Page 43 of The Night Island

She looked at the object in his hand. It was about an inch and ahalf wide and some five inches long. A ring of what looked like black beads or crystals was embedded at one end, where the bulb would have been in a real flashlight. It looked futuristic in a vintage sort of way—like a prop in an old science fiction film.

She straightened, kicked up her senses, took a breath, and gingerly reached out to touch the object. A tingle of energy zapped across her senses. She yelped and instinctively yanked her hand away from the gadget.

“It has a paranormal vibe,” she said in wonder. “Do you think it’s a weapon?”

“I have no idea.”

“I got a small shock from it, probably because it was on Keever when he died.” She shook her fingers in an attempt to ease the singed feeling. “Maybe it’s some kind of paranormal gardening tool that he used in the conservatory.”

“Such as?”

“I have no idea. I don’t garden. But we know the plants around the lodge are not what anyone would call normal. I don’t think those inside the conservatory are, either.”

Luke tightened his grip on the device. He was so close she could feel the heat of his body and sense the energy charging the atmosphere around him. He turned the object in his hands, examining it closely.

“It’s important,” he said. “The question is, why?”

Belatedly she realized that the heat of Phoebe Hatch’s crystal had intensified when she touched the gadget. She took a breath and put a fingertip on it again.

She got another little jolt from the strange device, but she felt something else. The crystal pulsed. She knew that particular vibe.

“I don’t have any idea what that thing is, and the sensations I’mpicking up are muddied because it is associated with Keever’s body,” she said. “But I think that gadget has been close to Phoebe, and... recently.”

Luke watched her, his eyes sharp. “Anything else?”

“We may be able to use it to find her. But before you ask, I have no idea how to do that.”

“We know it’s got a connection to the conservatory because it was in Keever’s tool belt,” Luke said. “What’s more, Nathan Gill wasn’t just looking for signs of an injury when he checked Keever’s body tonight. He was searching for something. Maybe it was this device.”

“If it’s valuable, why didn’t the killer take it when he murdered Keever?” Talia said. She paused. “Assuming the killer is male.”

“At this point we can’t make any assumptions,” Luke said. “There are three other women on this island besides you. Octavia Venner, Pomona Finch, and Marcella Earle. But getting back to your questions, it’s possible the killer was not after this gadget. Maybe the goal was to silence a guy who had seen something he shouldn’t have seen. It’s also possible the murderer panicked and didn’t take the time to stop and search the body.”

“Or didn’t know about the gadget? Maybe Keever was involved in some risky side hustle. Drugs or blackmail. That would explain murder.”

“I’m sure of one thing,” Luke said. “Nathan Gill is more than just a guide for the Unplugged Experience.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s not here on the island because he wants to help people learn to meditate. He indicated he’s working the gig for the money and the occasional fling with a guest. But I think there’s more to it. He tries to keep a low profile, but you saw him tonight. He’s the one in charge here on the island, not Clive Venner.”

She contemplated the wall for a few seconds. “That raises some interesting questions.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Gill knows we found the body,” she said. “Maybe he’ll assume we took that gadget. What if he thinks we murdered Keever?”

“There’s not much we can do about Gill’s conclusions. We need to keep moving forward.”

She kept her attention on the wall of the cabin. “Before we can do that, I need to know something, Luke.”

He exhaled slowly. “You want to know why I’m so sure it’s possible to kill with paranormal energy.”

“Yes.”

There was a long silence.

“I know it’s possible because I’m sure I could do it,” he said. “In fact, I think it is what I was created to do.”

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