“They say that happens a lot when it comes to history,” Alice said. “Different people hold different views and the prevailing story is the one written by the winners.”
“There are no winners and losers here,” Harry growled. “Just a partnership that went bust.”
Drake shot Harry a warning look and took charge of the meeting. “To continue, Nick North died before he could return to Rainshadow again after the agreement was signed. Thanks to his MC wife at the time, the diary and Nick’s psi-code map to the cave where the crystals were stored disappeared into the underground antiquities market.”
“There’s always a market for lost treasure maps,” Charlotte observed. “No telling how many people tried to find those ruins over the years.”
“Tried and failed,” Alice said. “Because only a descendant of Nick North, who also possessed a version of his talent, could decipher his copy of the psi-code map.”
Drake folded his arms and sat back. “Zara Tucker came across North’s psi-code map and the diary during the course of her research. She became obsessed with finding the ruins, particularly the pyramid, which North believed contained extraordinary secrets that only a light-talent could unravel. But first she had to locate the crystals. She landed a position at the Foundation research labs to try to get an inside track and access to the Sebastian family archives.”
“Her plan worked at first because the two of you started dating,” Harry said. “She even persuaded you to go to a matchmaking agency and take the test. Lo and behold the two of you were a perfect match.”
Drake winced. “Don’t remind me. Who knew you could bribe a matchmaker to fake the results of the test? Is nothing sacred?”
Fletcher shook his head. “Nope.”
“It soon became clear to Tucker that, in spite of what the agency test showed, you were not going to marry her and you certainly had no intention of taking her into your confidence,” Harry continued. “Hell, our family has never even officially acknowledged that the Old World crystals existed. Those damn rocks were a deep, dark family secret and we intended to keep it that way.”
“When I ended the relationship,” Drake said, “she was furious because she saw everything she had worked for going down in flames. In her rage, she used the Alien laser on me and then she faked her own death.”
Alice pursed her lips. “In hindsight, it certainly looks as if the two of you should have conducted a more thorough investigation into her disappearance.”
Harry and Drake looked at her.
“Thank you for that advice,” Harry said.
Drake nodded solemnly. “Have to remember that the next time I run into a mad scientist.”
Alice shrugged. “Just saying.”
Rachel and Charlotte smiled.
“Got any idea how hard it is to prove that someone did not fake her own death by walking off into an uncharted section of the catacombs?” Harry asked. “People disappear into the tunnels all the time. In this instance, there was a note. There was a record of a recent para-psych evaluation in which the doctor noted that Tucker was at risk of doing herself some harm. A stash of potent hallucinogens were discovered in her bedroom. None of her bank accounts were ever accessed after she vanished. None of her credit cards were ever used.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Alice said. “You thought she was dead. I will admit that it’s easier to disappear than most people assume—if you’re willing to leave everything behind.”
Drake cleared his throat. “Moving right along, Tucker reinvented herself as an Alien antiquities expert in the black market. It was the perfect cover. She operated freely in the shadows of that world and in the process she met Aldwin Hampstead, director of the Whitcomb Museum. They did business together but Tucker never gave up on her goal. She went looking for a North descendant who could lead her to the crystals.”
“Eventually she found me,” Alice said. “But I had no idea that my family history was connected to Rainshadow. All I knew was that I had a talent for disappearing.”
“Tucker had to figure out a way to get you on board without letting you discover your heritage and your claim to half of anything found on Rainshadow,” Drake said. “She was afraid that if you learned the truth you would go straight to the Sebastian family to demand your share. She didn’t dare let that happen.”
“She had another problem as well,” Alice said. “She was going to need a lot of money to conduct an illicit excavation here on Rainshadow.”
Fletcher raised a brow. “That’s where Aldwin Hampstead came in, I suppose.”
“Yes,” Drake said. “He had a direct pipeline into the Whitcomb family fortune. He also knew enough about the family dynamics to realize that Fulton Whitcomb would jump at the chance to prove to his mom and everyone else that he was not a loser.”
“Tucker and Hampstead decided to bring him in on the project,” Alice said. “Whitcomb was thrilled when they approached him with the idea of going after the crystals and the ruins. They told him all he had to do was convince me to enter into a full Covenant Marriage in order to be able to claim half of whatever they found on the island.”
Rachel gave Alice a wicked smile. “I’m sure they were all stunned when you turned down Whitcomb’s offer of a CM in favor of a trial marriage.”
“Yeah, well, there was this small voice whispering that it was all just a little too good to be true,” Alice said.
“After Egan Quinton murdered Fulton Whitcomb, Tucker came to Rainshadow with the diary, the secret of the catacomb entrance, and the three crystals,” Drake said. “Sure enough, she was able to use the stones to locate the pyramid. Thanks to Hampstead, she was able to tap into the museum endowment fund to finance a small-scale excavation.”
“Thanks to her work in the antiquities black market, she had already found her pet ghost hunter, Egan,” Alice said. “He was a professional killer with a talent for disguise. His job was to keep the tunnels cleared of UDEMs and serve as her spy in Shadow Bay. He rounded up a couple of his pals to handle security and bring in supplies by way of Deception Cove.”
Jasper frowned. “You say Tucker had all three crystals but only two of them were found inside the pyramid. How did the third one end up in the aquarium?”
Slade sat forward. “I can answer that. I talked to Tucker again this morning. She said she didn’t want to take any chances with the pyramid until she knew more about the power of the crystals. She took them to the aquarium to run some experiments. But she made the mistake of putting one of the stones into the rainstone vault at the aquarium.”
Rachel looked surprised. “She was able to work the rainstone to open the vault?”
“No,” Slade said. “The vault was open when she arrived at the aquarium. She took one of the crystals inside to see if it would resonate with any of the antiquities. Her action triggered the vault’s closing mechanism. When she realized that she was about to get locked inside, she panicked and ran for the exit, leaving the crystal behind. She barely made it.”
“Once the vault closed there was no way to open it again,” Harry said. He gave Rachel a knowing look. “Not unless you happen to have a talent for working rainstone.”
“In the end, Tucker was left with only two crystals,” Drake said. “She had no interest in the aquarium facility, so she went back to the pyramid chamber and planted the remaining two crystals inside. They eventually set up the unstable resonance frequencies that overheated the Chamber and ignited the fog.”
Slade looked at him. “You are going to take all of those people who are currently sitting in my jail away from Shadow Bay, right? I want them out of town as soon as possible.”
“Harry will handle that end of things,” Drake said.
“Don’t worry,” Harry said. “I’ve already talked to headquarters. A Foundation Security team—the real Foundation Security people this time—will be here in the morning. We’ll transport your guests back to the mainland and hand them over to the FBPI.”