Cheryl asked.

“Cheryl O’Brien!” called the counselor with the bullhorn again.

“I said, in a minute!” Cheryl screamed.

“Is there something else?” I asked, sensing there was.

“Well, I’m sure it’s already been searched so it’s no big deal, but just in case...” She took a deep breath. “There’s this haunted cabin about a mile from the camp, right on the lake.” She waved her hand in the direction she meant. “It’s just one of those camp legends, you know? Mackenzie told us the story on the first night of camp trying to scare us, and then people repeat it and dare one another to go there. But I mean, everyone knows, so I’m sure it’s been searched.”

I wasn’t so sure, given how pathetic the searching had been, but I nodded. “I’ll double-check. Thanks again. You’ll call me if you think of anything else, right?”

Cheryl nodded, tearing off toward her parents’ car just as the counselor raised her bullhorn again.

“So, how’s she going to call you if you don’t have a phone?” Evan asked.

I cringed. I was so used to having a cell phone that I had forgotten for a minute.

“You’ll let me pay for reinstated service, right?” Evan said. “Since it’s important for the case and all.”

“Yeah.” I wondered how much more pride I would have to swallow before this was all over, though. “Look, we won’t get anything done here until this crowd clears out. Want to go to a haunted cabin?”

“Sounds like fun to me,” Evan said. “Wonder if the spooks are related to the ones robbing banks?”

I smiled. “Could be.”

We began walking away from the mess hall, heading for the lake, the walk becoming more quiet and peaceful as we neared the shore. The campers, counselors, and staff were all at the mess hall, leaving the water serene and silent.

I had spent much of my life in woods like this. The morning was comfortably warm and the woods had long since woken for the day. I paused long enough to remove a magically warded scrunchi from my purse, tying back my shoulder length hair to protect myself from tiny pests.

Evan chuckled, but didn’t otherwise comment on my somewhat hypocritical use of the magical item.

“Hello there!”

My head snapped up. Walking toward us from the direction of the boys’ cabins was a young man, probably in his mid-twenties. He was a little on the short side, with utterly forgettable features except for his mouth, which was astonishingly oversized for his face.

“Hi,” Evan said.

“You two the private investigators?” the man asked.

Evan hesitated but I jumped right in with a, “Yes.” It’s better not to over-explain things.

“I’m Randy Sikes, the camp nurse. Nora said you were wanting to talk to me?”

“Oh, yes.” I stopped walking and let Randy close the distance between us. I wanted to talk with any of the counselors or staff who had been in contact with the girls. Nora had put together a list, but I had made little headway the day before.

“I didn’t know them very well, mind you,” Randy said. “They had a bit of a fall last week, maybe Thursday or Friday, and they were in a first aid class I taught.”

“Fall?” I asked.

“Yeah, they fell off their horses.”

That was odd. No one had mentioned that two experienced horsewomen had fallen from their mounts.

“How’d they fall?” I asked.

Randy shrugged. “You’d have to talk to Mackenzie about that. Don’t really remember the details, myself. So, what’d you want to know?”

“I’m just trying to put together a picture of their time here,” I said. “What they did, who they spent their time with, whether they made any enemies...”

“Whoa! You don’t think someone carried them off on purpose, do you?” Randy asked, his face full of anxiety.

“Maybe,” I said. “We still haven’t found them.”

Randy scratched his head and looked at Evan. “You’re quiet.”

Evan shrugged. “This is really Cassie’s area of expertise.”

“What, talking to people?” Randy asked with a bit of a grin.

“Yes,” Evan replied. Randy kept looking at him like he expected him to say something else, but Evan did not oblige.

“You two an item?” Randy wanted to know.

“No,” I said.

“Yes,” Evan said, at the exact same time.

“Uh oh, looks like I’m getting into it now. Maybe I ought to move on before I really stick my foot in.” Randy scratched his head and walked away, back in the direction of the mess hall.

I continued walking toward the supposedly haunted cabin, taking great big strides that Evan easily matched. What had I expected him to say, anyway? He’d said, in no uncertain terms, that he did not intend to let me go. The hopelessness potion may have led me to some pretty dark conclusions, but not that one.

“Cassie, wait.” Evan put a hand on my arm. He had only meant to slow me down, but his words, phrased as an order, brought me to an abrupt halt.

“We have work to do,” I said.

“Work we won’t be able to do as long as we’re too distracted by what’s going on between us.”

“Nothing’s going on between us.”

“Look at me.” This time, Evan’s order was intentional, and when I obeyed, I showed him how much I appreciated it.

“Every time you tell me what to do, you push me a little further away.” I was probably being unfair, since it was only the second time he had ordered me to do something intentionally, but I didn’t care.

“There is a powerful sorcerer running around here someplace,” Evan said. “I do not want him to think you’re on your own. So if anyone asks, the answer is yes, we’re an item.”

“Another order?”

“It shouldn’t have to be.”

He might have had a point, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. My moment of weakness the night before had my guard way up, and I no longer knew how to act around Evan.

“As for last night,” Evan began, “I want you to understand something, because no potion put this idea in your head: I will never force you.”

“I know,” I said softly.

“Do you? Because last night you were going to sacrifice yourself.”

He had put the wrong spin on it, not that I could entirely blame him for his interpretation. I also didn’t want to set the record straight, because without his spin, only one possibility remained: Deep down inside, I really did want Evan, and surrender was the only way I felt I could have him.

“You said you wouldn’t let me go,” I reminded him. “The potion didn’t put that in my head.”

He looked away, but not before I saw the pained expression in his eyes. He had lost some of his confidence of the day before, making me think he felt almost as mixed up as I did.

“There are still two girls out there who need us,” I said.