Stranger Danger (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 4)

That’s not what he was going to say, but I’ll give him a pass.

“If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?” he asks.

“It depends on the question.”

He raises a brow at me.

“Hey, I’m being honest here.”

“I’m going to go one step further than Billings. In your truth or dare session with Clements, did you ask him who did kill Jefferson Pike?”

Oh no. I swallow hard. “Yes.”

“And what did he say?”

“He doesn’t know who killed him. He wasn’t there, so it’s not like he’s a witness or anything.”

“But he has an idea?”

“Yes,” I squeak.

“And?” he prompts impatiently.

Once again, I’m faced with a conundrum. I could lie to Travis. I could tell him anything and he wouldn’t know if I was telling the truth or not, but something here isn’t right. My stomach curls into a knot. Just like before, I can’t lie to him. It’s … physically impossible. What’s going on here?

“Archie thinks that the real J.W. Quicksilver is the killer. But that doesn’t mean he’s right. It’s just what he thinks. Which means it could be anyone. How many people did they swindle in Whispering Bay? Ten? And that’s just here. What about all those other people they swindled in all those other scams? It sounds to me like there’s a lot of people who had a motive to kill Pike.”

“True. That’s why I’m not ruling anyone out. At this point in the investigation, all of Pike’s victims, including J.W. Quicksilver, are suspect, and I’m bringing them all in for questioning.”

“But you don’t know J.W. Quicksilver’s real identity, so how are you going to find him to bring him in?”

“I don’t know his identity yet. But I will. And soon.”

“How? He’s like the world’s most reclusive author.”

“Simple. I called his publisher in New York and explained the situation. I told them I needed J.W.

Quicksilver’s real name and address in connection with a murder investigation.”

“And they just gave it to you?”

“No, but I got a friendly judge involved, and he issued an order at noon today. Quicksilver’s publishing company has twenty-four hours to cough up his name or be held in contempt of court.” He grins. “I figure if J.W. Quicksilver is still in the area, I’ll have him in my jail for questioning by lunchtime tomorrow.”

Chapter Fifteen

“This is bad,” I tell Will. In the past fifteen minutes, I’ve managed to nearly pace a hole in his living-room rug, with Paco following in my tracks. “Really bad.”

Will, who up to now has been listening silently while I’ve filled him in on what’s happening down at the police station, pushes his glasses up his nose. “Then there’s nothing left to do but go to the police.”

“What did your editor say when he called?”

When I got to Will’s house, he was on a conference call with both his editor and his agent. “He said it was my decision if I wanted to come out. That the publishing house would be happy to fight the court order.”

I stop pacing. “They’re going to go to bat for you? That’s awesome.”

“It’s not as noble as you think. My agent is nearly giddy at the thought of all the publicity this is going to create.”

“Publicity? I don’t get it.”