the securities were hidden before she died. The plan didn’t work. Now Rand is pursuing other courses of action.”
“Emily is right,” Fallon said. “Not her kind of work. Seaton or his partner can handle it. Good choice.”
“I’ll give their agency a call.” She picked up the phone.
“Before you do that, there’s something I need to tell you. I’ve got to make a business trip to Sedona day after tomorrow. Just an overnight.”
She put the phone down. Her intuition told her that whatever was in the works, it was more than a business trip.
“You never go anywhere,” she said.
“I’m not what you’d call a traveling man.”
“In the whole time I’ve known you, you haven’t gone any farther than Willow Creek.”
“You’ve only known me for about a month.”
“When was the last time you left the Cove?”
“I get out,” he said, sounding defensive.
“Give me a for-instance.”
His dark brows snapped together in annoyance. “There hasn’t been much need to go anywhere since I arrived in the Cove.”
“I see. Don’t you ever get bored?”
“Somehow, what with trying to stop a bunch of bad guys who are using a dangerous drug to enhance paranormal talents, fielding an endless series of routine investigations for members of the Society, and stumbling over the occasional serial killer, I manage to keep busy.”
She smiled. “Right.”
“How the hell did we get off on the subject of my failure to travel?”
“Beats me,” she said.
“Look,” he said gruffly, “there’s a regional Arcane conference scheduled in Sedona next week. The opening-night reception and auction is a very big deal as far as my family and the Council are concerned. I’ve managed to dodge it for the past couple of years, but Zack thinks I should attend this year to send a message.”
“What message?”
“Some of the members of the Council are questioning the amount of money and resources that Zack is proposing to allocate to J&J this year to pursue the Nightshade investigation. They think that William Craigmore’s death was a knockout blow to the organization. They don’t see why we have to keep up the pressure.”
“Ah, yes, corporate politics in action.”
“They’ve got a point.” Fallon exhaled wearily. “Pursuing Nightshade is damned expensive and the Society does have other priorities. Also, several people on the Council have pet research projects that they want to see better funded.”
“I understand,” she said.
“It’s not as if Arcane can draw on unlimited resources. The Society is like any other organization. It runs on money. Mostly it relies on membership dues and fund-raisers like the auction at the Sedona conference. All of the high-ranking members from the western district of the Society will be in Sedona. The idea is to pull as much money out of them as possible.”
“What gets auctioned off?”
“Periodically the curators of the Society’s museums go through their basements and weed out some of the less important artifacts. Paranormal antiquities always hold great interest for collectors. Lot of money involved.”
“Sort of a Sotheby’s or Christie’s for the Arcane crowd, hmm?”
“That’s the idea,” Fallon said.
“Do you want me to schedule one of the Arcane corporate jets or do you want to fly commercial to save money?”
“Book one of the Arcane jets and put it down as a Nightshade expense.”
She cleared her throat. “Uh, doesn’t that send the message that J&J is not particularly budget-conscious?”
“I like to think of it as being efficient. Time is money. I don’t want to waste any more than necessary on the Sedona conference.”
“Okay.” She reached for the phone again.
“Have them pick us up at the regional airport outside of Willow Creek. It’s the closest.”
She paused, phone in hand. “Us?”
“You’re coming with me.”
Her fingers clenched around the phone. “I am?”
“You’re my assistant, aren’t you?” He pushed himself to his feet and started toward the door. “No self-respecting executive goes anywhere without an assistant.”
He took his jacket down off the hook and wrapped his hand around the doorknob.
“Wait a second,” she yelped. “I don’t have the right clothes for a business conference.”
“Order up what you need online. Overnight delivery.” He paused, frowning. “You’ll probably need a dress or something for the reception and the auction.”
For a second she could not breathe.
“I’m attending the reception with you?” she finally whispered.
“Like I said, no exec goes anywhere without an assistant.”
He opened the door and went out onto the landing.
She leaped to her feet. “Where are you going?”
“To pick up the mail,” he said. “I feel like getting some exercise.”
He closed the door.
She dropped into her chair and listened to his footsteps on the stairs. After a few