"If we were, it was only to perform a sunset consecration ritual," he said.
Riley knew how much rituals could vary from group to group, but she was picking up enough from Steve to feel fairly confident in saying, "No fire except a candle, black clothing rather than robes. Salt to form the circle and chanting inside it. It wasn't, strictly speaking, a sexual ritual, but at least three couples…indulged. You had intended to use the stone altar in future, more elaborate rituals but wanted to make sure the area was consecrated first."
"That was the plan," he admitted. "Until some lunatic decided to sacrifice a human being. Believe me, any rituals we conduct now will be private and inside the house. With the blinds closed."
"You have a permit for a bonfire tomorrow night," Jake said.
"We're going to roast marshmallows, Sheriff. You're welcome to come, but bring your own stick."
Riley decided that Jake's blood pressure probably couldn't take any more and rose to her feet. "We may want to talk to you again later," she told Steve. "In the meantime, I'll suggest again that it might be wise to stick close to home for the duration."
Steve frowned but nodded, and Jenny merely said quietly, "Thanks, Riley."
Chapter 19
Jake maintained his silence until they reached their vehicles, and then demanded, "Jesus, Ash, can't you keep your hands off her for five minutes?"
Holding Riley's hand, Ash smiled and said, "I really can't."
Leah coughed to cover the beginning of a laugh, and then said hastily to Riley, "You don't think they're involved, do you?"
"I think we were meant to believe so, but…no." Riley shook her head. "I think whoever killed him is the person who advised Wesley Tate to invite his ex-wife and her group here."
Jake said, "Wait a minute. Are you telling me I've got another group of satanists around here?"
"Not a group, no. That would be stretching the odds past breaking, I think. Maybe two people, a team, more probably just one."
"Using this group as a diversion," Ash suggested.
"A diversion from what? Some other reason Tate was killed?"
"Well," Riley pointed out, "it has worked. I mean, first we were running around trying to find out who he was, and now the obvious suspects don't look like such a good fit. We all know the longer it takes to solve a murder the colder the trail gets."
She wasn't about to confide in the sheriff her suspicions that she herself was the linchpin of the entire situation, the target of someone's rage. What evidence she had of such a conclusion was something he was not at all likely to understand, much less accept.
"Stalling tactics?" Jake shook his head. "Then why leave him hanging over that altar? Why not just dump his body in the ocean or bury it somewhere? Since he was never reported missing, we probably wouldn't even have known to start looking for him until new tenants showed up at that house. And why torture and decapitate him?"
"It was meant to look like an occult-related death," Riley said. "That doesn't mean it actually was one."
"So far, we haven't looked past the occult as a motive," Ash said neutrally.
With a definite growl in his voice, Jake said, "I've got a motive for you. It might have been dressed up in black robes and salt circles, but I've got a dead man and his ex-wife both on this island, and that can't be a coincidence. Look, spouses kill each other all the time. And, yes, even years after they divorce. Maybe he just inherited family money and she's still named in his will. Maybe there's a kid involved somewhere and it's a custody issue. Maybe Smiling Steve in there is a hell of a lot more jealous than he let on."
Riley frowned, then shrugged. "It's your investigation, Jake. I just don't believe anybody in that house killed Wesley Tate."
"Then who?" Jake practically roared.
"I don't know. Yet."
He settled his shoulders with the air of a man about to do things. Possibly intensely physical things. "Fine. I'm sure you won't mind if I dig a little deeper with those background checks."
"I think that's an excellent idea. Because there is another connection between that group, Wesley Tate, and either Castle or Opal Island."
"What sort of connection?" Leah asked.
"Find that," Riley said, "and we'll have a very big piece of the puzzle."
Jake motioned for Leah to get into their Jeep, then said to the other two, "So what're you going to be doing in the meantime?"
Riley knew Ash was tempted to reply that it involved nakedness and the Kama Sutra, and replied hastily, "Oh, nosing around. Trying to find out if there really are other occult practitioners in the area."
"Good luck with that. Let me know if you find anything."
"Will do." She watched the sheriff's department Jeep pull away, then looked at Ash with lifted brows. "You were a lot of help."
"I've discovered I enjoy pissing Jake off. It's like having a new toy."
She had to laugh, but added, "Well, stop it, okay? At least until we figure out what's going on. It's distracting."
Sobering, he said, "Yeah, you're right. I did notice that you haven't been in any hurry to tell Jake what you really suspect is going on here."
"It's not like I have any proof. And it all sounds so incredibly Byzantine, for someone to go to all this trouble to lure me here just to mess with my head. The more I think about it, the more unlikely it seems."
Ash glanced back toward the house, then led Riley around to the passenger side of the Hummer. "Maybe we should talk about this on the way," he said.
Riley waited until he joined her in the vehicle and had the engine going before saying, "On the way where?"
"You tell me. How is the head, by the way? You seemed to be picking up on undercurrents back there, if not actual thoughts."
"Actual thoughts," she confirmed. "Jenny's, anyway. Faint and fuzzy, but perceptible. So the head is definitely improving. On every count except memory; the blackouts are still blanks, and my time here before the Taser attack is still weirdly distant and definitely spotty."
Ash guided her hand to rest on his thigh. "So energy isn't a problem now?"
"Not so much. But I am hungry." She thought about it. "I guess food is still the fuel for the physical furnace, but your energy is helping with the psychic end of things."
"As long as it's helping." He glanced at his watch and put the Hummer in gear. "Lunch first, I think. I know you wanted to talk to Gordon this afternoon. What else?"
"I want to look at those arson sites again. Something's been nagging at me." She looked at him and, very conscious of his hard thigh beneath her hand, added dryly, "We'll get to the Kama Sutra later."
Ash smiled. "You really are getting back to normal."
"Because I knew what you were thinking?"
"From the first time we touched," he confirmed. "You said it wasn't complete thoughts, like conversation, just the general impression of what was on my mind at any given moment."
"And you're okay with that?"
"Actually," he said, "it's been a bit of a revelation. And a relief. I never have to explain myself or what I mean when we're talking."
"There's always a downside," she warned.
"Yeah, been there."
Riley lifted a curious brow.
"I had one of those random sexist-pig thoughts all men occasionally have. According to you."
"Must have been a doozy if I called you on it. I'm mostly used to them. The military life, you know. And growing up with brothers."
"Um. Let's just say it led to a…spirited…debate. And great sex afterward."
"Well, at least we didn't go to bed mad. My mother insists that's the secret to happy relationships. Never go to bed mad."
Ash smiled, but said, "I know this psychic deal with us is one-sided, but I don't have to be clairvoyant or telepathic to know that all this casual humor is more of that dandy camouflage you pull on the way other people pull on their socks. So what's really bothering you?"