Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

feet.
     
    “I’m afraid there’s been some mistake,” she said. “I need a real private investigator.”
     
    “You need someone like me. Webber wouldn’t have sent you here otherwise.”
     
    “You’re a technical consultant, for Pete’s sake.”
     
    “Trust me when I tell you that technical consulting covers a lot of territory. You’re here now; you may as well sit down and tell me about the blackmail threats.”
     
    She did not sit down. But she did not grab her shoulder bag and jacket and head for the door, either. As a compromise, she walked to stand in front of a glass display case and looked down at a chunkof what looked like blue quartz inside. With her senses still slightly heightened, she could perceive some of the energy locked deep inside the crystal. She wondered what the lab looked like to Sam. With his strong psychic sensitivity to para-rocks, the place probably glowed as brightly as if it was lit by sunshine.
     
    She made her decision. Sam was right. She did not know where else to turn. She had to trust Thaddeus Webber’s judgment. He had been her friend and mentor for years.
     
    “Here’s the situation,” she said. “I’m a freelancer in the underground hot-books market. Collectors in that market tend to be somewhat eccentric, especially those who possess some real talent.”
     
    Sam looked amused. “Are you saying those who collect paranormal books are crazy?”
     
    She gave him what she hoped was a quelling look. “What I’m saying, Mr. Coppersmith, is that there are some collectors who are obsessed to the point of being quite dangerous. Others are just plain weird. And then there are those who actually believe in the occult. Witches, demons, sorcery, that sort of nonsense.”
     
    “Your clientele must be very interesting.”
     
    “For obvious reasons, I have to be careful. At the start of my career, Thaddeus Webber advised me to work only by referral. I have stuck to that advice. I do not accept commissions from collectors I don’t know unless they are referred to me by someone I trust. And even then, I always check them out with Thaddeus. I go out of my way to keep a low profile. But word gets around in collectors’ circles. The result is that once in a while a determined person manages to get my email address.”
     
    “That’s how clients contact you?”
     
    “Yes. I use a false name with that email address, of course.”
     
    “What name?”
     
    “My clients know me as Newton. And that’s all they know aboutme. When I do get a message from someone seeking my services who has not been properly referred, I never respond. That’s usually the end of the matter. People who don’t hear back from me tend to conclude either that I’m something of a myth or that I’m a complete fraud. But yesterday morning I received the first blackmail note. The second one came in last night. Both were sent to my Newton address.”
     
    “How hard would it be for someone to dig up that address?”
     
    “Probably not hard at all if they hang out in the right chat rooms and hot-books sites. That’s not what worries me. What freaked me out is that the blackmailer knows way too much about me. When I contacted Thaddeus to ask for advice, I got a one-line email back from him. He told me to contact you, and he gave me your email address.”
     
    “Let me see the notes.”
     
    “I printed them out for you.” She turned away from the blue quartz and went back to her chair. Leaning down, she reached into the large shoulder bag, took out the manila envelope and handed it to Sam.
     
    He opened the envelope and removed the two printouts inside. He studied the first one without comment. He read the second one aloud.
“In addition to knowing what you did in V’s library, I also know about your past and why you attended the Summerlight Academy.”
     
    Sam looked up from the page. “I assume V is Hannah Vaughn and that the incident referred to is the home invasion at her house that took