Free Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel by Jayne Ann Krentz Page A

so–called rare earths. They formed a partnership and went into the exploration business. They hit pay dirt, literally, when they picked up the mineral rights to an old abandoned mine out in the Nevada desert. Whoever sank the shaft originally was probably looking for gold. There wasn’t any there. But Dad and his partners were after twenty-first-century gold.”
     
    “The rare earths.”
     
    “Right. They were all convinced that the Phoenix was the modern equivalent of a gold mine.”
     
    “Did they find the minerals and elements they were looking for in the Phoenix Mine?”
     
    “Yes, but they found something a lot more interesting and, according to Dad, a lot more dangerous. They discovered geodes filled with quartzlike crystals unlike anything they had seen before. There was no data on them in the research literature. But they eventually turned up a few old references to similar crystals in some ancient books on alchemy.”
     
    Abby made a face and poured the tea into the mugs. “Alchemy. Thatfigures. The old alchemists were always coming up with secret formulas and running experiments with para-crystals and amber and other stones in an effort to enhance their powers.”
     
    “Dad, Willis and Knox could sense the energy locked in the rocks, but they had no idea how to access it, let alone figure out how to use it. They set up a small on–site lab and started conducting experiments.”
     
    Abby set one of the mugs on the counter in front of him. At least she was no longer looking skeptical. Instead, she appeared to be reluctantly fascinated.
     
    “They found out that the crystals had paranormal properties?” she asked.
     
    “Yes. But they soon realized that they were playing with fire.” He was suddenly very conscious of his ring. “Maybe literally. All they could tell in the field lab was that the energy in the stones was volatile and unpredictable, and that it was paranormal in nature. Dad and Knox wanted to stop the experiments until they could get some of the specimens to a properly equipped facility. But Ray Willis was obsessed with the stones. He was convinced they had enormous value, and he decided that he didn’t want to share the potential profits.”
     
    Abby picked up her own mug. “There was a falling-out among the partners?”
     
    “You could say that. Ray Willis tried to murder Knox and my father. Dad never told us exactly what happened in the mine shaft that day, but in the end there was an explosion. Knox and my father escaped through an air shaft. Willis didn’t make it out.”
     
    “What happened?”
     
    “Afterward, Dad and Knox made a pact. They decided that for the foreseeable future, the crystals should stay in the ground. Those rocks were just too dangerous. There was no telling what would happen if they fell into the wrong hands. They agreed to keep the location of the mine a secret, and they tried to destroy all traces of its existence.”
     
    “The foreseeable future has turned into forty years?”
     
    “Yes, but Dad still hasn’t changed his mind about the Phoenix. He does not want it found, not yet at any rate. He says if the time comes to reopen that mine, Coppersmith Inc. will handle the job.”
     
    “Meanwhile, your father is committed to keeping the secret.”
     
    “His old partner, Quinn Knox, kept the secret, too. But he died a couple of weeks ago. Before he passed on, however, he warned us that his son, Lander Knox, who is evidently a full-blown bad guy with a lot of talent, is on the trail of the lab book.”
     
    “You say your father and Knox searched for the book after the explosion?”
     
    “Not just the notebook. Several of the crystals that Ray Willis was using in his experiments went missing, too. Dad and Knox couldn’t find the book or the stones. Eventually, they gave up and told themselves everything had been buried with Willis in the explosion. But over the years there have been occasional whispers that indicated that the book and