Page 50 of The Bride Wore White

“There’s no such thing as one hundred percent certainty in my business, Prudence.”

“Gosh, now you tell me.”

“Let’s get back to Clara,” he said, refusing to rise to the bait.

“You heard her,” Prudence said. “You now know as much as I do. She thinks she is having visions in which Gilbert is communicating with her from the Other Side.”

“Visionis a precise word, too,” Jack said. “It’s not the same asdream. Did she ever consult you or your grandmother about visions?”

“No. When she consulted my grandmother and, later, me, she always used the worddreams. She never claimed to have visions.”

“She also called you a witch,” Jack said. “Did she ever mention witchcraft or magic?”

“No. I would have remembered.”

Jack downshifted for a curve. “Something has changed in her world.”

“Her designated heir is dead. Gilbert Dover’s death has apparently pushed her to the edge of a nervous breakdown. Maybe over the edge. She’s hallucinating, Jack. She thinks she’s havingvisions. That is not the Clara Dover I knew in San Francisco.”

If Jack caught the sharp note of frustration in her voice, he chose to ignore it. He concentrated on his driving.

“When we get back to the house, I’ll add this new information to the crime tree,” he said. “It’s important.”

“Fine. I’m going to take a walk on the beach. I need to think.”

“Not a good idea.”

“Me trying to think is a bad idea?”

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I need to take a walk, Jack. Having someone tell you that you’re going to die by fire is oddly stressful.”

She did not add that she was not looking forward to returning to the echoing silence of House of Shadows.

“I’ll go with you,” he said.

She glanced at him, briefly surprised. Then understanding struck. Jack wasn’t any more eager than she was to return to the big empty house on the cliffs.

Chapter 23

You were right when you predicted that Clara Dover would show up in Burning Cove,” Prudence said.

“It wasn’t a prediction,” Jack said. “It was a logical assumption with a high probability of being correct.”

Prudence laughed. “Like I said, a prediction.”

He thought about arguing the point and decided it wasn’t worth the effort. He had other priorities at the moment. At first he had assumed a walk on the beach was a waste of time. He needed to get back to the crime tree. But to his surprise, the walk was turning out to be a good idea. The tangy breeze felt good, and the waves were rolling in, crashing, and retreating in a rhythmic pattern that was refreshing. Stimulating. Energizing.

The waves and the breeze were not the only elements energizing the atmosphere, he thought. Prudence had a similar effect on him. Refreshing. Stimulating. Energizing. Very energizing. He had a sudden urge to reach for her hand and had to make a conscious effort to suppress the impulse. What would she do if he did try tolink his fingers with hers? he wondered. Would she be shocked? After all, she was his client, not a lover. But who knew how she would react? This was Prudence. He had never encountered anyone like her. There were still a lot of unknowns when it came to Prudence Ryland. But he knew he liked being here on the beach with her. He liked it a lot. She made everything in his life feel... different.

She gave him a speculative look. “Can you always calculate what other people will do in a given set of circumstances?”

“No. When it comes to human beings, there is never enough information available to ensure a hundred percent certainty.”

“It’s the same with dream reading.”

“Is it?” he said, keeping his tone neutral. He did not want to argue with her. Not now. Priorities.

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