Page 18 of The Bride Wore White

“Youthinkso?”

“It’s extremely difficult to prove that an individual has a paranormal talent. The line between intuition and psychic ability is very blurred, to say the least.”

To her surprise, Jack appeared to give that some serious consideration.

“You may have a point,” he allowed.

She contemplated the ceiling. “Thank you. I have had some experience in the field.”

“About Clara Dover’s talent,” Jack said, evidently unaware of her irritation.

“She clearly has a gift for business, but whether or not it’s a true psychic talent, I can’t say. For what it’s worth, my grandmother was convinced that Clara perceives human auras, although she may not realize it.”

“That’s interesting,” Luther said. “Theoretically, if you could read auras, you might be able to tell a great deal about individuals. Their strengths. Weaknesses. That sort of thing. That would certainly be useful in investigative work. Applied to the business world, that information might allow you to make useful assessments of your competitors and clients.”

“I agree,” Prudence said. “It might explain Clara’s success.”

“If you don’t mind,” Jack said, “I’ve got a few more questions.”

She gave him a polite smile. “Of course you do. What do you want to know, Mr.Wingate?”

He watched her with his grim eyes. “What kind of talent did Clara think her son possessed?”

“Gilbert? She was convinced he had inherited her aptitude for business. The fact that he displayed little or no interest in Dover Industries did not seem to alarm her. She was sure that once he was married to a nice stable psychic he would settle down and assume his responsibilities.”

“Any reason to think that might have been true?” Jack asked.

“Nope.”

“You met Gilbert, you knew his mother, and you had information about the family from the psychic circuit,” Jack said. “What was your opinion of him?”

“Gilbert Dover believed himself to be quite charming, and his mother certainly agreed.” She shivered. “I found him repulsive.”

“Why?” Jack asked, more interested than ever.

“You mean aside from the fact that he had a reputation as an arrogant bully who was known to take advantage of women he considered his social inferiors?”

“Aside from those things,” Jack said.

“Let’s just say I knew from the start that I could never marry Gilbert Dover.”Or anyone else,she added silently. But her problems with sex and marriage had nothing to do with the case. She was certainly not going to discuss them with these two men.

“Tell me about your last client,” Jack said. “Thomas Tapson. The man who died in your reading room.”

“I thought I made it clear that Tapson did not die in my reading room,” she said. “He suffered a seizure and died several hours later in the hospital.”

“My apologies. I forgot the details.”

No, you did not forget a damned thing,she thought. He had been trying to trip her up.

“I would have thought a memory for details would be important to an investigator,” she said sweetly.

“Consultant,” he corrected.

“Consultant.”

“What did you learn about Tapson from his dreams?”

“Nothing that has anything to do with my case. The man wanted to kill me. He called me a succubus. I’m quite certain he had murdered other women. I am very glad he collapsed when he did. That is all I can tell you.”

---