Free Mind Tricks by Adrianne Wood Page B

“Is the company in trouble? Is that why Roger
Fills”—his father practically spat the name—“offered to buy us? Thought he
could get Woodhaven for cheap?”
    “No, the company is fine, Dad. You
see the books every quarter—you know this. We’re in better shape than we ever
were.” Not very tactful. His father and mother, after all, had run Woodhaven
nearly into the ground.
    “Have we lost any orders
since…since Ginny was killed?”
    Since Jake had become a murder
suspect, he meant. “One.” The awkward conversation he’d had before lunch with
Mrs. Kladderhouse hadn’t been a complete surprise, but it hadn’t boosted his
mood any. If he could make this taint on his name disappear, he could win that
order back—he knew it. “Listen, Dad, I know the company is important, but right
now I’m focusing on trying to figure out what happened two nights ago. The
business can wait for a few days while I sort this out. And we can even lose
some orders if we have to. But we can’t lose me as head of the company.” No one
else in the family either could or wanted to step forward to run Woodhaven. His
parents had been barred in a bankruptcy court decision from ever heading the
company again, Mickey had no interest, Daniel was in a coma, and Marcus was
MIA. If Jake went to jail, the family would have to sell the company, probably
to either Bill Monroe’s Selkie or Roger Fills’s Seacastle.
    “Your mom and I could unofficially
help out. We bought plane tickets for a week from now, but we could be up
earlier. It’d be—”
    “No.” Christ, he was practically shouting into the phone. Emma glanced over, inquiry
in her eyes, but he shook his head at her, and she shrugged and looked away
again. “When you come up here, we can go over the books together so you can see
that our cash is fine. And you can look at all the orders.” He’d somehow get
Mrs. Kladderhouse’s order back. “But until then, I need you and mom to stay
where you are, and I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
    He was coming down on his dad like
a ton of bricks. But he didn’t have the time or mental energy to waste on this
right now.
    Silence filled the phone line.
“We’ll see you in a week,” his dad said and then hung up before Jake could say
anything more.
    Great—just great. Now his dad had
his feelings hurt. Jake shoved his phone back into his pocket. “My parents,” he
said shortly when Emma turned back to face him.
    “I figured that out.” Her mouth
pursed. “Are they really more interested in the business than in you?”
    “No.” Funny, after that
conversation, how he was so sure. But they were his parents, after all. He knew
their strengths as well as their flaws. “If chucking Woodhaven into the harbor
meant that I could shake this murder investigation, they’d do it in a heartbeat,
no regrets. But that’s not a bargain they can make.” Whether he’d be so
sanguine about giving up Woodhaven after slaving over it for eight years, he
wasn’t so sure.
    “So they’re offering to help you
with the business while you deal with the police?”
    “Right. But I think they’re just
trying to help any way they can.” Which didn’t make him feel any better about
yelling at his dad. Crap.
    “Hey, Mr. Vant.”
    Jake turned. Mark was loping toward
him from the employees’ entrance off the side of the Waterview. Drifting to
Jake’s side, Emma stopped close, her shoulder briefly brushing against his arm.
    “Hi, Mark,” Jake said as the kid
slid to a stop in front of him. “Thanks for coming to talk to us.”
    Us. Had a nice ring to it.
    “Do you know Emma Draper?” Jake
asked him. “She lives over in Baymill.”
    “I’ve heard of her, but never
really met her.” Mark regarded her with open curiosity. “You’re the pet psychic
lady, right?”
    Emma gave Mark a sweeter smile than
she’d given him when he’d called her
psychic. “I don’t predict the future or anything like that. I’m just more
attuned to