Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper

else?”
    “Samantha Burke.”
    After a moment, Bishop leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Luke didn’t mention her when he reported in yesterday.”
    “Probably not so surprising.”
    “No. Not so much.”
    “Well, what he should have told you is that it seems the sheriff there got all nasty and suspicious of her, so she voluntarily put herself under house arrest in his jail to prove she wasn’t a kidnapper.”
    “Thus alerting the media to the fact that another kidnapping was expected.”
    “Yep. And confirming that prediction when Detective Graham was taken earlier today.” Tony frowned. “So Samantha knew the guy would hit again, and there in Golden. He’s been on the move all these months, and now he’s staying put? Why?”
    Bishop shook his head, frowning.
    Tony eyed him, then said, “My pal says the bit about a carnival psychic and her apparently accurate prediction is too good to pass up. It’s only a matter of time before images of Zarina in her turban appear on the six o’clock news.”
    “Naturally. Aside from being colorful, there’s also the tempting evidence that future events can be predicted. A lot of people want to believe that.”
    “Speaking of which, have Luke and Jay confided in the sheriff?”
    Shaking his head again, Bishop replied, “They felt he wouldn’t be open to the idea of psychic investigators.”
    “So what happens if Luke’s able to connect to the victim? It’s not exactly something that would go unnoticed.”
    “They’ll have to wing it. Tell the sheriff only as much as he seems able to accept. He may be more open to it as time goes on. Samantha’s prediction of another kidnapping may have at least set the stage.”
    “Looking for the positive?”
    “What choice do I have?”
    A little surprised, Tony said, “I seem to recall that the last time Samantha entered the picture, you were a lot more concerned with the credibility issue.”
    “She’s not connected with the unit,” Bishop pointed out.
    “She wasn’t then. Or is there something I don’t know about that?”
    “There were . . . possibilities then. That she might join the unit.”
    “Why didn’t she? I mean, it’s not as if we have too many seers on the payroll—and if I remember correctly, she’s an exceptionally powerful one.”
    Bishop nodded, but said, “We hadn’t built much of a reputation or success record at that point. And we had enemies who would have been quite pleased if the SCU had failed in any sense of the word. The unit was too new then to take the risk of accepting a carnival mystic.”
    “One mention of a carnival seer on the six o’clock news and we’d be finished?”
    “Something like that.”
    “And now?”
    “And now . . . the situation may have changed, at least as far as the unit’s concerned. Maybe we could stand up to that purple turban now. But it may be a moot point where Samantha is concerned.”
    “Because she’s bitter?”
    Bishop shrugged. “It could have been better handled.”
    “What about her and Luke?”
    “What about them?”
    “Hey, remember who you’re talking to, boss? I may not read minds very well, but I’m dandy at picking up emotional vibes—and there were plenty between those two.”
    “You’d have to ask them about that.”
    Wryly, Tony said, “The only thing that comforts me about a response like that one is the knowledge that you probably guard my secrets as well as you do everyone else’s.”
    Bishop smiled faintly. “We still have work to do here, Tony.”
    “So I should shut up and get to it?”
    “If you don’t mind.”
    “Not at all,” Tony said politely, getting to his feet. Then he paused. “We just wait and see what happens in North Carolina, then?”
    “It’s Luke’s case. He and Jaylene are calling the shots, and neither of them has asked for help.”
    “Do you expect them to?”
    “No. Not unless . . .”
    “Unless?”
    “Unless things get a lot worse.”
    “You have something specific in