“Believe it or not, I got that far.”
“Gee, aren’t you Mr. Sherlock Holmes.”
“Given your astonishing skill and talent, I expect a little more information,” Judson said. “Anything else?”
“I’ve got lots more, thanks to my astonishing skill and talent. First off, you were right, he wasn’t targeting psychics. None of the victims showed any interest in the paranormal. None of them claimed any kind of psychic ability.”
Judson smiled a little at the hum of excitement in Nick’s voice. Sawyer and he had more in common than either one of them would ever admit, he thought.
“So, what did all the hits have in common?” he asked.
“That greatest of all motivators—money. Four of the six definitely qualified as elderly. The other two were suffering long-term chronic illnesses. All six were standing in the way of very healthy inheritances and/or insurance policies.”
“We look to the heirs,” Judson said.
“I’m way ahead of you on account of my astonishing skill and talent,” Nick said. “I checked out a couple of them already. The forty-two-year-old son of the last victim recently transferred a very large amount of money into an offshore account. A similar amount was paid to the same account by a nephew of one of the other hits.”
“You know what? You’re good at this, Sawyer. I think you and my mother should spend some quality time together.”
“I’ve spent some time with your mother,” Nick said. “I’m in the wedding, remember? Nice lady. Turns out she and Girard both think I have excellent taste. I’m the one who suggested deep violet and gold for the color theme.”
“Glad to hear it, but that’s not why I think you and Mom should talk. Mom knows how to follow the money better than anyone else I’ve ever met. I’d say she has a psychic talent for it, but she doesn’t believe in the paranormal.”
“You’re kidding?” Nick snorted. “After raising you and your brother and sister?”
“Mom prefers to think we’re all just highly intuitive.”
“Oh, right. That sounds so much more pleasant than thinking that her kids are freaks.”
“Something like that.”
“That’s a mom for you, always looking on the positive side when it comes to her little ones,” Nick said. His voice had gone utterly flat.
Judson pushed past the sudden silence on the other end of the connection. “What I’m trying to say here is that it would be extremely helpful if you and Mom could get together for an afternoon, like today, and figure out if anyone connected to this case who is still here in Wilby has been moving large amounts of money around.”
“You want us to vet an entire town full of aging hippies, chronic underachievers, failed artists and assorted misfits? That would take days, not an afternoon.” But Nick was sounding interested again.
“I’ll have Gwen put together a list of folks who were connected to the Ballinger Study. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve got the names.”
“I’ll await your call with bated breath. Meanwhile, I’ve got one other factoid that might interest you. It’s true that none of the victims was into the paranormal, but in the case of at least two of them, I can tell you that about a month before the hits were made, the heirs—a nephew in one case and a daughter-in-law in the other—spent some time in a chat room run by an online psychic counselor. Until that point, neither the nephew nor the daughter-in-law had shown any interest in psychics or fortune-tellers or tarot cards.”
Judson tightened his grip on the phone. “You could have mentioned that sooner.”
“I wanted to save the best for last.”
“Got a name for this online psychic counselor?” Judson asked.
Gwen’s eyes widened.
“The online psychic goes by the name of Sundew,” Nick said. “And before you ask, I looked it up. Sundews are carnivorous plants. Cute, huh? I’m thinking that it would be interesting to find out if any of the other lucky heirs contacted Sundew prior to the murders.”
“Yes,” Judson said. “It would be very interesting. How the hell did you come across the info on Sundew?”
“I spent a little time on the computers of the two heirs I just mentioned,” Nick said smoothly. “It’s amazing how many people leave their passwords lying around.”
“You know, it would be very inconvenient if you happened to get arrested in the course of this investigation,” Judson said.
“You don’t need to spell it out.” Nick’s tone went cold and flat again. “I’m aware that if I get picked up, I will discover that the Coppersmiths have never heard of me.”
“Much as we might like to pretend we’ve never heard of you, that’s not an option.”
“No?”
“No. For better or worse, you now fall into the friends-and-family category. Mom would brain me if you weren’t around to walk Abby down the aisle. If you run into trouble with the authorities, you keep your mouth shut and you call me.”
“What will you do?” Nick said, reluctantly curious.
“Coppersmith, Inc., has a herd of lawyers, very good lawyers. They will take care of the pesky details. You won’t sit in jail long.”
“Good to know.”
“But my life would be vastly simplified if you did not get picked up in the first place,” Judson warned.
“Relax, I’ve never been caught. I’m not about to spoil my perfect record of non-arrest now. Send me that list of people you want your mom and me to vet, and be sure you take good care of Gwen. Anything happens to her, you’ll answer to me.”
“Understood.”
Judson ended the call and looked at Gwen. “Evidently not all psychic counselors conduct themselves according to your own high ethical standards.”
“Damn,” Gwen said. “Nothing like a killer psychic counselor to give the profession a bad name.”
Thirty-one
Gwen watched Judson pick up the coffeepot and move through the bathroom doorway to fill the pot with water. Max followed him on the off chance that Judson might also refill the food dish.
“You think this Sundew is using the chat room to troll for business, is that it?” Gwen asked.
“That’s my best guess,” Judson said through the doorway. “Online rumors probably send prospects his way. He can check them out anonymously in the chat room, select those who look like serious prospects and contact them privately to offer his services.”
“We may have put a glitch in his business model here in Wilby, but if we don’t stop him, he will continue to kill, won’t he?”
“Sure.” Judson emerged from the bathroom and poured the water into the coffeemaker. He put the pot on the hot plate and dropped the pre-measured bag of coffee into the machine. “He’s addicted by now, probably has been for a long time.”
Gwen shuddered. “But you said he was a pro, that he does it for the money.”
“Doesn’t mean he’s not addicted to his work, specifically the feeling of power that it gives him.”
Max abandoned hope of another meal and vaulted up onto the bed. He settled down and half closed his eyes.
Gwen tried to suppress the chill that iced her nerves. “If Sundew is addicted to murder, he’s simply another kind of serial killer, even if he does consider himself a pro.”
Judson flipped the switch on the coffeemaker. “Just another one of the monsters.”
“Okay, say he will need another crystal tuner,” Gwen said. “How would he go about replacing Louise? It’s not
