Read Online Zinnia by Jayne Castle - Free Book Online

after the tragic events, Spring Industries was reported to be experiencing financial difficulties. The company later went into bankruptcy.
Eighteen months ago, Miss Spring, an interior designer, figured prominently in a scandal involving one of her clients, Rexford Eaton, President of Eaton Shipping.
    “So much for the virtues of optimism,” Zinnia muttered to herself as she walked back through the door of her loft.
    The phone rang. It was not the first time. It had been ringing all morning. Zinnia tossed the copy of Synsation into the trash can as she waited for the answering machine to pick up the call.
    It was her Aunt Wilhelmina this time, which made a change from the endless messages that had been left by reporters.
“Zinnia? What in the world is going on? I’ve just seen the morning papers. I am shocked. I cannot believe that you have become involved with that dreadful casino owner. You’re a Spring. We do not associate with his sort. And how could you put yourself into a situation involving murder and drugs?”
    Zinnia yanked her red trench coat off the whimsical Early Exploration Period coat tree and headed for the door. She was in no mood to discuss the night’s events with her aunt but she owed Clementine Malone an explanation.
    A screaming yellow van with the words R EAD S YNSATION FOR THE L ATEST S ENSATION painted in purple on the side rounded the corner at the end of the block just as she drove out of the underground garage.
    Zinnia accelerated rapidly and swept past the vehicle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a photographer inside the van lift his camera for a shot of her fleeing car.
    She was tempted to give him the universally recognized single-digit salute, but she resisted. Aunt Willy would not have approved.
    * * *
    Byron Smyth-Jones—Psynergy, Inc.’s executive secretary, receptionist, and all-around gofer—was at his command post behind the front desk when Zinnia arrived fifteen minutes later.
    Byron had recently abandoned the popular Western Islands look for the newer and decidedly more avant-garde Alien Artifact style. Both had been inspired by the New Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition of the mysterious and very ancient alien relics that Lucas Trent had discovered deep in an island jungle.
    No one knew what to make of the strange artifacts because there was no trace of any other intelligent life on St. Helens. As far as the descendents of the Earth colonists could discern, they had the planet to themselves. The handful of mysterious relics were the only existing evidence that once, a long time ago, someone else had discovered St. Helens.
    The Western Islands look had consisted of designer versions of the hard-wearing boots and khaki clothing favored by the rugged folk who prospected and mined the fuel source called jelly-ice. The attire had sometimes appeared a little silly on trendy urban types such as Byron, but at least it had looked as though it had been designed for real human beings. The Alien Artifact style, on the other hand, was over the top in Zinnia’s professional opinion.
    Today Byron was a vision in tight-fitting acid-green pants and a matching shirt patterned with images of the artifacts. He wore a heavy necklace made out of plastic designed to resemble the strange silver-colored alloy the aliens had used for their tools. His blond hair was razored to within a quarter of an inch around his entire skull. The toes of his black-and-green knee-high patent leather boots were so pointed Zinnia wondered how he managed to walk.
    “Sex, murder, and crazy-fog. How exciting can life get?” Byron chuckled gleefully as he put down the copy of Synsation. “How did you ever come to meet Nick Chastain? I want to hear every single juicy detail, Zinnia. Never in a million years would I have guessed that the two of you were involved in a relationship. You’ve been hiding things from your good buddy, Byron. I’m devastated.”
    Zinnia glowered at him. “For the record, Mr. Chastain and