The Sinister Touch (16 page)

“The caterer said he’d see us at five thirty,” Zac announced as he came through the door. “Let’s get going.”

“Relax, Zac. He’s only a couple of blocks away. We’ll get there in plenty of time.” Guinevere picked up her shoulder bag and glanced around the office. “Besides, I want to talk to you. I need some professional advice.”

Zac waited impatiently by the door, his eyes turning suddenly suspicious. “Professional advice? What sort of advice? Gwen, I don’t want you getting mixed up in any more crazy investigations. I can find my own clients. I don’t need you to dig up more work for me.”

She smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. “Calm down. I’m not asking you to take on any investigations. This one I’m going to handle on my own. I just want some advice from you, that’s all.” She playfully pushed him out into the hall and locked the office door.

“Gwen, I mean it, I’ve got enough to do during the next couple of weeks without having to chase after you trying to keep you out of trouble. I’ve got this damn reception to plan, and the move to my new office to supervise. On top of everything else, I’m supposed to be interviewing for a secretary. That reminds me—why haven’t you sent anyone over for me to talk to?”

“I’m still selecting the final candidates. A good secretary is hard to find, Zac. It takes time. Trust me.”

“Uh-huh. Are you sure you’re not being a little too picky?” He took her arm and steered her forcefully down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk.

“Zac, I have to be picky. You’re not going to be the easiest man to work for, you know. You need someone calm and unflappable. Someone with a good personality, so that she can handle your important clients properly. You also need someone who can do your typing, handle your accounts, and present a good image.”

“Damn it, Gwen, I just want a secretary, not a presidential aide.”

“Don’t worry, Zac, I’ll send someone over soon. Now, about my little problem—”

“Guinevere, I have learned through hard experience that your problems are rarely
little
.”

“Don’t sound so abused. I’m not going to involve you in this. I’ve told you, I just want some advice. Now, here’s the situation: I think one of my employees has become the victim of a very subtle, very cruel protection racket.”

Zac slid her a sidelong glance. “Are you kidding?”

“No. Listen to this and tell me what you think. I sent a young woman over to Gage and Watson a few weeks ago.”

“The electronics firm?”

Guinevere nodded. “Someone in her office turned her on to a psychic, a character who goes by the name of Madame Zoltana. Madame Zoltana agreed to see her initially for a small consulting fee, but after a couple of visits she revealed to poor little Sally that she knew Sally had gotten pregnant when she was seventeen.”

“Oh, hell.” Zac sounded as if he knew what was coming.

“Sally was flabbergasted. It seemed to prove that Madame Zoltana really knew her stuff. But it didn’t stop there. Zoltana also knew that Sally had given the baby up for adoption. You have to understand, Zac, that the experience nearly devastated Sally. She’s a fragile person in the first place. Finding herself pregnant and abandoned at seventeen nearly caused her to commit suicide. She was talked into having the baby by one of those antiabortion groups. They promised her that once she gave the baby away, she would be free to rebuild her own life. Sally did exactly that. It’s been a long, slow process. Because of the baby, she was forced to drop out of school. She had to complete high school through a GED program. Her parents disowned her, and she was left destitute. It’s a sad story. Suffice it to say that she’s gradually pulled herself back together. A few months ago she came to work for me, and she’s shown remarkable improvement on the job. She’s starting to come into her own at last.”

“Guinevere, the social worker,” Zac commented dryly.

“I’m serious, Zac. That young woman really started to get her act together during the past few months. For the first time since she was seventeen, she’s beginning to see a future for herself. But she’s still very fragile, Zac. Now along comes this screwy Madame Zoltana and warns her that her whole world is about to fall apart again.”

“How?”

Guinevere drew a deep breath. “She told Sally that unless Sally kept coming to her on a regular basis, the baby she gave away when she was seventeen would someday learn who its natural mother is, come looking for her, and ruin Sally’s life. For the right price, Madame Zoltana says, she can prevent that from happening with her psychic powers. Poor little Sally is absolutely terrified.”

Zac whistled softly. “I’ll be damned. That’s pretty grim, all right. What a racket.”

“That’s exactly what it sounds like to me, a sleazy sort of protection racket. Madame Zoltana finds some useful secret in a person’s past and then offers ‘protection’—for a price.”

“And the price is continued visits to Madame Zoltana at very high fees.”

“Exactly.” Guinevere lifted her chin determinedly. “I can’t allow that sort of thing to happen to one of my employees on the job, Zac. I’m going to find out what’s going on and expose the whole sordid mess. That Madame Zoltana deserves to be hung.”

Zac sighed. “Gwen, if people are stupid enough to believe in psychics and dumb enough to pay them, there’s just not much you can do about it. About all you can do is explain to Sally what’s going on, and hope she’ll be smart enough to believe you.”

“Poor Sally is too distraught to know what to believe. I’ve got to prove Zoltana is a fraud.”

“Be reasonable, Gwen. How are you going to do that?”

“The way I figure it,” Guinevere said thoughtfully, “Zoltana must have some inside help at Gage and Watson. Sally’s not the only G and W employee who’s seeing her, and from what I can gather, a couple of the others have been getting the same treatment. Somehow, Zoltana spots the gullible ones and then finds out something she can use against them.”

Zac lifted one eyebrow. “Inside help?”

“Yeah. You know, someone who works at Gage and Watson, someone who potential victims might confide in. Whoever it is then passes the information along to Zoltana. From what Sally told me today, that would seem to be the way things work.”

“Gwen, do you mind if I point out that you’ve got a company to run? You can’t make a career out of exposing fraudulent psychics, believe me. Houdini tried, and it didn’t do much good. There are always going to be some people who
want
to believe in charlatans like Zoltana. As long as there are believers, there will be frauds.”

