“Sure, but I get your point. You’ve had a few problems with long-term relationships. Good to know I’m not the only one.”
There was no reason to tell him that she had not been joking, she decided.
“I think we can both blame our relationship problems on our talent,” she said instead.
Judson nodded. “With the exception of Sam, no one else in my family understands. My mother and my sister are convinced that I’ve got major commitment issues. Their theory is that I’m obsessed with hunting bad guys, that I’m somehow addicted to using my talent. They’re afraid, long-term, that will damage me psychically if not physically.”
“Well, you’re going to have to find a way to deal with it because you need to hunt,” Gwen said without stopping to think. “Your talent drives you to it, just as mine makes me see ghosts. It’s not like either of us can just stop perceiving what we perceive.”
“No,” he said. “It’s not like we have a choice.”
“I’m not sure we’d want the choice. As hard as it is sometimes, I can’t imagine that either of us would want to come upon a crime scene and not know that something bad had happened there. It would be like walking through a graveyard or across an old battleground and not sensing the dead and the dying under our feet. It would be . . . disrespectful, don’t you think?”
He was surprised. Then his eyes tightened at the corners in a thoughtful expression. “Yes, that’s exactly how it is for me.”
“What about your father? Does he understand?”
“Dad tells himself and everyone else who will listen that my problem is that I just haven’t found the right woman. But deep down he’s worried that I won’t get lucky the way he did with Mom and that it’s his fault.”
“Why?”
“He feels guilty because he’s pretty sure the problem is my talent,” Judson said. “He blames himself.”
“Because he thinks you acquired your talent from his side of the family?”
“Because he
“Is that what happened?” she asked.
“It’s a long story, but the bottom line is that Dad was caught in an explosion in an old mine back in his prospecting days. We have reason to believe that there was a lot of paranormal energy released in the blast. Sam and Emma and I are convinced that the ultra-light altered his DNA in a way that affected all three of his future offspring.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” she said. “I have no idea where my talent came from. I never knew my parents. They were killed shortly after I was born. The aunt who raised me swore it didn’t come from her side of the family. That would have been my father’s side. But, then, Aunt Beth had a few issues of her own.”
There was a long silence. Max rumbled on.
“How have you handled your relationship issues?” Judson asked after a while.
“Mostly I just avoid them.”
“The issues?”
“No, the relationships. It’s easier that way.” She stretched and settled deeper into the chair. “Well, now that we’ve established that neither of us is good long-term commitment material, maybe we should get back to our investigation. You said you didn’t think that Evelyn was a victim of some terrible fantasy game. What does that tell us?”
“That she was killed for a very pragmatic reason.” Judson got to his feet and went to the window. He stood looking out into the night. “You knew her better than anyone. Do you have any idea where we can start looking for her secrets?”
“Maybe,” Gwen said.
She rose from the chair and crossed the room to take the photo out of her tote. She brought the picture back to show him what Evelyn had written on the back.
“I think I may know where she hid at least one very important secret,” Gwen said.
Twelve
The next morning, the old lodge was shrouded in a heavy mist. Judson shut down the SUV engine and studied the scene. The rustic, badly weathered structure was two stories in height. The architecture looked like it dated from the early nineteen hundreds. All of the windows on both floors were covered with metal shutters.
“What’s with the blackout windows?” he asked.
“Evelyn was convinced that natural daylight and light in general from the visible end of the spectrum interfered with psi, making it harder to detect and measure,” Gwen said.
“She was right. Sam and his lab techs have come to the same conclusion. So you are now the proud owner of this old firetrap as well as her house?”
“Yep, property taxes, utilities and all.” Gwen fished a piece of paper out of her tote. “I didn’t want the lab and I have absolutely no use for the equipment inside, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell Evelyn. Just about everything in there—all of the instruments and machines that she designed to study the paranormal—is a one-of a-kind device, designed and built by her.”
“What did she expect you to do with the stuff?”
“She hoped that I would find a good home for her precious instruments and test equipment. There aren’t a lot of people doing serious research into the paranormal, but there are a few.”
He smiled faintly. “Like Coppersmith, Inc.”
Gwen brightened. “Do you think that Sam and his R-and-D techs would be interested in some of her devices?”
“I think I can safely predict that Sam and his people would jump at the opportunity to examine whatever is inside that lodge. Can’t guarantee they’ll take every piece of equipment, though.”
“I understand. But I know Evelyn would have been thrilled to have some genuine paranormal researchers give her inventions serious attention. Unfortunately, she never even knew that the Coppersmith lab existed.”
“And Coppersmith was never aware of her work.” He unfastened his seat belt. “Damn shame. You know, this isn’t the first time that it has occurred to me that those of us with real talent need to come up with a way to find each other and communicate. It’s like we’re all working in the dark.”
“Evelyn used to say that a lot, too.”
“Did she spend a lot of her time here at the lab?”
“Are you kidding?” Gwen smiled. “This place was her life. She invested just about every dime she ever got into it. The security system is state-of-the-art because she wanted to protect the things she designed and built.”
“Not like you can buy good quality paranormal instruments and monitors online. Believe me, Sam and his lab techs have tried.” Judson opened the door and got out. “Let’s take a look.”
Gwen jumped out and walked around the front of the SUV to join him. He saw the gritty determination in her eyes and knew that going back into Ballinger’s lab would not be easy for her. She had found the bodies of two friends there and nearly been murdered herself.
“When was the last time you were in there?” he asked.
“The day after Taylor attacked me.”
“When you and Ballinger came here to search for the weapon.”
“Yes.”
She went up the steps to the heavy metal door. He followed her and stopped beside her. The numbers on the lock’s keypad were illuminated in red. He recognized the manufacturer’s logo on the small, square panel.
“I’m impressed,” he said. “Ballinger really did spring for good security. Must have cost her a fortune to install this system.”
