GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (37 page)

“I’ll try, but I doubt I’ll be privy to the information. They don’t trust me now. That’s evident by
my
bloodhound.”

“If you feel you’re in danger, I’ll pick you up and put you in protective custody.”

“Not yet, Lieutenant.
Let me see what I can find out. I’ll get back in touch.”

“Ms. Compton.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to give you my private number. Memorize it and then empty the numbers in your cell.”

He did, and she clicked off.

* * * * *

“D
on’t leave the house, Diana,” Lucier said when he called. “You’re on Compton’s agenda, but Dione doesn’t know what the agenda is.”

“We’ll find out in a few days, won’t we?”

“I’ll be over after work.”

“I’m trying out a new recipe. Pork chops, apples and sweet potatoes.”

“Sounds, um, interesting.
Like I’ve always said,
home cooking is
better than a frozen dinner.”

Diana hung up the phone and went back to the kitchen. Except for a couple of minor tiffs, she and Lucier fit together like two pieces of the same puzzle. She loved
having
him around, loved
their intimate moments.

The only
drawback was whether
she’d transferred from one
over-
protective
man
to another.
From the
shelter
of her parents to the safety of Lucier.
She’d never experienced true independence.
L
ove came along
and
she
’d
have been foolish to cast it off for
…
for what? Being alone? Is that what independence was? Why would she? She’d done everything she wanted. Traveled the world, experienced things few women, single or partnered, had the opportunity to experience. What more was there?

She laughed out loud when she faced the two sweet potatoes on the cutting board. Learning to cook, that’s what.
Number one on her personal list of things to do.
Hopefully, she
wouldn’t
poison her lover
in the process
. She picked up the peeler and attacked the rough skin of the sweet potato wi
th single-minded determination.

Hmm, the doorbell.
I’m not expecting anyone
. She wiped her hands on the towel and fingered open the window blind.
Her heart rate accelerated. She opened the door.

Edward Slater
held out
a small bouquet of flowers.
“Peace offering
?”

A Little Background Music

L
ingering over coffee at the dinner
table
that evening,
Diana
noticed
Lucier’s
distraction. Something was on his mind he seemed
unwilling to share.
She
didn’t prod.
H
e’d get to it eventually.
W
hen he
read
the fax Jason sent with the information about the group’s backgrounds
, h
e did
.

“
Everyone
in the group
other than
Crane
grew up poor as dirt. Fernando Reyes’s parents were migrant workers who came over the Texas border from Mexico; Martin Easley was raised by his mother after his father was killed by the police in a botched arrest; and Jeremy
Haynesworth’s
father was a drunk
―
his mother cleaned houses to e
ke
out an existence. All of them were brilliant and found a way to pay for college
―
their way out of hell.”

Out of
one
hell and into another, Diana thought.

“
T
hey
all
worked for someone else
and
made their bosses a lot of money with their ideas or patents
,” Lucier continued
, his brow furrowed in thought
. “
Not one
reap
ed
financial
benefits personally
until
they hooked up with either Compton or Crane.”

Diana listened. Coming from humble circumstances herself, she found
the
background stories
of
those climbing the ladder of success
interesting
.

“Compton’s story is similar.
Poor but hardworking parents.
H
e had a head for business and driving ambition. He also married well
―
twice. His first wife’s father, Senator
Gault
Fannon
, wasn’t rich, but he enjoyed a spotless reputation. What he
had
were
connections.”

“There’s a switch,” Diana said.
“An honest politician.
Or is
that
an oxymoron?”

Lucier played with
the remainder of
a sweet potato on his plate,
seemingly
oblivious to her remark.

“So
Compton
married well,” she said, trying to get him back on track. “What happened?”

He looked up as if he suddenly remembered she was there
and continued
to explain the gossip about Fannon and the votes for the government contract that put Compton on the map. “Married well, but not as well as marrying into the Crane family.” Lucier
related
the phone conversation he had with Dione Compton. “She knows more than she’s willing to tell right now.”

“Once she does, the whole thing will be out in the open. I can’t imagine she’d expose her family unless she fears for either her life or her sister’s.”

“Compton sent
Maia
somewhere,” Lucier said. “Ralph Stallings is trying to unravel the properties owned by Compton’s conglomerate, but there’s so much c
orporate finagling it’ll take
aw
hile
. I’ll update my request to include Crane’s holdings.”

“You know, Ernie, the property could be in the name of one of the others or their wives. Since they’re all related, it
might
be joint property.”

