Abby raised her brows. “I assume that you are not referring to yourself ?”
For a second, he didn’t comprehend. Then it hit him that she had just let him know that she considered him dangerous.
“No need to insult me,” he said, going for offended. “I’m on your side in this thing, remember?”
“Actually, it’s starting to sound like you’ve got your own agenda, but I’m good with that. Everyone has an agenda, right?”
He did not dignify that with a response. “What I’m trying to explain here is that it’s reasonable to assume that Webber sent you to me because he thinks that you’re in danger from someone who is after that notebook. He understands that I’m the best-qualified person around to look after you until we find that damned book and get it off the market.”
“Okay, I get that, but remember that you’re supposed to be working for me.”
“Trust me, I am not going to let you out of my sight until we find the notebook and the person who is trying to blackmail you.”
“I’m not sure that translates into working for me.”
“You will have my full attention until this is over,” he assured her gravely.
For a long moment, she studied him with deeply shadowed, unreadable eyes. The shriek of the teakettle’s whistle broke the tense silence. She turned away to pour the hot water into the pot.
“All right,” she said. “I guess that’s the best deal I’m going to get. You find my blackmailer and make him go away. In exchange, I will find the lab notebook for you.”
Irritation sparked through him. “This isn’t a business arrangement.”
“Yes.” She set the kettle down.”That is exactly what it is. Never mind. I take it you think this lab book is locked in a psi-code?”
“According to the rumors, yes. We don’t know when it was locked or who did the encryption.”
“This man you mentioned, the one who kept the records of his experiments in the notebook, you say he died in a mine explosion?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About forty years ago. His name was Ray Willis. He and my father and another man named Quinn Knox were mining engineers who all had some intuitive sensitivity for the latent energy in rocks and crystals and ores. In addition, they had the vision to see that the future of technology was going to be dependent on the so–called rare earths. They formed a partnership and went into the exploration business. They hit pay dirt, literally, when they picked up the mineral rights to an old abandoned mine out in the Nevada desert. Whoever sank the shaft originally was probably looking for gold. There wasn’t any there. But Dad and his partners were after twenty-first-century gold.”
“The rare earths.”
“Right. They were all convinced that the Phoenix was the modern equivalent of a gold mine.”
“Did they find the minerals and elements they were looking for in the Phoenix Mine?”
“Yes, but they found something a lot more interesting and, according to Dad, a lot more dangerous. They discovered geodes filled with quartzlike crystals unlike anything they had seen before. There was no data on them in the research literature. But they eventually turned up a few old references to similar crystals in some ancient books on alchemy.”
Abby made a face and poured the tea into the mugs. “Alchemy. That figures. The old alchemists were always coming up with secret formulas and running experiments with para-crystals and amber and other stones in an effort to enhance their powers.”
“Dad, Willis and Knox could sense the energy locked in the rocks, but they had no idea how to access it, let alone figure out how to use it. They set up a small on–site lab and started conducting experiments.”
Abby set one of the mugs on the counter in front of him. At least she was no longer looking skeptical. Instead, she appeared to be reluctantly fascinated.
“They found out that the crystals had paranormal properties?” she asked.
“Yes. But they soon realized that they were playing with fire.” He was suddenly very conscious of his ring. “Maybe literally. All they could tell in the field lab was that the energy in the stones was volatile and unpredictable, and that it was paranormal in nature. Dad and Knox wanted to stop the experiments until they could get some of the specimens to a properly equipped facility. But Ray Willis was obsessed with the stones. He was convinced they had enormous value, and he decided that he didn’t want to share the potential profits.”
Abby picked up her own mug. “There was a falling-out among the partners?”
“You could say that. Ray Willis tried to murder Knox and my father. Dad never told us exactly what happened in the mine shaft that day, but in the end there was an explosion. Knox and my father escaped through an air shaft. Willis didn’t make it out.”
“What happened?”
“Afterward, Dad and Knox made a pact. They decided that for the foreseeable future, the crystals should stay in the ground. Those rocks were just too dangerous. There was no telling what would happen if they fell into the wrong hands. They agreed to keep the location of the mine a secret, and they tried to destroy all traces of its existence.”
“The foreseeable future has turned into forty years?”
“Yes, but Dad still hasn’t changed his mind about the Phoenix. He does not want it found, not yet at any rate. He says if the time comes to reopen that mine, Coppersmith Inc. will handle the job.”
“Meanwhile, your father is committed to keeping the secret.”
“His old partner, Quinn Knox, kept the secret, too. But he died a couple of weeks ago. Before he passed on, however, he warned us that his son, Lander Knox, who is evidently a full-blown bad guy with a lot of talent, is on the trail of the lab book.”
“You say your father and Knox searched for the book after the explosion?”
“Not just the notebook. Several of the crystals that Ray Willis was using in his experiments went missing, too. Dad and Knox couldn’t find the book or the stones. Eventually, they gave up and told themselves everything had been buried with Willis in the explosion. But over the years there have been occasional whispers that indicated that the book and at least some of the crystals survived. In the beginning, Dad chased down every lead. Now my brother, Judson, and I do it. But until now, nothing has ever come of any of the rumors.”
“What happened to your father’s partnership with Knox?”
“They worked together for a while. Found a new mine, one that produced copper. They sold out to a big mining company and split the profits. That was the end of their partnership. My father spent his share of the money on exploration and development of another rare-earths mine that became the foundation of Coppersmith Inc.”
“What happened to Quinn Knox?”
“He and Dad lost contact over the years. Knox evidently had a problem with gambling and a few other addictions. But Dad heard from him for the first time in decades when Knox called from his hospital bed to warn him about Lander Knox. Apparently, Lander found one of the crystals that Quinn had kept and learned about the existence of the Phoenix Mine. He has concluded that he was deprived of his rightful inheritance, and he’s determined to find it. To do that, he needs the lab book.”
“You really think this Lander Knox is the person who is trying to blackmail me?”
“I think there’s a very high probability that he’s the blackmailer, yes. But we have to assume that there may be others who will do whatever it takes to get that book.”
“Wow, a lost mine and a missing lab book.” Abby looked genuinely amused. “You know, if it weren’t for the blackmail part, this would actually be one of my cooler gigs.”
“I’m glad you can see the positive side of this situation.”
He studied the tea she had placed in front of him. Normally, he never drank tea, herbal or otherwise. But this tea was a mysterious golden green. He picked up the cup and swallowed cautiously. The brew tasted oddly soothing. He could feel the warmth flooding through him, and it felt good. It occurred to him that he had been cold for a while now. Strange that he had not been aware of it until tonight.