Page 69 of Lethal Danger

“You’re not asking me to. I want to find out who’s hurting my Tri-City Fair. Who killed my aunt. The evidence points to the cult so far, so that’s where I’m going.”

She sounded so much like the heroine he envisioned for his book. A woman who’d stop at nothing to catch the bad guys and see that justice was done.

“I’d be allowed, right?”

“If you acted like a tourist, yes.” An idea sparked in Hawthorne’s mind. “Better yet, you could pretend you’re interested in joining Best Life. Then they’d even let you make an appointment to meet with Patch.”

“Perfect. That’s what I’ll do then. I’ll go and tell them I want to learn more about how to join.”

“There’s a tour you can take of the facilities.”

“They give tours?”

He grinned at the incredulity in her voice. “Yeah. Patch has built the community into quite a corporate success. He and some cult members developed so-called natural supplements and organic foods that are supposed to help people live their best lives.”

“And they produce those at the commune?”

“They used to. The products became successful enough to be manufactured on a larger scale elsewhere. So now the community lives off the proceeds of the products and spends their time in the pursuit of their ‘best lives.’” He created air quotes with his fingers around the words. “Though truthfully, Patch uses most of the profit himself. Everyone else in the community is sworn to live a moderate life, free of worldly excess.”

Jazz quirked an eyebrow. “So he’s a con artist.”

“You got it.”

“Yikes.”

“Still want to go in there?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve dealt with my share of sleazebags in my life. I enjoy bringing ’em down.” She gave him a gleeful smile.

“I bet you do.”

“While I’m in there, can I do any investigating for you?” Jazz forked more greens into her mouth.

Investigating. It would be an opportunity to get the information he needed about Sam. Should he tell her? It was a pretty big ask.

“Maybe I could find out how your family’s doing or take them a message.”

Ah. She meant that kind of investigating. Hadn’t thought of that. Probably because he knew it would be fruitless. If his parents wanted to talk to him, cared about him at all, they could simply leave the cult. They’d made their priorities clear when they’d stayed. “That’s kind of you to offer. But I have a different favor to ask.”

“Oh?” Curiosity lit her gaze.

“You know the seventeen-year-old boy you mentioned that your aunt told you about?”

“The one who died in the accident at the fair?”

He nodded. “That’s the one. I’m not sure it was an accident.”

Her eyes widened. She leaned forward, resting her hands on the table. “Wait,” she lowered her voice, “are you investigating his death?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the real reason you’re here at the fair, isn’t it?”

“Yes…But how did you—”

“You’re like the real Carson Steele.” She straightened as a big grin lit her face. “Of course, you’re secretly investigating some crime.”

He chuckled. “I don’t actually do it that often. Usually, I’m just researching old crimes for inspiration. But my sister asked me to look into this one as a personal favor.”

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