“Dione said her father wasn’t the one in charge. That leaves Crane, the granddaddy of the group, and I bet his holdings are more convoluted than Compton’s. These guys know how to tangle business so you can’t find what they don’t want you to find.
W
e
’d be hard pressed to
uncover
the mystery location
before the night of the crescent moon
or before
Dione Compton disappears if they
find out
she’s talked to me.”

“Can’t you pick her up?”

“She said no protective custody. Not yet. She’s not ready to turn herself over to us and expose
her family’s shenanigans
until she finds out more. There may be more children involved than just the kidnapped babies.”

“You mean all the kids from the group’s second families who are
working overseas
?”

“Exactly,” Lucier said. “Cal Easley and Seth Crane are the only ones missing from a first wife, and Cybele
Crane is the only first wife
still around
.”

“Maybe they’re in charge of wherever they are,” Diana said. “All these sons and daughters working out of the country doing humanitarian work
is
a little much.”

“
I
f they have kids, the numbers could be more than we first thought.”

“Have you checked passports?”

“Stallings did. Their passports confirmed they’re where they said.
Destinations all over the place—Africa, Asia, in the most remote places.
Crane’s and Compton’s foundations do
valuable
work overseas―no doubt about that―so
the state department
doesn’t find any of this strange.
T
he
question is
,
are these sons and daughters where they’re supposed to be. I don’t think so. These companies have
private
jets
and
enough money to bribe officials, especially in third world countries
.
”

“What if those people
really are out of the country doing good deeds?”
Diana asked.

“Then I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am, and neither do you.
T
he fear in Dione Compton’s voice
told me s
he knows enough to be in serious danger.” He pushed aside his plate. “I hope she cleared her cell phone like I told her to.”

“Even if you’re right, Ernie, w
hy the disappearing acts
?
”

“I’m not sure, but Crane
is
behind it. He picked those men. Offered them more riches than they could ever attain and daughters who’d make any man come just by looking at them. In exchange, they had to embrace his philosophy.” Lucier pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “Maybe he never mentioned the word Satan until later, calling it something else.”

“Slater mentioned animism,” Diana said. “A spiritual philosophy nothing like Satanism, but it might have worked as a stepping
-
stone to gently release those men from their own beliefs.”

“I don’t believe a man like Reyes, who must have been brought up Catholic, would chuck his religion and divorce his wife just like that. Not without a major case of guilt. Yet, that’s what he did.
Reyes, Haynesworth, and Easley all
divorced and remarried a few years after going to wor
k for either Crane or Compton.”

“There has to be more.” Something popped into Diana’s mind. “
This might be crazy, so hear me out.
Question:
w
hat did all the kidnapped babies have in common?”

“Besides being taken by Deems
or someone like him
? They were all from super intelligent parents.”

“Yes, and what else?”

“I don’t want to play twenty questions
.
Just tell me. What?”

“I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but don’t stop me until I finish.” She got up from the table and paced. “Crane recruits brilliant men, right?
All good-looking men too.
Harder to notice when you’re around their wives, but I noticed.
H
e partners them with his beautiful
,
brilliant daughters.” She reversed her pacing, barely noticing the quizzical expression on Lucier’s face. “They create beautiful, brilliant children
who
scatter to different places, o
stensibly to do good works.”

The idea
formed
as she spoke, and the more she thought about it, the less crazy it sounded. She must have gone
deep
into thinking mode because the next thing she knew, Lucier was calling her name.

“Ego.
It’s all about ego.
” She pounded her fist into her palm as her thoughts gelled.
“
Listen. Besides wealth and beautiful women, what if Crane promised the men that their superior genes, joined with those of their
brilliant,
gorgeous wives
―
his daughters
―
would be the basis of a new society, first through their progeny
, then through
subsequent
generation
s
.”

“You mean he’s creating a master race? Didn’t someone already try that?”

“Yes, but Hitler weed
ed
out what he considered the less pure
;
Crane is creating the race from scratch. He chose those men for their intellect
ual
and physical attributes. Compton was a no-brainer. He
’d
already proved he’d do anything to get ahead by marrying his first wife. Crane recognized that characteristic. He had his pick of the best and the brightest from both companies
,
mated them with his own offspring
―
daughters raised to please
―e
go again
, t
hen he
mixed in the worship of money
and uninhibited sex
instead of God
. W
hen things
didn’t develop
fast enough,
he
tossed in a few extra genius babies
f
or good measure
, and voil
à, h
is own master race
―
a new culture, created with Crane genes.”