The Adept Book 2 The Lodge Of The Lynx Read Online Free PDF Page B

police record. We’re quite safe there.”
    “What about his medallion?”
    “It wasn’t recovered,” said Raeburn. “It must have been lost in the loch.”
    “And the others?”
    Raeburn inclined his head. “Barclay claims that two members of the party started to make an escape in the boat. They even had the chest aboard. He caught a glimpse of the boat heading away from the beach below the castle, but it apparently hit something in the water. Barclay didn’t want to tell me at first what he thought he saw, but I gather that it was what one might expect, stirred up by magic from the depths of Loch Ness. In any case, the boat broke up and sank, and the men themselves must have drowned; no bodies have been recovered. That would account for all of our operatives.”
    The Head-Master’s expression was veiled. “Where does that leave us?”
    Raeburn shrugged. “The police have put forward a rather muddled official theory concerning explosives gone wrong, with possible terrorist associations. As to the boat, they’re postulating the presence of a submerged log. Far-fetched as these explanations may seem, no one has ventured any others, at least officially. At this remove, and with no one to raise the hue and cry over our missing men, no one is likely to. After all, who would guess the truth?”
    “Your Inspector McLeod?” the Head-Master suggested. Raeburn’s fair face registered a flicker of dislike. “Possibly. I haven’t forgotten about him. Right now, he’s doing us a service by diverting attention away from the supernatural elements in the incident, but his motives in doing so are far from clear. He will bear watching.”
    “I should think so.” The old man’s hooded eyes held a dark gleam of malice. “He has been far too closely involved for my liking—first at Melrose, then at Dunvegan, and finally at Urquhart. And always with the same two men in attendance—Sinclair and that young artist.”
    Raeburn elevated a flaxen eyebrow. “It could be argued that McLeod’s presence has been largely coincidental. He apparently is the accepted police authority on matters that smack of the occult, and Melrose is certainly within his jurisdiction. As for Dunvegan it might be judged sufficient that the inspector bears the clan name, and probably had the authority of his Chief. Urquhart, however, is another matter, and our man in Edinburgh has his orders to keep McLeod under surveillance.”
    “And Sinclair?”
    “His true role is also open to conjecture. I’ve had some inquiries made, and it seems that he’s a fairly eminent psychiatric physician who occasionally gets called in by the police as a consultant. It would be worth some trouble to learn whether his interest in the occult is limited to professional curiosity.”
    “What about the artist?”
    Raeburn nodded. “In a way, he strikes me as possibly the most dangerous of the three, precisely because he’s so different from McLeod and Sinclair. His name is Peregrine Lovat, and apart from the fact that he seems to be Sinclair’s protégé, he’s the one whose presence is most difficult to explain. Were he twice the age he is, I might suspect him of being the leader of a Hunting Party. As it is, he’s little more than a boy.”
    “Is he a pretty boy?” the Master asked, with a contemptuous curl of his lip. “If the answer is yes, then perhaps you need look no further for reasons why Sinclair is his patron.”
    Raeburn snorted. “That might explain some of it, but I don’t think it’s the case. The titled Dr. Sinclair has a tiresomely consistent reputation for prowess where women are concerned. I think we must look elsewhere for the Lovat connection. I intend to do so.”
    “Lovat is not worth your personal attention,” the Head-Master said. “If you want him watched, put someone else on him someone you can easily spare. If our plans are to proceed on schedule, you have far more important things to do.”
    “I wonder.” A slight frown