“What color was the crystal?” Sam asked.
“I don’t…” Grady stopped. “Wait. It was green. I’m almost positive that it was one of my green stones.”
“The voice in the green crystal told you thatThe Keywas in the Vaughn library?” Abby asked.
Grady gave her a plaintive look. “I guess so. I told you, I can’t remember exactly. But how else could I have known that?”
“You had never met Mrs. Vaughn before you went to her home to getThe Key?” Sam asked.
“No.” Grady snorted. “Get real. How would a guy like me meet someone like that? I don’t know anyone who has that kind of money.”
“Where did you get the gun?” Sam asked.
“Huh?” Another troubled frown came over Grady’s face. “I’m not sure.”
“Did you buy it?” Abby asked.
“No.” Grady rubbed his forehead. “I think I found it somewhere. Maybe on the front seat of my car. Can’t remember.”
“Did the voice tell you where to find the gun, and that you had to use it when you went to getThe Key?” Sam asked.
“Maybe.” Grady Hastings winced. “I’m sounding crazier by the minute, aren’t I?”
“No,” Sam said. “You’re sounding more and more like a man who was set up.”
Abby looked at him. “You think Grady was somehow hypnotized to go to the Vaughn house that day?”
“That’s what it feels like,” Sam said.
“But why?The Keyis an interesting book, but the only thing that makes it really valuable is the psi-encryption.”
“The contents of the book weren’t important,” Sam said. “The idea was to test you to see if you really could break a psi-code.”
“Good grief,” Abby said. “This is starting to make some sense.”
“You and Grady were both unwitting participants in someone’s experiment,” Sam said. “The experiment was a success. Whoever conducted it is now after you.”
“The blackmail notes,” Abby said.
“Wait,” Grady blurted out. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I,” Sam said. “Not all of it. But I think I’m finally getting close.”
Abby looked at Grady. “Sam is an expert on paranormal crystals.”
Grady nodded. “I was starting to figure that out.” He looked at Sam. “You’re one of those Coppersmiths, aren’t you? You’re connected to the family that owns Coppersmith Inc.”
“That’s right,” Sam said.
“Your labs must be awesome,” Grady said wistfully. “State–of–the-art and then some.”
“And then some,” Sam agreed. “We do a little R–and–D work with hot rocks, too.”
“You mean paranormal crystals, right?”
“Yes.”
“Awesome.I’d give anything to have access to a lab like that.” Grady looked around the bare visitors’ room, his gloom deepening. “But I’ll be lucky to get out of here someday, and even if I do, there won’t be anything left of my lab. I’ll have to start over.”
