“There and New York. Sierra insists he went home.”

“Shouldn’t he be told about his uncle?”

“Yes, I suppose that he should. Don’t you think the police would handle that? Or his mistress?”

“Mizuki?” Nikki was kind of surprised. She’d understood that Mizuki was not the missus, but a mistress?

“Yes. Come on, everyone knows or knew that Mizuki was Mr. Yamimoto’s mistress.”

“I didn’t. How did you?”

“I sorta figured it out. Then Sierra confirmed it, but my dad wouldn’t let us talk about it. He doesn’t like gossip. Says it can ruin the soul, because it is too difficult to determine what is truth and what isn’t.”

Nikki could see that Hayden didn’t follow that philosophy and frankly, for her, that was a good thing at the moment. “It’s interesting, the six degrees of separation. Sierra met Iwao’s nephew and they were involved, and Iwao was a part of this group.”

“No, Mr. Yamimoto actually didn’t join until after Jen and my sister hooked up. Mr. Yamimoto is really the only one who has been able to get a place as a member because he pulled the ‘we know each other’ thing.”

“How does someone get to be a member of the elite group anyway?”

“They apply. They put down a deposit, send in their applications, and then my father makes decisions on who is accepted.”

“Do a lot of people apply?”

“You bet. Thousands.”

“Thousands?” Shocking. There were thousands of people willing to part with a lot-a lot-of money all to be graced by Alan’s presence and words? “How does your dad decide, out of these thousands of applicants, who gets in and who doesn’t, and how often do they rotate in and out?”

“Good questions. But why do you want to know? You’re not thinking of applying, are you?” Hayden asked.

“No. I’m curious how my two pals made it in.” She laughed. “They aren’t exactly as light-filled as some others I’ve met here.” Only one actually showed any hint of enlightenment-Ruben.

“That’s the ticket. Dad chooses people who probably need it more than anyone else. He can read between the lines in everyone’s application and he can tell who is serious about it, who needs the most growth, and who will work hard at it. He likes to choose couples because many times there is more growth for an individual if their significant other is also on the same journey.”

“Ah, makes sense. But Iwao used his connection with his nephew to join the group.”

“Sort of. Yes. I shouldn’t have said that but it’s true. My dad knew he wasn’t here for all the right reasons. Then again most members here aren’t. They discover the real reasons once they belong.”

“So, your dad knows everything there is to know about these people.”

“I suppose. But Dad is funny. He forgets half of it. His focus is much more on the present than anyone’s past or future. I’m the one who keeps everyone’s information together.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Someone has to,” Hayden replied.

“You have everyone’s application that’s in this group?”

“I do.”

“Do you read them?” Nikki asked.

“No. That’s private.”

Nikki wanted those applications. “I suppose you keep them back at your parents’ offices?”

“No. Not the members that are with us. I bring them. There may be an occasion where my dad needs them for some reason.” Hayden stopped and bent down to retie her shoe.

“Right.” A faint twinge of electricity shot through Nikki’s gut and out through her extremities. She could not outright ask Hayden to see these applications. Before she got too excited, she’d have to ask Simon and Marco what exactly existed on them. They would know. It had to be more than name and address. Thank you very much.

Everyone made it to the turnaround point, and fortunately, it had turned out to be an amazing day-clear and crisp, which helped on the hike, keeping everyone from getting overheated. Nikki had been concerned about Ruben Pearlman on the hike up. He’d appeared pretty out of shape.

At the turnaround, waiting for everyone was a picnic lunch that a catering company had prepared. They’d brought the food up ahead of the hikers and a group of waiters were now handing out the lunches to them.

While Nikki planted herself on a boulder and ate a veggie sandwich, Hayden moved and gravitated toward her fiancé, Rich. Now there was a man Nikki needed to talk to. Really she needed to talk to all of them, but what if she could get ahold of those applications each of them had filled out? Could be worthwhile. She had to figure out how to do it. She could go straight to Robinson and tell him about them. He’d get a search warrant or whatever they needed to collect classified material. Were those applications even classified? It wasn’t as if Alan Sansi was a psychiatrist or doctor of some sort. There had to be a way and she’d find it.

Hayden Sansi had filled her with tons of food for fodder, from the Sierra-Jen-Iwao connection and the way Iwao manipulated his way into this group, to information about Rich and his mother and Inspiritus. But the coup was the applications. There were answers there. Nikki knew there had to be. There were lots of answers she’d already learned. The problem was figuring how to fit them into the questions and put it all together. Once she accomplished that, the last piece would appear-the one that revealed to her who had murdered Iwao Yamimoto.

WHEN the group made it back to the winery at about two o’clock, they were all given an hour break before the afternoon “dream board” session would begin. Nikki wasn’t quite sure what this dream board session consisted of, but Simon and Marco were excited about it.

“It’s a lot of fun. It’s where we put our wants and desires in every aspect of our lives onto a poster board, frame it, and there you have it. The universe grabs hold and everything you put out there manifests itself in its own way,” Simon said, walking with Nikki toward the hotel, where she wanted to check on things with Alyssa.

Marco had gone ahead to make sure the room where the dream board thing was supposed to take place was set up properly.

“Sounds great. But guess what I need you to manifest? A killer. You two lovebirds were too busy sharing each other’s dreams and visions to chat with the suspects while on that hike, and that was not our deal.”

“Hush your mouth, Snow White. While you were busy digging deep into everyone’s life, and not for the reasons we’re here for-”

“Uh-uh-uh. Let me correct you there, my friend. You may be here for other reasons, but not me.”

“As I was saying.” He crossed his arms and kept walking. “You didn’t notice that I had a little talk with Juan Gonzales and he is an interesting guy.”

“Really? Look at you. Good boy.” She had not noticed Simon talking with Juan, but she’d been wrapped up, first with Ruben and then Hayden. “What did you find out?”

“That Juan produces low-budget movies and usually makes them down in Mexico. Foreign film stuff.”

“That is kind of interesting.” Nikki remembered that Jen Sansi and Sierra met on a movie set, and that Sierra’s father was the one to help her get involved in that. Was there a connection between any of them and Juan, and if so, what?

“You think that is good. Check this. Juan and Iwao did a movie together, set in Japan. One of those kung-fu types. Juan still distributes the DVD. He said that it didn’t do too well in the States, but in Mexico and Japan it’s done a decent job.”

“Now we’re talking,” Nikki said. “This is good stuff. You’re right.”

Simon clucked his tongue. “I know.”

Nikki had to think all of this through, but there were streams of connections here with some of these people and they were outside of the S.E.E. group themselves and she couldn’t help thinking those connections were what might have gotten Iwao killed.