“All I want is a little advice from you, Zac. I thought you could give me some pointers on how to go about exposing a fraud.”

“As usual,” Zac said with a long-suffering sigh, “my advice to you is to
stay out of it
. But, as usual, I suppose you won’t pay any attention.”

Guinevere smiled contentedly. “I knew you’d help me.”

“Wait a minute. I never said I’d help.”

“Now, Zac, I’m approaching you in a professional capacity here.”

“The hell you are. You’re just trying to get some free assistance,” he shot back.

“Well, you owe me something for all the help I’m giving you planning your reception,” Guinevere informed him as they reached the entrance of a trendy delicatessen-restaurant on Western Avenue. “Here we are. We can discuss my case later. Now, remember what I told you about dealing with this caterer, Zac. I don’t want you making a fuss every time I mention French champagne or good pâté. If you’re going to have a proper reception for your clients, you have to do it right. You must go first class.”

“Easy for you to say. It’s not your money.”

“Quit complaining. This is going to be a wonderful party. Great PR for Free Enterprise Security.”

“What if no one shows up?” he demanded, holding open the door for her.

“Then you and I will have a lot of food and champagne to take care of. Might take us the rest of the year!”

“Gwen!” Horrified, he hurried after her, catching up just as she hailed the young chef with whom they had an appointment.

“Hello, Charles,” Guinevere said cordially. “I think we’re ready to make the final decisions. Zac has made it clear he wants everything to be just right, so please feel free to advise us.” She ignored Zac’s groan of despair and led the two men toward a vacant table.

“I am sure you will be quite pleased, Mr. Justis,” Charles assured him, taking out a pen and a long pad of paper. “Shall we deal with the canapés and pâtés first? We have an excellent lobster pâté I would like to suggest. It’s a specialty of the restaurant, and we do it exceedingly well.”

“Lobster?” Zac’s voice sounded strained.
“Lobster?”

“I think the lobster is a wonderful suggestion, Charles,” Guinevere offered swiftly. “I also think we should feature some salmon, don’t you?”

“Salmon is always popular,” Charles agreed, scribbling rapidly. “And we do a truly superior salmon hors d’oeuvre, which features just a touch of dill and caper. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Zac knew there was no room in this conversation for him. He sat back in his chair, watching dolefully as Guinevere blithely ran up the tab for the reception he was planning. Hard to believe that initially it was just an off-the-cuff suggestion he’d made, when he’d decided to move the offices of Free Enterprise Security into a suite higher up in his office building. Business had been improving for his firm lately, and Zac was anxious to move up in the world. Time to get a real office, a view, and a secretary. One had to think of the image. And wouldn’t it be nice maybe to invite some of his clients to a little reception to celebrate?

Guinevere had assured him it was a brilliant notion. The next thing Zac knew he was planning a no-expense-spared party. The formal announcements had gone out last week. Guinevere had sent a clerk over to help him address the envelopes. After that, he was committed. Panic had set in almost at once. Now he was beyond panic. He had placed himself in Guinevere’s hands, and Lord only knew what the result would be. One thing was certain: He was going to be a lot poorer when it was all over.

But that was the thing about Guinevere Jones. Life hadn’t been the same for Zac since he had met her. And when all was said and done, he knew he wouldn’t ever want to go back to the way things had been before she had entered his world. Zac tended to take a realistic, pragmatic view of life and of himself. He knew himself well enough, for example, to know he’d do anything to keep Guinevere safe. It was a measure of the differences between them that she would undoubtedly be shocked if she knew that. As far as Zac was concerned, it was just a fact of life.

***

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Jayne Castle,
the author of
Canyons of Night
,
Midnight Crystal
,
Obsidian Prey
,
Dark Light
,
Silver Master
,
Ghost Hunter
,
After Glow
, and
After Dark
, is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author of more than fifty
New York Times
bestsellers. She writes contemporary romantic suspense novels under the Krentz name, as well as historical novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. She lives in Seattle. You can find her online at www.jayneannkrentz.com.

Titles by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Jayne Castle

The Lost Night

Canyons of Night

Midnight Crystal

Obsidian Prey

Dark Light

Silver Master

Ghost Hunter

After Glow

Harmony

After Dark

Amaryllis

Zinnia

Orchid

The Guinevere Jones Novels

The Desperate Game

The Chilling Deception

The Sinister Touch

The Fatal Fortune

Titles by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Amanda Quick

Crystal Gardens

Quicksilver

Burning Lamp

The Perfect Poison

The Third Circle

The River Knows

Second Sight

Lie By Moonlight

The Paid Companion

Wait Until Midnight

Late for the Wedding

Don’t Look Back

Slightly Shady

Wicked Widow

I Thee Wed

With This Ring

Affair

Mischief

Mystique

Mistress

Deception

Desire

Dangerous

Reckless

Ravished

Rendezvous

Scandal

Surrender

Seduction

Other titles by Jayne Ann Krentz

Copper Beach

In Too Deep

Fired Up

Running Hot

Sizzle and Burn

White Lies

All Night Long

Falling Awake

Truth or Dare

Light in Shadow

Summer in Eclipse Bay

Together in Eclipse Bay

Smoke in Mirrors

Lost & Found

Dawn in Eclipse Bay

Soft Focus

Eclipse Bay

Eye of the Beholder

Flash

Sharp Edges

Deep Waters

Absolutely, Positively

Trust Me

Grand Passion

Hidden Talents

Wildest Hearts

Family Man

Perfect Partners

Sweet Fortune

Silver Linings

The Golden Chance

eSpecials

The Scargill Cove Case Files

Anthologies

Charmed

(with Julie Beard, Lori Foster, and Eileen Wilks)

Titles written by Jayne Ann Krentz and Jayne Castle

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