“Lady Annabel mentioned that he used to meditate in the caves, I believe,” Evan said.
Annabel nodded. “He said he picked up amazing vibrations.”
“Let’s back up,” Watkins said. “Let’s go back to the day he didn’t show up for cocktails. When was the last time he was seen?”
“We had lunch together,” Annabel said. “After lunch I usually take a little rest. I don’t know where Randy went after that. You’d have to ask the staff.”
“How many staff work here?” Watkins asked.
Lady Annabel fluttered her hands again. “We have a full-time masseur, and a team of experts in the healing arts on call, so the number would vary from day to day. Sometimes it’s the Reiki therapist, sometimes the acupuncturist or the bio energy balancer … .”
A lot of people to pay when guests are almost nonexistent, Evan thought.
“And then there’s the domestic staff. I’m not exactly sure how many of those we have at the moment. You’d have to ask Mrs. Roberts. She’s the housekeeper.”
“Let’s see,” Mrs. Roberts said. “At the moment there’s the chef and the two kitchen helpers. Bethan helps me with the housekeeping. Then we have the maintenance man and the two grounds-keepers and security. That would be it. Oh, and the new girl, Betsy here.”
Watkins looked at Betsy with interest. “You were the one who dreamed where Mr. Wunderlich was?”
Betsy nodded.
“Have you worked here long?”
“No, I just started a couple of days ago. The day before Randy—Mr. Wunderlich—was missing.”
“Did you now?”
Evan noticed the glance that passed between Watkins and Glynis. He was just beginning to realize that the sequence of events must look suspicious.
“Well, yes,” Betsy said, blushing bright red. “Miss Court, the American lady here, she brought me down to the Sacred Grove center so that Mr. Wunderlich could test my psychic abilities and Harry, my old boss at the pub, wouldn’t give me time off, miserable old sod that he is, so Miss Court said she’d ask if they could give me a job at the center so I could be right on the spot when Mr. Wunderlich wanted to work with me.”
“I see,” Watkins looked at her for a long moment, then turned back to Lady Annabel.
“Could we have the staff assembled so that we could question them about Mr. Wunderlich’s whereabouts after lunch that day?”
“The staff don’t sleep on the property,” Mrs. Roberts said. “The first of them will be coming on duty at eight. I’ll send word to the gatekeeper that they’re to report in here first.”
“So do we have any idea at what time Mr. Wunderlich was last seen?” Watkins asked. “Did he have appointments that afternoon?”
“He was supposed to be meeting with me at four,” Betsy said. “But he didn’t turn up. I waited in his office but he never came.”
“Did any of you have contact with him after lunch?” Watkins asked, looking around the room. His gaze fell on Emmy, who had been sitting silent and withdrawn.
“Me? I wasn’t here,” Emmy said. “I’m not attached to this place. I’m a grad student, doing research work, and I brought Betsy here because I’d heard about Randy Wunderlich and the advanced methods he had developed for testing psychic ability.”
“And I wasn’t here,” Michael said. “I went into town after lunch to run some errands for my mother.”
“I saw Mr. Wunderlich after lunch,” Betsy said. “I was asked to take him down a cup of coffee—around two-thirty, that would have been. I took it down and he was on the phone and he said, ‘Thank you. Leave it there.’”
“You took his coffee?”
Betsy nodded. “And the empty coffee cup was still there on his desk when I went into his office at four. I was planning to take it away and wash it up, but I forgot.”
“Rhiannon might know something,” Lady Annabel said. “We should have her here.”
“Rhiannon?” Watkins asked.
“Our resident Druid priestess,” Lady Annabel said. “She runs our meditation center and directs our Celtic spirituality classes. She might well have seen Randy that afternoon—his office is in the same building.”
“And where can we find her now?”
“She lives in one of the cottages, right behind the meditation center,” Annabel said. “I can send Michael to find her for you.”
“No, I think we’ll go down that way ourselves and take a look,” Watkins said. “If one of you would be kind enough to direct us.”
“Michael will take you down, won’t you, dear?”
“If you say so.” Michael got to his feet. “This way, please.”
Watkins followed him out through the etched-glass front doors. Glynis looked back at Evan and nodded that he should come too.
“A resident Druid priestess,” Glynis muttered to Evan. “This place is too much, isn’t it? Do you think they really believe in all this stuff?”
“Wait until you meet the priestess,” Evan said. “She takes herself very seriously.”
“So I might not have been so far off with my suggestion of black magic down in the cave?” Glynis said as they descended the flight of steps.
Evan remembered the bone-chilling dread of that cave. Now, with the early morning sun sending steam rising from the grass, it seemed laughable that it was caused by anything more than inadequate clothes and an empty stomach.
They were halfway down the steps when they saw a figure walking up to meet them. It was wearing a white, hooded, floor-length cloak.
“Ah, Rhiannon,” Michael called. “I was sent to find you.”
“And I was coming to you.” Rhiannon threw back her hood to reveal the striking gray hair. “They’ve found Randy, haven’t they? I was awakened while it was still dark. I felt a tremendous disturbance in the cosmic forces.”
Michael nodded. “Yes. They’ve found him. Dead, I’m afraid. Drowned.”
“I knew it.” Rhiannon said. “I sensed it all along. Not that one would have ever picked up vibrations from him, but the universe told me.”
“Why wouldn’t you feel vibrations from him?” Glynis asked, moving up beside Watkins. “Were you not on the same wavelength?”
Rhiannon’s penetrating stare held Glynis until the young woman blushed and laughed awkwardly.
“What we do here is not to be taken lightly,” Rhiannon said. “Randy Wunderlich took it lightly and see what fate awaited him. The universe will not be mocked.”
“So—uh—do you remember when you last saw Mr. Wunderlich?” Watkins asked. “So far, the last time any person had contact with him was around two-thirty in the afternoon that day.”
“I’m afraid I can’t help you there, Inspector. I was out and about all afternoon.”
“It’s not inspector, it’s sergeant,” Watkins said.
“Ah. Not inspector yet. I’m sorry. A little premature.” Rhiannon’s fixed her intense gaze on Watkins. “I try to shut Randy Wunderlich from my mind. I find his presence very disturbing, so I wouldn’t have noticed him even if he were in the next room.” She gave a curt little nod. “Good day to you. I expect I’m required at the great house.”
She continued on up the steps.
“What a strange woman,” Glynis muttered.
Watkins glanced back over his shoulder. “How did she know I was going to be promoted?”
“Rhiannon is a law unto herself,” Michael said, watching her go up the steps, the white cape flying out behind her. “She’d like people to think she is in constant contact with the forces of the universe—whatever that means. You should go to her ceremonies some time. P-pretty impressive stuff. She knows how to put on a good show—I’ll say that for her.”
“I gather you don’t go along with all the things they do here?” Evan asked the young man.
Michael laughed. “If you want my honest opinion, it’s a load of cod’s wallop. But if enough misguided people are willing to pay to have their auras put back into shape and find out that they were Cleopatra once, who am I to rock the boat?”