WALKER CHOSE TO WALK back into town. Isabella grabbed the handhold just inside the door of the big SUV and did a little hop to get up into the cab. Fallon put the remains of the Queen, together with the clock, into the cargo bay of the vehicle and got behind the wheel.
Isabella’s phone rang just as Fallon drove out of the Sea Breeze parking lot. The number looked familiar.
“Norma Spaulding,” Isabella said. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Clients are always trouble,” Fallon said. “In a perfect world J&J wouldn’t need any.”
“That would certainly be an interesting business model.” She opened the phone. “Hello, Norma,” she said, going for her most professional tones.
“The buyer I had lined up for the Zander house just called,” Norma said tightly. “He heard the news about the so-called Haunted House murders. He is no longer interested.”
Isabella winced. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Damn it, I didn’t hire Jones & Jones to kill the deal.”
“I assure you, it was an accident.”
“Finding three bodies in the basement is an accident?” Norma’s voice rose. “A serial killer dropping dead in the house is an accident ? The property is a crime scene now. The press is having a field day with the story.”
“I realize it may take some time for the media to lose interest, but I’m sure that in a few months everyone will forget about what happened at the Zander house,” Isabella said soothingly.
“Not a chance. That property is never going to be marketable. The only reason I called is to tell you not to bother to send me a bill for your services. I didn’t get what I paid for and I’m not about to write a check to your agency.”
Outrage splashed through Isabella. “But J&J solved the case.”
“There was no case,” Norma said. She sounded like she was speaking through set teeth. “I hired you to help me get rid of those silly rumors about the property being haunted. I thought if a psychic detective agency declared the place ghost-free, I could sell it. But instead you killed the deal.”
“It isn’t J&J’s fault that the property was a dumping ground for a serial killer.”
“Maybe not, but I’m holding your firm responsible for killing the sale, so do not bother to send me your bill.”
The connection went dead. Isabella closed the phone.
“Bad news,” she said. “Norma Spaulding says she won’t pay our bill. She blames J&J for making the Zander house unmarketable.”
“Told you the case was a waste of time,” Fallon said. “That’s why we don’t like to encourage that kind of work.”
“It’s not our fault that there were bodies in the house.”
“Clients always blame the investigator when they don’t get the answer they want,” Fallon said. “Hell, most of the time they blame the investigator even when they do get the answer they say they want or even the one they expect. It’s the nature of the business, Isabella.”
She slumped in the seat and gazed morosely out the window. “It’s not fair.”
“Here’s a little tip going forward.”
“What?”
“Always get a nonrefundable retainer up front.”
She drummed her fingers on the armrest. “Good idea. I’ll make sure to do that next time.”
Fallon turned off the main street and drove behind the J&J office. He parked under the wide overhang. They climbed out of the SUV. Fallon opened the rear of the vehicle.
“You take the clock,” he said. “I’ll handle the Queen.”
She hoisted the blanket-wrapped clock under one arm and opened the back door of the office. They carried the curiosities upstairs to the landing. Fallon got out his key and opened the door.
Isabella walked into the office ahead of him, switched on the lights and set the clock on the floor in the corner.
“Now what?” she asked.
He closed the door and put the doll on the floor next to the clock. “Like I told Henry and Vera and Walker, an Arcane lab team will collect all of the curiosities tomorrow and take them back to the Society’s main lab in L.A. I want a complete report from the experts. I’d also like to know who brought the gadgets here three decades ago.”
Isabella walked into the tiny kitchenette that adjoined the office and picked up the teakettle. “I sense a new conspiracy theory in the making.”
There was a moment of crystalline silence behind her. She knew she had gone too far.
“Do you think that’s what I do?” Fallon asked, his tone chillingly neutral. “Invent conspiracies?”
The cold, emotionless edge on the words caught her off guard. She turned