Stranger Danger (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 4)

When I left the police station yesterday, Agent Billings was going to try to cut a deal with Archie Clements. A lighter sentence in exchange for his giving up the money. Billings had leverage too, in the form of Anita Tremble. The whole thing seemed pretty cut-and-dried, but obviously if the feds are still here, something must have gone wrong.

“I’ll just wait here. If you don’t mind?”

“Suit yourself,” says Cindy. “But you’re going to have a long wait.”

I find a chair and a magazine. The next hour goes by excruciatingly slowly. Where’s Will? Is he being questioned by the FBI? By Travis and Zeke? I hope he’s not behind bars. It occurs to me that maybe I should start to find him a lawyer when I hear his voice down the hall.

I jump from my seat. Travis and Will emerge from the back hallway.

“Lucy.” Travis frowns. “What are you doing here?”

Will catches my gaze and gives me a look that tells me “no.”

No what?

No, don’t say anything? No, don’t do anything?”

I’m so confused. And nervous.

“Hi!” I sound like I’ve just sucked down a whole balloon full of helium. “What’s going on? Why is the FBI still here?”

“You tell her,” Will says to Travis.

“Last night, Archie Clements confessed to murdering Jefferson Pike. He’s been singing like a canary to the feds for the past four hours. Giving up all kinds of details on their real estate con. He gave up the money too.”

“But that makes no sense. He told me he didn’t kill Jefferson.”

Travis gives me a weary look. “Not that again. Lucy, admit it. You were wrong. Archie Clements lied to you.”

I am not wrong. Am I?

“So, J.W. Quicksilver … ”

“Looks like we don’t need him, after all. The judge called off the court order.”

I heave a sigh. “That’s great. Isn’t it?”

“It’s great for J.W. Quicksilver,” says Travis. “He’s off the hook for Pike’s murder, and he’s still anonymous.”

“What does this all mean?”

“It means that after the feds finish talking with Archie, we’ll officially charge him for Jefferson Pike’s murder. But it looks like it’s going to be a long Saturday.” He turns to Will, and the two men shake hands. “See you later, Cunningham.” He nods at me. “Lucy.” Then he winks at Paco and disappears down the hallway.

“Wow,” I mouth to Will. “What just happe

ned?”

“Crazy, huh?” He glances over at Cindy, who’s watching us. She immediately goes back to her typing.

“Let’s go outside,” Will says.

Once we’re in the parking lot, he tells me the rest of the story. “I got here around eleven, but I couldn’t get in to see Travis or Zeke on account of everyone was involved with Archie’s confession. Turns out, I never had to tell them who I was. Now that they have their killer, they couldn’t care less about J.W. Quicksilver.”

I shake my head. Crazy doesn’t begin to describe the last couple of days.

“What are you going to do now?” I ask. “Are you going to stay anonymous? Or are you going to tell everyone who you are?”

“I don’t know. What do you think I should do, Lucy?”