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here on Harmony. So, given that I didn’t know what I was dealing with, it seemed best to leave them where they were.”
    “Sounds like a smart decision.”
    “Except it wasn’t,” Harry said. He finished the last of the lasagna and set the fork down very deliberately. “The first thing I did when I arrived on the island a couple of days ago was go into the Preserve to check on the stones.”
    “And?”
    “And they’re gone,” Harry said quietly.
    “You mean you couldn’t find the cave this time?”
    “I found the cave. But the crystals are gone.”
    “You think they were stolen?”
    “I know they were stolen,” Harry said. “What’s more, I think they’re at the core of the problem in the Preserve. Whatever is happening inside the fence involves some very high energy, and the one thing I do know about those rocks is that they are capable of channeling a lot of power. What we don’t know is how to unleash or control the latent energy in the stones.”
    She took a breath and let it outcautiously. “I understand your logic.”
    “I have to find the rocks and I’m going to need your help to do it.”
    “
My
help?” She stared at him. “What in the world can I do to assist your investigation?”
    “I want you to read some auras.”
    “Whose auras? And why should I read them?”
    “I think one or more of the local residents is involved in this thing.”
    “What?” She flattened her palms on the table and pushed herself to her feet. “You want me to rat out my friends and neighbors? Forget it.”
    Harry looked at her very steadily. “Whoever took the stones is in way over his or her head. Something dangerous is happening out there in the Preserve, something that needs to be stopped.”
    “Even if you’re right, what makes you think that one of the islanders is responsible? We’ve got regular, scheduled ferry service. That means day-trippers on the weekends. We’ve got B& Bs for tourists who want to spend more time. During the summer months we get the yacht crowd. And then there are those weeklong motivational seminars offered by the Reflections Institute out at the old lake lodge.”
    “You’re saying that I need to widen my pool of suspects?” Harry asked politely.
    “Absolutely. There are a lot of strangers coming and going on Rainshadow these days.”
    He appeared to give that somethought. “It’s possible that a visitor is responsible for whatever is happening out there.”
    “It certainly is.”
    “The problem is that a tourist who drops in on the weekends doesn’t fit my profile.”
    “What profile?” she asked. “You can’t possibly have one yet. You’ve barely even started your investigation.”
    “No, but I’m actually pretty good at this kind of stuff.”
    “Okay, okay.” She dropped back into her chair. “Tell me about this profile of yours.”
    “I think it’s a good bet that whoever stirred up that energy in the Preserve has some long-standing connection to the island.”
    “A good bet? That doesn’t sound like a real forensic profile.”
    Harry ignored the interruption. “It’s a matter of opportunity. It would take time to find the stones, time to move them, time to do whatever the suspect did that is now causing problems. A day-tripper who was coming and going routinely into the Preserve would have been noticed by now.”
    She did not want to admit it, but he had a point.
    “Maybe,” she allowed.
    “In addition, the suspect obviously has to be a powerful talent. Most people can’t even get through the fence, let alone navigate the terrain once inside. That’s where you come in, Rachel.”
    “You want me to identify all of the folks on Rain-shadow who happen to possess a lot of talent?” she asked. “That would be an invasion of privacy, not to mention a good way to lose business and maybe even get myself killed. In case you hadn’t heard, folks on this island like their privacy. It’s one of the reasons they come here in the first