Page 16 of The Bride Wore White

He smiled a faint, cold smile. “Perhaps you would care to set the record straight?”

“For starters, Thomas Tapson did not drop dead in my reading room. He suffered a seizure. I immediately called an ambulance. I learned much later, after I arrived in L.A., that he had died. The authorities ruled the death as natural causes. The scandal sheets sensationalized the story and hinted at murder by psychic means. I must admit, I’m surprised you pay attention to that sort of cheap journalism.”

“The case caught my eye because of the psychic element,” he said.

“Why? I was under the impression that you considered all psychics to be frauds.”

“I like to keep an open mind.”

“Really? I’ve seen no evidence of that.”

Luther cleared his throat again. “Jack is currently working on a book about a method of crime scene analysis that he has developed. He is probably including a chapter on investigations involving psychics or the paranormal. Right, Jack?”

“Or something,” Jack said.

“Perhaps we should direct this conversation back to the problem at hand,” Luther said.

“Good idea,” Jack said. He did not take his attention off Prudence. “It has not escaped my veryopen mindthat this is the second time you have been involved in the mysterious death of a man who moved in upper-class social circles in San Francisco.”

“It’s a coincidence,” Prudence shot back.

“Do psychics believe in coincidence?”

“I did not murder anyone in San Francisco, and I thought we had established that I did not kill Gilbert Dover,” Prudence said, fighting to keep her temper under control.

“No,” Jack said. “What we established was that you would not have murdered Dover with a knife. It doesn’t mean you did not convince someone else to assist you.”

“What?” So much for maintaining a professional facade. She had never been so angry in her life. “Are you accusing me of murder?”

“I’m not accusing you,” Jack said. “I’m just making an observation.” He glanced at Luther. “You were right. Miss Ryland is a very interesting case.”

“I am not acase, Mr.Wingate,” Prudence said. It was too much. She had been under enormous stress since waking up in the Pentland Plaza honeymoon suite with a dead man beside her. And now this. “I am an innocent woman who is seeking professional investigative assistance.”

“What, exactly, do you want me to do?” Jack asked.

“Fortunately for you, I have decided I don’t wantyouto do anything,” she said. “I am here to obtain the services of Mr.Pell’s firm. I’m sure he has other consultants available.”

Luther grunted. “It’s true I contract with a number of investigative experts, Miss Ryland. My job is to select the individual I believe is best suited to deal with a particular case. In my professional opinion, Jack is the right person for your situation. I realize he can be difficult, but believe it or not, he knows what he’s doing.”

She eyed Jack, not bothering to conceal her skepticism, and then turned back to Luther. “What in the world makes you think Mr.Wingate is the right consultant to handle this disaster?”

“Mostly because he appears to be interested. Isn’t that right, Jack?”

Jack inclined his head once in short, brusque agreement. “It’s an intriguing case.”

She could hardly believe what she was hearing. “That’s the reason you are assigning him to this investigation, Mr.Pell? Because he appearsinterested? I’m sorry if Mr.Wingate has a problem withboredom, but I’m not here to keep him busy or to distract him. He can go to the movies if he needs entertainment.”

“Jack doesn’t take an interest in every case,” Luther said. “When he does, it usually means he’s the right person for the job. Also, he happens to be convenient. He recently moved here to Burning Cove.”

She shot another look at Jack. He appeared interested, all right. Maybe a little too interested.

Initially she had detected what she had concluded was detached curiosity in his hard-to-read eyes. She had asked Pell if Jack was his secretary, but that had been pure sarcasm. The truth was that when they were introduced, she had wondered if Jack was one of Pell’s mobster associates. Maggie had told her that Luther was rumored to have connections to the criminal underworld.

Dark haired and cold eyed, with a face that looked as if it had been chiseled from granite, and the attitude to match, Wingate certainly could have been a visiting crime lord. But she had been forced to reevaluate her conclusion when she realized he was watching her the way a dedicated lepidopterist might examine an unusual butterfly. She got the feeling he was trying to decide if she was a rare enough specimen to be added to his collection.

Her intuition had stirred.Who or what are you collecting, Jack Wingate?

She realized it was her reaction to him that disconcerted her the most. She was both wary and intrigued, and that was confounding, because he was definitely not her type. In fact, he did not fit into any of the usual categories.

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