All the Colors of Night (Fogg Lake #2)(14)
North did not question the conclusion. Victor was very, very good at what he did because his intuition was extremely sharp when it came to predicting how the bad guys would act. He was not, however, infallible. When he screwed up there were usually a lot of fireworks.
“You mentioned there were no outward signs of violence,” North said. “Do you think someone used drugs on Dad?”
“Maybe. We will know more once we get him back here where the specialists can examine him. In the meantime, I want you to retrace Chandler’s footsteps yesterday and last night. Start at Swan Antiques.”
“Will the owner be cooperative?”
“I think so. Gwendolyn Swan doesn’t want any trouble with the Foundation. It’s not as if we’re blaming her for what happened to Chandler. We just need to find out what, exactly, she sold him and see if the information gives us a lead.”
North reflected briefly. “I’m good at finding people but I’m not so great when it comes to tracking down artifacts. I’m going to need help from a specialist, preferably someone who knows the local hot artifacts market in Seattle.”
“Lucas has been going through the files. He’s got a name for you.”
The door opened as if on cue. Lucas Pine walked into the room, a file in one hand. Silver haired, sophisticated and elegant even when casually dressed, he appeared at first glance to be Victor’s exact opposite. But the energy between the two of them was unmistakable. The pair had been devoted to each other for a couple of decades. Their wedding had been a huge, splashy, Las Vegas–style party.
“The name,” Lucas said in a voice that sounded like it had been trained for the stage, “is Sierra Raines.”
“She knows the Seattle market?” North asked.
“Yes.” Lucas glanced through the file. “Currently she’s an agent for the Vault, a business that handles transport and delivery of artifacts. According to Ambrose Jones, she’s good. Very good.”
“Ambrose Jones?” North asked.
“Jones owns and operates the Vault,” Victor said. “We’ve worked with him before. He has always been reliable. He told us to ignore Ms. Raines’s somewhat checkered job history, specifically what happened at her previous place of employment.”
North raised his brows. “What, exactly, did happen?”
“Until a few months ago she worked for one of the big auction houses, Ecclestone’s,” Lucas said. “She was let go amid rumors that Ecclestone’s was peddling fraudulent antiques. And before you ask, no, we don’t know if she was guilty. What we know is that she is now working as a go-between in the paranormal market in Seattle—specifically the deep end of that market.”
“I see.” North took the file. “And is Ms. Raines still selling fakes?”
Victor’s jaw tightened. “Jones says we can trust her. It’s not like we’ve got a lot of choice here.”
Just as you don’t have a lot of choice when it comes to investigators, North thought. You’re stuck with me. And it looks like I’m stuck with Sierra Raines.
“You want me to team up with a shady go-between who may or may not be dealing in fraudulent artifacts?” he said.
“I think it’s safe to assume she won’t try to con someone from the Foundation,” Victor said. “Not with Jones looking over her shoulder.”
“I’ll take your word for that.”
North flipped open the file. There was a small glossy photo of a woman who appeared to be about thirty years old. Her whiskey-brown hair was pulled back in an elegantly stern knot at the back of her nicely shaped head. She gazed out of the photo with brown-and-gold eyes that somehow managed to project a mix of wide-eyed innocence and bone-deep watchfulness.
Sierra Raines was attractive, but not Las Vegas beautiful. Nevertheless, in a town that boasted a lot of spectacular, long-legged women, she would stand out. At least, she would stand out to him. Somehow he knew that if she walked past him on the crowded Strip he would notice her.
What she had was an edgy, intriguing quality that came through even in a photograph. He was very sure those deep eyes concealed secrets and mysteries.
He made himself focus on the two pages of data. There was a very long list of very short-term jobs, ranging from interior decorator at a firm named Psychic Designs to bookseller at a shop called Paranormal Readings. In between, Sierra Raines had done stints as a psychic therapist, dream interpreter and meditation guide.
He scanned the list and then studied the last entry. Previous Employer: Ecclestone’s Auction House. Reason for Termination of Employment: Suspected of fraud.
He looked up. “Sierra Raines looks like a flake as well as a con artist.”
Lucas smiled. “She does seem to be having some trouble settling into the right job, but as far as the fraud goes, we are convinced she was set up to take the fall at Ecclestone’s.”
North turned to the second page of the report.
Grandparents resided in Fogg Lake, Washington, at the time of the explosion and were affected by the paranormal radiation that was released. Parents were raised in Fogg Lake. Moved away as young adults. Eventually settled in an intentional community, Quest, in the San Juan Islands, Washington State. Father, Byron Raines, is employed as an online psychic poet. Mother, Allegra Raines, is a psychic song therapist.