Blood and Fire by Ally Shields Read Free Book Online Page A

girl. That’s because I don’t know anything about her. She’s a new addition to the crew. Never heard of her before a couple of weeks ago. If anyone knows about the treasure, I’d say it would be Dyani. Jase hired her specifically for this site.”
    Wasn’t that interesting? The young woman hadn’t indicated she had any special knowledge, but Ryan hadn’t pressed her either. Until now, nobody had mentioned she was new. Taking a look at her background might be worth their time. Hadn’t the man at the historical society mentioned local Indian legends?
    Kelly was talking again. “About 10:30. He was fired up, anxious to get started, but he didn’t want to talk about it until he was sure. He said this could be his biggest find.”
    Ari leaned forward, realizing she’d missed part of the conversation. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch that last question. What happened at 10:30?”
    “It was the last time I talked with Jase. He called me that night just hours before he died.”
    “And he was excited about the treasure,” Ari repeated to clarify.
    Kelly’s face lit with a soft smile. “More than excited. Really revved. At least I can keep that memory…how happy he was, how much he loved doing what he did.”
    Cold comfort when that same career was most likely what killed him.
    Ten minutes later, after receiving assurances her brother’s case would continue to be investigated as a suspicious death, Kelly Falk was gone. She was flying back to New York early the next day, but Ryan had promised to keep her updated.
    Would those be daily or hourly updates? Ari didn’t tease him; he’d just be embarrassed.
    Ryan closed the door behind Barron’s sister. “Neither of us suggested black magic as a cause of death. What do you think she would have said?”
    “She wants answers. She might accept it, if we decide to give her the details, but I don’t think we should, at least not yet. She acts cooperative, level-headed, but what if she went to the press or made a careless slip?” Ari gave an emphatic shudder. “We’d have all hell break loose.”
    “Yeah, I thought she was pretty solid, but you never know.” Ryan tapped his pen on the desk. “What do we do with all the information she gave us? Carmody and that PR woman seem to have pretty big gripes against the victim.”
    “Well, yes, but you know this wasn’t a human killing. Barron wasn’t shot or stabbed, and he didn’t die from being shoved off the cliff. His body reeks of black magic. Unless one of the crew hired a wizard or witch, which would be a really weird way for a human to kill someone, their motives for disliking the victim are interesting, but probably unimportant.” She watched his face deflate. Given a choice, Ryan would much rather find an ordinary, human answer. “Still, it is significant that they lied during their interviews. They didn’t want us to know about the disagreements, which could be a normal tendency to appear in the best light to police—or it might be someone covering up. I not only want to know why, but I wonder what else they’re hiding. One of them must know something that would help us.” She set down her coffee cup and stood. “And no matter how remote the possibility, we still can’t discount a murder for hire. Let’s talk to the entire crew again, especially Carmody, Sara, and Dyani.”
    Ryan grabbed his keys, ready to follow her out. “The whole lot of them lied by omission.” Ryan squared his jaw. “Maybe I’ll give them a lecture about impeding a death investigation.”
    “OK, but I get to watch.”
     
    * * *
     
     
    Barron’s crew was still booked into the local River Vista Inn. Ryan had wrangled an agreement from the company lawyers for the group to stay in town until the end of the week. Ari listened to Ryan’s side of the conversation as Ryan called ahead and arranged to use one of the business conference rooms. She cocked an eyebrow at him as he hung up. Carmody had agreed to gather the crew,